EARLI 2003, IKIT Participation

IKIT Participation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI)
August 26-30, 2003, Padova, Italy

Bereiter, C. (2003, August). The computer screen as a cultural meeting place. In S. Cacciamani (Chair), Towards a knowledge building culture: Knowledge Forum across contexts and cultures. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

In CSCL and CSCW, the computer screen is the place where people come together as a community of practice to do work – to learn, to solve a problem, to advance the frontiers of knowledge, or whatever their mission. With the rise of distance education, the computer screen also becomes the place where the community itself is formed. This larger cultural aspect of interface design has received relatively little attention, compared to the attention devoted to more elementary issues of usability. In the discussion forums commonly used in education, the main thing the computer screen presents to the participants is a list – the familiar indented list of postings in a threaded discussion. As a cultural meeting place, this design leaves much to be desired. An informal search of Internet forums has failed to turn up discussion that would support the formation of a knowledge building community. By and large, so-called ‘forums’ are not really forums but bulletin boards that serve purposes of question-answer exchange and expression of opinion. Throughout almost 2 decades of development, the CSILE/Knowledge Forum team have experimented with ways to make the computer screen serve as a place where communities and subgroups can form around knowledge building goals. Experimentation continues and I will be presenting recent developments that highlight the empowerment of users to craft a communal knowledge building space.

Cacciamani, S. (2003, August). Can technology facilitate new forms of collaboration? Chaired paper presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Cacciamani, S. (2003, August). Students' interactions in virtual and real-life environments. Chaired paper presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Cacciamani, S. (2003, August). Towards a knowledge building culture: Knowledge Forum across contexts and cultures. Chaired symposium at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Chan, C. (2003, August). Changing pre-service teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning through knowledge building discourse. In S. Cacciamani (Chair), Towards a knowledge building culture: Knowledge Forum across contexts and cultures. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

This study investigated pre-service teachers’ collaborative knowledge building in a computer-supported learning environment called Knowledge Forum. Pre-service teachers tend to hold traditional beliefs about teaching and learning; we argue that the opportunity for them to work with pedagogical ideas and practice as conceptual artifacts in a knowledge-building environment may help them change their beliefs and make collective knowledge advances. Accordingly, the objectives of the study are: (a) to design a learning environment that fosters the development of knowledge building discourse; (b) to assess and characterize knowledge building inquiry and discourse among pre-service teachers; and (c) to investigate whether pre-service teachers changed their beliefs and develop deeper understanding. Participants included 210 pre-service teachers taking a course in educational psychology at the University of Hong Kong. The instructional design included engaging students in collaborative problem-centred inquiry on Knowledge forum; asking them to work as experts specializing on different problems (views); and using constructivist assessment to scaffold collaborative knowledge construction. Analyses using Analytic Toolkit (ATK) indicated that pre-service teachers were actively engaged in computer database usage; they changed their beliefs about teaching and learning shifting from a transmission to a constructivist view of learning; and students’ use of knowledge-building indices assessed by ATK was significantly related with portfolio-assessment scores. Qualitative analyses were also conducted to characterize the nature of knowledge building in this community; specifically, knowledge-b8lding episodes exemplifying different knowledge-building principles (Scardamalia, 2001) were identified.

Engeström, Y. (2003, August). Invited discussant for the Symposium on Learning identities: Identity as a conceptual tool for investigating mathematics and science teaching and learning within institutional settings. Meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Fréchette, S., Lapointe, J., Brodeur, M., Legault, F., & Bourque, I. (2003, August). Preservice teachers' conception of students' motivation within a knowledge-building process. Poster presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

This study focuses on the way trainees conceptualize and find solutions to students’ motivation problems within a knowledge-building process. A socio-cognitive model of motivation, based on the works of Bandura, is proposed. Three objectives are pursued in this research. Determining 1) the way trainees conceive students’ motivation problems; 2) the contextual factors they identify; 3) the solutions they propose. 155 students in a secondary education program participated in electronic discussion forums whose central theme was the motivation of their pupils during a six weeks practicum. A coding scale was constructed and the analyses showed the interconnections between types of problems identified by the trainees, contextual factors, and types of solutions proposed. The difficulty to disentangle motivation and discipline problems points to the need of specific training about how to sustain pupils’ motivation. Self-regulation of learning appears to be a useful training device.

