Marlene Scardamalia

Institute for Knowledge Innovation & Technology,
OISE/University of Toronto
252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada
(p) 416.923.6641 ext. 2264 (f) 416.926.2713

Marlene Scardamalia is the Presidents' Chair in Education & Knowledge Technologies at OISE/University of Toronto and the Director of the Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology, IKIT—a worldwide network of innovators working to advance the frontiers of knowledge building in various sectors. "Knowledge building," a term now widely used in education and knowledge management, originated with the CSILE/Knowledge Building project. Marlene is the inventor of CSILE (Computer Supported Intentional Learning Environments), which was the first networked knowledge building environment for education. The second generation version of this technology, Knowledge Forum®, is in use in 19 countries, in education, health, business, and professional organizations. Knowledge building theories, models, practices and technologies have been developed in partnership with Carl Bereiter and team members, and form the basis of two recent awards: (1) The Canadian Foundation for Innovation and (2) the INE Collaborative Research Initiative awards.

From 1996 till 2002, Marlene has been the K-12 theme leader for Canada’s TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence. Her work has led to several honours and awards, including an Ontario Psychological Foundation Contribution to Knowledge award, a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, election to the U. S. National Academy of Education (the second Canadian so honoured) and appointment to the Presidents’ Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies for the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. She has done research and published in the areas of cognitive development, psychology of writing, intentional learning, the nature of expertise, and educational uses of computers. She also headed a project on "Cognitive Bases of Educational Reform," out of which grew the "Schools for Thought" program, notable for its synthesis of major educational initiatives.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2003). Knowledge building. In Encyclopedia of education (2nd ed., pp. 1370-1373). New York: Macmillan Reference, USA.

Scardamalia, M. (2002). Collective cognitive responsibility for the advancement of knowledge. In B. Smith (Ed.) Liberal education in a knowledge society (pp. 67-98). Chicago: Open Court.

Scardamalia, M. (2001). Getting real about 21st century education. The Journal of Educational Change, 2, 171-176.

Scardamalia, M. (2000). Can schools enter a knowledge society? In M. Selinger and J. Wynn (Eds.), Educational technology and the impact on teaching and learning (pp. 5-9). Abingdon, RM.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1999). Schools as knowledge building organizations. In D. Keating & C. Hertzman (Eds.), Today’s children, tomorrow’s society: The developmental health and wealth of nations (pp. 274-289). New York: Guilford.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1996). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. In T. Koschmann (Ed.), CSCL: Theory and practice of an emerging paradigm. Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1993). Surpassing ourselves: An inquiry into the nature and implications of expertise. Chicago and La Salle, IL: Open Court.

Scardamalia, M., Bereiter, C., McLean, R. S., Swallow, J., & Woodruff, E. (1989). Computer supported intentional learning environments. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 5, 51-68.

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The psychology of written composition. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

2002	University of Toronto's Presidents' Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies
2000	First Prize for demonstrating along with the CSILE/Knowledge Forum® research team the Virtual Visitations to Knowledge Forum® Classrooms and Databases at the TeleLearning-NCE Fifth Annual Meeting & Conference, Toronto, ON
1999	First Prize for demonstrating along with the CSILE/Knowledge Forum® research team the "Knowledge Forum®: Groupware for Knowledge Building" at the TeleLearning Networks of Centres of Excellence Annual Conference
1997	Researcher of the Year, Telelearning Network of Centres of Excellence
1996	Member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Human Development Program
1995	Member of the National Academy of Education
1992-93	Fellow of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
1989	Ontario Psychological Foundation Contribution to Knowledge Award
1989	Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association
1985-86	George A. Miller Visiting Professorship, University of Illinois
1978	Spencer Research Award, National Academy of Education
1966-68	National Defense Education Act Fellowship

Beyond best Practice: research-based innovation in learning and knowledge work. Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Initiative on the New Economy (INE) Collaborative Research Initiative program. (2002-2006).

Teaching for Understanding: An Innovative Approach for Teacher Professional Development. Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (T. Laferriere & M. Scardamalia). (2002-2003).

Beyond Schooling: Situating the K-12 Research Agenda in a Knowledge Society. Grant from the Telelearning Network of Centres of Excellence. (1999-2004)

Knowledge Innovation: Models that Unite rather than Divide the Knowledge Society. Grant from the Office of the Learning Technologies. (2002-2004).

Virtual Visitation and Symmetric Knowledge Advancement: Two Strategies for Supporting School-Based Knowledge Building. Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (Jan van Aalst & M. Scardamalia) (2001-2003).

Tracking Canada's Past. Grant fro the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. (1999-2003).