Knowledge-building Discourse Communities (KBDC) (20 pts.)—A KBDC has certain characteristics as defined by Scardamalia and Bereiter (1994):
o Focused on problems, not topics
o Decentralized, open knowledge building, with a focus on collective knowledge—through constructive social interactions with others engaged in similar or related problems
o More knowledgeable members are engaged in the knowledge-building process, but do not delineate the limits of investigation
o Less knowledgeable members’ participation is valued as it determines the gaps, inadequacies, difficulties in the knowledge being created that can demand a clarification of ideas by the ‘experts.’
o Engages a broader knowledge community than that involved in the current local problem, bringing in views from the outside
o Makes for a ‘second order environment’ (one where the one’s adaption to the environment changes the environment itself) where one’s contributions can determine what contributions will follow, thus changing the direction of the discourse and the knowledge constructed.
As an inquiry-oriented activity, this project will be worked on throughout the term of the course. KBDCs will be created in the first week around common questions generated and problems identified by you and your colleagues. Similar concerns/questions will collectively be grouped together, and essential questions identified. Your KBDC will create a BLOG site using Blogger.com. Once your site has been created, you will share the URL with me (I will create links directly to these from the Blackboard site). From there, your KBDC will investigate, redefine, create, discuss, reflect, and engage in the iterative process of this form of study. There will be “check points” throughout the term that should enable you to manage your work efforts productively
I found this information on the Web – EduTech Wiki. Knowledge-Building (Discourse) Community model definition:
ReplyDeleteIn the context of education, we define Knowledge-building community model as a socio-constructivist pedagogic strategy developed by what we can call the "Toronto school". It is an instructional design models that focus on a combination of situated learning, writing-to-learn, knowledge building, community, etc. It does have points in common with inquiry-based learning, i.e. the idea that learners should create knowledge through collective and collaborative inquiry. There is also a relation to transformative pedagogy and community of learning concepts.
Bereiter and Scardamalia believe a knowledge-building community should be modeled after scientific research centers, where “problem redefinition at increasingly high levels is the goal, based on a fundamentally social process. Researchers benefit from the advances of others, with continual interplay of findings, not just among scientists working concurrently but from generation to generation.”(1994). Knowledge-building communities support discourses that aim to advance the knowledge of the members collectively, while supporting individual growth with the aim of producing new experts and extending expertise within the community's domain.
A KB community can engage in collecting information, supporting discourse and exchanges, encouraging a social and professional network of learners and experts and making the knowledge acquired collectively available for future use. That even children in elementary school levels can engage in knowledge-building makes the process accessible to all levels of education.
Note: The Toronto School is a school of thought in communication theory and literary criticism, the principles of which were developed chiefly by scholars at the University of Toronto. It is characterized by exploration of Ancient Greek literature and the theoretical view that communication systems create psychological and social states. The school originated from the works of Eric A. Havelock and Harold Innis in the 1930s, and grew to prominence with the contributions of Edmund Snow Carpenter, Northrop Frye and Marshall McLuhan. (Wikipedia)