Hakkarainen, K., & Palonen, T. (2003, August). Patterns of knowledge building in computer-supported inquiry. In P. A. Kirschner (Chair), The social psychological dimension of social intera-ction and the effects of cultural backgrounds in CSCL. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The purpose of the study was to analyse patterns of elementary school students’ peer interaction in a computer-supported classroom. The problem addressed in the study was whether students representing different levels of school achievement and gender would productively participate in progressive inquiry. Technological infrastructure of the study was provided by the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments (CSILE). Methods of qualitative content analysis and social network analysis were used to analyse written comments logged by 28 grade 5/6 students to CSILE’s database. The analysis indicated that the participants were engaged in an intensive progressive discourse, frequently sharing their explanatory theories and requesting each other to explicate their explanations. Although the progressive inquiry culture was rather uniform across the whole classroom, there were significant gender and school achievement-related differences in intensity of participation in CSILE-mediated discourse; high- and average achieving female students dominated discourse within the CSILE community. We identified a specific group of CSILE students that functioned as “cognitive brokers” of students’ social network and developed a high level of epistemic agency by assuming collective responsibility for regulating the whole community’s inquiry. Expert evaluations by three philosophers of science confirmed the cognitive value of CSILE students’ peer interaction.

Hakkarainen, K., Bollström-Huttunen, M., & Pyysalo, R. (2003, August). Progress toward knowledge-building inquiry. In S. Cacciamani (Chair), Towards a knowledge building culture: Knowledge Forum across contexts and cultures. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The purpose of the present article is to analyze progress toward Knowledge-Building Inquiry (KBI) in the context of computer-supported elementary-school classroom in Finland. The article describes a process of moving from project learning towards KBI, by introducing the pedagogical model of progressive inquiry and examining through a series of elementary school students’ CSCL projects the nature of their inquiry (e.g. the role of question transformation and pursuit of explanation) and to what extent their educational activities represented various elements of knowledge-building (e.g., symmetric knowledge advancement, constructive use of authoritative sources). Qualitative analysis of the content of students’ productions, social network analyses of their discourse interaction, and videotaped participant observations (as well as interviews) are used to analyze the study material. Teacher-researcher dialogues are used to illustrate psychological, socioemotional, and social challenges involved in facilitating KBI in education; we aim at making explicit the multi-voiced characteristics of our joint efforts to improve the quality of learning and instruction with the help of collaborative technologies. The paper arise a number of questions and challenges that we have encountered while facilitating knowledge building in elementary school education in Finland, such as the optimal relations between face-to-face and virtual working, integration of students own hands-on field working with conceptually-oriented knowledge building, and scaffolding of cognitively and motivationally diverge groups of students.

Ho, L., Chan, C., & Tang, T. (2003, August). Developing students of diverse abilities into a community of better Chinese readers through reciprocal teaching. Poster presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

This study examined the effects of a Reciprocal Teaching (RT) Programme on developing primary students of diverse abilities into a community of better Chinese readers. The study involved 136 primary four students of a Hong Kong Primary school. They were divided into four experimental groups, each of which at some time in the study received the RT treatment. The design involved measures of students’ changes and group differences in reading performance, conceptions and metacognitve strategies in reading. Statistical analyses (among high and low-achievers, between and within groups) focused on any differential effects of unstructed collaborative reading and Reciprocal Teaching on the dependent variables. Results indicated that RT has a positive effect on students’ reading competencies (both cognitive and metacognitive). Students’ self-evaluation and reflections after RT treatment helped explain how both high and low-achievers benefited in such a structured collaborative reading community.

Ilomäki, L., & Hakkarainen, K. (2003, August). Effects of the use of technology on school management practices: An inquiry. In H. P. Boshuizen (Chair), Technology, learning and expertise. Paper presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The aim of this study is to consider management changes in schools that may be connected to ICT usage. Schools, like other organizations, are in transition from being information transmission organizations to information management organizations. The study focuses in the question if there already exist characteristics of the new management culture, what these practices are, and how ICT is involved in them. The data come from a survey of 167 European school principals, with questions about their ICT expertise, and their opinions about the school management and practices, and the influence of ICT in school. Preliminary results indicated that teacher collaboration has increased for ICT in learning projects, but many other characteristics of an information management organization were still seldom in evidence: e.g. principals still work rather independently, without support of an external network.

