Knowledge Building
Marlene Scardamalia
Mary Lamon
Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology (IKIT)
OISE/University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Knowledge Society Challenge
• Productive manipulation of symbols
• Beyond basic literacy
• High level of achievement
• Beyond learning to creating knowledge
Technological and social innovations are simultaneous
Technology Innovation
Knowledge Forum® - the software
Embedding the process of innovation into
the everyday lives of knowledge workers
Knowledge Forum is a fully component-based Internet-savvy
knowledge building environment. Since its inception,
Knowledge Forum has been recognized as the leading
computer environment for collaborative knowledge building.
Used from elementary to tertiary education, health care and
community organizations, and businesses.
A brief tutorial on the software
Hong Kong
Knowledge Forum is a
multimedia database
supporting creative work
with ideas.
This is a note: the basic
way to contribute to the
database
The body of a note with searchable keywords
helps people find others with similar interests.
Views contain notes on
the same
problem or theme.
Notes can be moved
from View to View as
ideas develop.
Notes in pink -read;
those in blue - not
read. This is a quick
way to see what
you’ve read.
Drawing tools
Inserting a picture frame
This is a new View:
Graphics can be drawn or copied as backgrounds.
Scaffold supports are like the scaffolds that
builders use - they keep the building up and are
removed when not needed.
References avoid the copy and delete strategy that
many students tend to use when writing.
Students build on each others’ work
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
movie
Marlene Scardamalia, the Director of the Institute for
Knowledge Innovation and Technology and designer of
Knowledge Forum, describes how the software supports
knowledge building communities
advanced
Information
technology
knowledge-based
societies and
economies
The Social Innovation
Knowledge Building
Producing knowledge of value to a
community, and continually improving it
• Starts with the natural tendency to play with ideas
• Emphasis is on solving problems of understanding
• Community values include continual improvement of
ideas, knowledge-building discussions, collective
responsibility
How the curriculum
usually works:
From experts to
novices
What does a revolution in schooling look like?
Improvable Ideas
All ideas are treated as
improvable. Students
work continuously to
improve the quality,
coherence, and utility of
ideas.
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
movie
1996/1997- Grade 4 students had
already made this discovery!
Quick Time™ an d a So ren so n Video 3 d ec ompre sso r a re n ee ded to see thi s p ictu re.
movie
Students set forth their ideas
and negotiate a fit between
personal ideas and ideas of
others.
Yes, the curriculum is covered!
Everyone builds knowledge: Teachers, researchers
and physicists trying to understand how to teach flight
to Grade 5 students
QuickTime™ and a H. 263 decompressor are needed to see t his picture.
movie
Knowledge problems arise
from efforts to understand
the world. Ideas produced or
appropriated are as real as
things touched and felt.
Democratizing Knowledge
All participants are legitimate
contributors to the shared goals
of the community
Dialogue with elders in Iqaluit
Learning about my stars and
movie
constellations, [Inuit phrase]
People simultaneously building their own knowledge
while advancing the knowledge of others
Rose Avenue Public School and the Institute of Child Study
Community Knowledge
Contributions to shared,
top-level goals of the
organization are prized.
movie
Beyond Best Practice:
Symmetric Knowledge Advancement
Harry Camsell School in Hay River, NWT
and the Institute of Child Study, ON
The Simple Story
The more you work with ideas
the more you learn
the more you innovate
The Knowledge Building Trajectory:
Everyone Richer
• Knowledge that is immediately useful to
themselves and their community
• Habits of mind conducive to lifelong
learning
• Connected discourses within and between
communities that open new possibilities for
barrier-crossing and mutual support
Which Way to the Revolution?
The Barrier: Knowledge building is a
luxury-- to be enjoyed after the basics,
after the scores are up.
The Challenge: Incorporate creative work
with ideas from the beginning.
Analysis tools in
Knowledge Forum
Research Results
• Standardized test scores in reading
comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling
• Ability to read difficult texts
• Quality of questions and comments
• Depth of explanation
• Graphical literacy
• Conceptual change
• Math problem solving
• Portfolio commentaries
• Collaborative processes
• Inquiry processes
Grade 1 Student: Looking to Life Without
Knowledge Forum
Where will my ideas go?
Who will help improve them?
For more information please go to
http://ikit.org
or to
http://ikit.org/demo
or email
mlamon
mlamon@kf.oise.utoronto.ca