Lakkala, M., Muukkonen, H., Lallimo, J., & Hakkarainen, K. (2003, August). Analysing the pedagogical implementation of progressive inquiry in a university course. In J. Vermunt (Chair), Various perspectives on collaborative learning and the quality of knowledge construction in higher education. SIG Invited Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Collaborative technologies, if embedded in appropriate epistemological, social and pedagogical infrastructures, may have substantial effects on promoting change in higher education. For this purpose, the present investigators have developed a model of progressive inquiry to facilitate collaborative knowledge creating practices in schools and university-level education. The idea of progressive inquiry is to provide pedagogical guidelines for teachers and students in the critical epistemological activities of knowledge-advancing inquiry. A special challenge in implementing progressive inquiry in university education is the cultivation of pedagogical design and scaffolding practices to effectively promote students’ collective knowledge creation and development of epistemic agency. In analyzing the pedagogical organization of such practices, the unit of analysis is the whole collective process, rather than the contribution and advancement of individual students. In order to challenge the prevailing ways to use collaborative technologies in higher education, we need a framework to describe the relevant dimension of collaborative inquiry learning, based on the newest advancements in learning research. In the presentation, we introduce a framework for analyzing the pedagogical arrangements of the collaborative inquiry in procedural, social, epistemological and technical dimensions, which we think are critical from the point of view of higher-level goals of changing the learning culture towards advanced knowledge creation practices. In addition, we present results of an analysis of a university course in “Psychology of modern learning environments”, in which the students’ activity was organized according to the principles of progressive inquiry and collaborative knowledge creation. The pedagogical arrangements in the course were analysed in detail by the above-mentioned dimensions..

Law, N., Yuen, A., & Chow, A. (2003, August). Pedagogical innovations and use of ICT. In B. M. Varisco (Chair), Applying ICT to solve pedagogical problems. Paper presentation conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The aim of this study was to promote acceptance and ease of use of the network oriented teaching and learning in polytechnic level. For this purpose we developed a collection of custom-made concrete pedagogical models, that were based on the teachers’ own teaching conceptions. The subjects were nine polytechnic teachers and their students. The teachers were pre and post interviewed and eighteen of the students were interviewed after the experiment. All materials created on the courses were collected and analysed qualitatively by using the content analyzing method. Our preliminary findings seem to indicate that the teachers do accept the models and find suitable for their own purposes. Our attempt was to create a source of practices to provide shared experiences and concrete examples of network oriented teaching and learning models based on teachers normal teaching practices. In this presentation we will discuss, demonstrate and evaluate our experiences and results in detail.

Lee, Y., & Law, N. (2003, August). Developing problem solving abilities in technology-supported pedagogical practices. In C. Vizcarro (Chair), Assessment of thinking skills. Paper presentation conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Problem solving is considered to be one of the most important competencies in the 21st century identified by education policy makers all over the world (SCAN 1991, OECD 1997, NCREL, 2000). Here problem solving is not defined as the close-ended type of problem solving commonly found in academic studies, but the kind of authentic problem solving that professionals are expected to engage in. It is generally believed that to help students develop such abilities requires pedagogical innovations supported by the appropriate use of technology. The key research question for this study is to examine such innovative technology-supported practices would lead to the development of problem solving abilities in preparing students for the challenges of life in the 21st century. Preliminarily results indicate that with the help of information communication technology students do not only actively engage in problem solving but also demonstrate a high level of metacognitive awareness during the process.

Lehtinen, E., Palonen, T., & Hakkarainen, K. (2003, August). Professional learning as building networked expertise? In H. P.A. Boshuizen & H. Gruber (Chairs), Professional learning between ideology and reality. SIG Invited Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Lonka, K. (2003, August). Helping doctoral students to finish their theses. Workshop presented at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Lonka, K. (2003, August). Issues in assessment in higher education. Chaired paper presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Lonka, K. (2003, August). Reading and writing as learning tools. Chaired paper presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Lonka, K., Nieminen, J., & Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2003, August). Students' approaches to learning in context of preparing for examinations. In S. Lindblom-Ylþnne (Chair), Explorations of student learning in higher education. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

We already know that students’ approaches to learning and studying have consequences in terms of study practices and success. However, scales measuring study approaches at a general level sometimes have quite low reliabilities. This problem may be due to the general nature of the questions. We hypothesized that questions presented in a relevant context, in this case, thinking about preparing for examinations, would help students to answer the questions in a more systematic way. The participants were 815 university students in agriculture, law, and humanities. The data were collected by using Conceptions of Learning and Knowledge Questionnaire developed by the Progressive Inquiry Research Group, University of Helsinki, Finland (Hakkarainen et al., 2000). Of this questionnaire 24 Likert-type questions were chosen for analyses, which dealt with students’ approaches to learning. All these questions were asked first generally and then in the form “Do you apply this when you prepare for examinations?”. As background variables, two shortened scales of ILS (Vermunt & van Rijswijk, 1988) were used: self-regulation (5 items) and lack of regulation (4 items). The results showed higher reliabilities for the scales based on questions that were anchored in the context of preparing for examinations than for the general scales. The best new scale “Meaning-oriented study behavior” (alpha=.84) correlated positively with self-reported study success and the ILS scales “Self-regulation”. Different ways of anchoring the inventory questions in a realistic study situation are discussed in the paper.

Masiello, I., & Lonka, K. (2003, August). E-learning in medical education at Karolinska Institute. In L. Ilomäki (Chair), Designing virtual learning material. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Karolinska Institute, a research and medical institution, has employed a web-based learning management system, Ping Pong, into one of its courses in order to build competency in new learning environments and their adaptation. At Karolinska we currently use several new learning approaches and in this presentation we illustrate some of these innovations in medical education. There are endless possibilities in applying educational technology, for instance, simulations (MIST, METI, and ISP), animations (3D Embryo), e-learning environments (Ping Pong), and knowledge building communities (Knowledge Forum). All are undergoing research to validate their educational and technological value. In one empirical study we wanted to understand the readiness and attitudes of students on the use of information technology and the performance of Ping Pong. By means of a questionnaire we found out that students showed readiness to and positive attitudes towards information communication technology in education and revealed a possible benefit from its use in the long run. However, after using Ping Pong they expressed negative attitudes towards it, suggesting a possible need for changes in Ping Pong. New, technology-driven learning systems are pervading education but in order to be successful, effective, and better than traditional learning systems, they must be designed and structured with care, or they risk to lower students’ interests and activation.

Masiello, I., & Lonka, K. (2003, August). Learning in a Web-based system in medical education. In J. Vermunt (Chair), Successful university student learning in different learning. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

New learning environments such as distance education and computer-aided instruction promise to bring a change in today learning environment by adjusting the relationship between the learner, the educational content and the organization of education. In our study we wanted to understand whether students’ approaches to studying were related to their perception of a new learning environment. Students’ approaches to learning scores were measured by some selected scales of ASSIST (Tait H. et al, 1998), while attitudes towards ICT were measured by a combination of rearranged questionnaires. Principal component analysis was carried out to examine the interaction between the different approaches and also between the different ICT orientations. We thn measured the relation between the approaches to learning and the ICT orientations by calculating correlation coefficients. High loadings on surface and on deep and strategic sub-scales characterized the two-principal component solution of the approaches to learning scales. At the same time a three-principal component solution illustrated the ICT attitudes scales, giving Blended Orientation, Independent Orientation and IT Orientation. We also found correlations between ICT attitudes and approaches to learning. Early identification of approaches to learning and attitudes towards ICT may prove important in order to provide assistance to aid the transition of students with diverse individual approaches and to the design of new learning environments.

Muukkonen, H., Lipponen, L., Lallimo, J., & Hakkarainen, K. (2003, August). Artifacts and talk: Developing understanding of who knows what in a multi-professional team. In H. Gruber, & H.P.A. Boshuizen (Chairs), Professional learning: New perspectives. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Organizations are putting together multi-professional teams in order to create formal practices of sharing the knowledge and expertise within the organization. This study is a part of a larger project aiming to provide research-based insights about the new possibilities of facilitating knowledge sharing and innovation by collaborative technology. At present, the project is identifying the obstacles and constraints involved in the process of creating shared understanding in a multi-professional team. According to our present understanding, expertise relies on tacit knowledge embedded in skills, i.e., rules, procedures, and know how that may be difficult to verbally explicate. Experts’ tacit knowledge encapsulates theoretical knowledge organized around problems and cases as well as formal scientific knowledge, the combination of which is likely to promote effectiveness and flexibility in problem solving. Tacit knowledge is transmitted only through participating in social communities and shared activities rather rant by directly transferring information. However, multi-professional teams may not have such shared activities naturally in their work. The research described in this study examines the constraints posed by minimal overlap of expertise on developing the practices of multi-professional teams. The data consists of two workshop meetings in a middle-sized IT-intensive company, where multi-professional teams are being created. The analysis aims at understanding the process of sharing expertise and developing artifacts, which can be used as mediating tools in collaboration.

Nieminen, J., Sauri, P., & Lonka, K. (2003, August). On the relationship between group functioning and academic achievement in PBL. In A.C. Nieuwenhuijzen Kruseman (Chair), Student and teacher learning in problem-based learning. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

In PBL, the discussion in the tutorial group plays a central role in stimulating student learning (van Berkel & Schmidt, 2000). Problems are the major input for stimulating the discussion. The quality of the discussion is assumed to influence student learning and in the end student achievement. This study is aimed at reporting on the development and reliability of scales to measure group functioning in PBL and the relationship between group functioning and academic achievement. The study was conducted in the PBL curriculum of the Medical School of the University of Helsinki. First-year medical students (N = 132), forming 12 PBL groups, filled in a questionnaire, containing 21 items, on aspects of a PBL session. At the end of the unit, a course exam was administered to the students. Reliability analyses were conducted and correlations were computed. The results demonstrated that the items represented three scales, measuring 1) the performance of the tutor (4 items), 2) the quality of the case (3 items), and 3) the quality of group functioning (two versions, 14 and 4 items). Further analyses of the group functioning scale revealed that a four-item version measuring students’ perceptions of group functioning was more reliable than the longer version, measuring several aspects of group functioning. In addition, group functioning was strongly correlated with students’ grades in a course exam. Further, group functioning and the quality of the case were strongly associated with each other. Our findings raise interesting questions about the relationships between grou0p functioning and academic achievement.

Paavola, S., & Hakkarainen, K. (2003, August). The meaning of mediation in the epistemology of innovative knowledge communities. In M. Grossen (Chair), Issues in social interaction. Paper presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The present investigators have maintained that, in order to understand innovative knowledge communities, one has to differentiate a knowledge-creation metaphor of learning, which focuses on the ways how new knowledge, practices, products, etc. are developed. Yrjo Engestrom’s model of expansive learning and Carl Bereiter’s knowledge building approach represent this metaphor which highlights the role of mediation in epistemology. This means that intelligent activity in general and knowledge creation in particular are mediated processes that are organized around objects of activity. These are articulated collaboratively in iterative processes across extended periods of time (rather than created here and now). We analyze Engestrom’s and Bereiter’s approaches, and also Charles Peirce’s philosophical theory of signs, in order to understand the role of material as well as conceptual artifacts in mediation.

Paavola, S., Ilomäki, L., Lakkala, M., & Hakkarainen, K. (2003, August). Evaluating virtual learning materials through the three metaphors of learning. In L. Ilomäki (Chair), Designing virtual learning material. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

How to develop pedagogically advanced virtual learning materials is an important and pressing challenge. Too often this material is based on the idea of information and knowledge delivery without being able to take into account modern conceptions of learning and human cognition. In this paper we shall present a framework for evaluating virtual learning materials. Our starting point is a distinction between three general approaches to learning, i.e. the acquisition metaphor (individuals acquiring knowledge or knowledge structures), the participation metaphor (social practices, authentic activities, and the role of communities emphasized), and the knowledge-creation metaphor of learning (the focus is on transforming existing knowledge and practices) (Sfard, 2998; Paavola, Lipponen, & Hakkrainen, 2002). We emphasize the need to find concrete ways to embed the achievements of cognitive learning research in the development of the virtual materials by taking into account different aspects of learning and teaching practices, such as goal-setting, views of knowledge, character of learning activities, cognitive and metacognitive support, etc. Although there are no direct relationship between specific views of learning and specific learning materials (the same material can be used for various purposes), learning materials can reflect differences in views of learning. Our study is part of an European project and a national project where we evaluate virtual materials.

Scardamalia, M. (2003, August). How is a knowledge building community different from a learning community? In S. Cacciamani (Chair), Towards a knowledge building culture: Knowledge Forum across contexts and cultures. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Scardamalia, M. (2003, August). Invited discussant for Symposium on implementing a pedagogically meaningful electronic learning environment in four different European school contexts. Meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2003, August). Is education ready for the "new knowledge" challenge? In C. Pontecorvo (Chair), New encounters for educational psychology. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The ability of a society to generate new knowledge is coming to be seen as a major determinant of the health and wealth of nations and education as the foundation of that ability. Knowledge building is the term used to focus on the ‘new knowledge’ challenge. Traditionally educational programs have been designed to ensure that students’ ideas grow closer in substance to established bodies of knowledge so that our cultural heritage can be passed from one generation to the next. Throughout most of history working with available knowledge constituted an adequate objective for education, because knowledge was not thought of as advancing; it was thought to be in greater danger of deteriorating or getting lost. Perhaps not until the curriculum reforms of the 1950s did the idea become firmly established that knowledge is continually advancing and that the schools accordingly have a responsibility to keep students abreast of it. The knowledge age adds a new requirement: students must lean how to contribute to the production of new knowledge. This is a radically different challenge for education – different from both the ancient challenge of creating shared intellectual property and continually improving it is what goes on in knowledge building communities. This process is elaborated in this talk, with implications for the design of new pedagogues, practices and technologies for education.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2003, August). Identification and assessment of knowledge building. Workshop presented at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

Knowledge building, in contrast to learning, is the construction of knowledge of value to a community. Its economic significance is now widely recognized, under labels such as “knowledge creation” (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995), “intellectual capital” (Stewart, 1995), and “knowledge-based innovation” (Drucker, 1986). Below the graduate school level, however, knowledge building remains a rarity in education. This workshop will focus on clarifying what it means to carry out knowledge building in educational settings (see Scardamalia & Bereiter, in press, http://www.ikit.org/fulltext/inpressKB.pdf) and on distinguishing it from approaches such as guidend discovery, project-based, and problem-based learning (see Bereiter & Scardamalia, in press, http://www.ikit.org/fulltext/inresslearning.pdf). Besides dealing with these issues at a conceptual level, the workshop will include hands-on analysis of transcripts of actual student-generated databases. Assessment of knowledge building focuses on advances in the “state of knowledge” in a classroom or other group, and on the sociocognitive processes by which a community’s knowledge advances, not simply on individual knowledge acquisition. Assessment models to be applied include Knowledge Building Principles (Scardamalia, 2002, http://ikit.org/summer.institute2002/inpressCollectiveCog.pdf ) and Knowledge Building Indicators (Chan & van Aalst, 2001, http://www.mmi.unimaas.nl/euro-cscl/Papers/1.doc). There will also be a brief introduction of other relevant assessment and analytic methods, several of which are currently under development.

Teräs, M., & Engeström, Y. (2003, August). The culture laboratory-Analysing tools for intercultural learning. In B.M. Varisco (Chair), Intercultural learning as a challenge for learning environment development. Paper presentation at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The purpose of this paper is to bring into the discussion a new challenge that Finnish teachers and trainers are facing. While the number of immigrants has increased in Finland, practitioners tackle with complex and multiplied questions. Thus, new tools for emerging situations in intercultural learning are needed. To face this new challenge we launched an intervention called Culture Laboratory to explore the potentials of the generic Change Laboratory method based on cultural-historical activity theory. This research offers new solutions and tools for practitioners and from theoretical point of view it brings a global challenge into the focus of research.

Tynjälä, P., Slotte, V., Nieminen, J., Olkinuora, E., & Lonka, K. (2003, August). From university to working life: Graduates' workplace skills in practice. In H. Mandl (Chair), Professional learning and higher education. Paper presentation at the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Padova, Italy.

The purpose of the present study was to examine how university graduates, after 2-10 of years work experience, perceive the competences and skills needed in their profession and the role of university education in the development of these skills. Data for the study was gathered with a postal questionnaire (N-1346) from the following fields of study: 1) Teacher education, 2) educational sciences 3) computer science and 4) pharmacy. 60% of graduates in pharmacy and in information technology reported being satisfied with the knowledge and skills their university studies had provided them, whereas the percentages among graduates in educational sciences and teacher education were 56% and 41%, respectively. The role of workplace as a learning source seemed to be most important for those skills that were experienced as the most valuable in work.