Marlene’s areas of research include Knowledge Building—education for knowledge creation, cognitive development, the nature of expertise, new knowledge media, self-organization, emergence of new competencies, psychology of writing, and intentional learning. Funded research sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Canadian Council on Learning include a large-scale international investigation into whether schools can operate as knowledge-creating organizations, a longitudinal analysis of ways of contributing to online discourse, and students’ understanding of the nature of science and scientific progress. From 1996 till 2002, Marlene was the K-12 theme leader for Canada’s TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence. From 2002-2008 she directed an Initiative in the New Economy grant, awarded by SSHRC, titled “Beyond best practice: Research-based innovation in learning and knowledge work.” She has secured grants for and directed approximately 20 large funded research initiatives, including a project on "Cognitive Bases of Educational Reform," out of which grew the "Schools for Thought" program, notable for its synthesis of major socio-cognitive approaches. Her research helps to provide intellectual leadership for IKIT’s network that includes students (elementary-to-graduate), health-care workers, pre-service and in-service teachers, scholars, and other professionals worldwide. She has served for over two decades as program chair for the Summer Institute on Knowledge Building that she initiated and is active in design, testing, and evaluation of innovative web-based tools to extend the limits of the possible in education. She has served on over 50 program committees and editorial and advisory boards and leadership teams, including the Cisco, Intel, Microsoft 21st century initiative and OECD’s assessment for creative thinking scheduled for 2021.

Marlene’s work has led to several honours and awards: 2009—honorary doctorate from the University of Joensuu, Finland; 2008 and 2016 respectively, prestigious Honorary Diplomas from the Michener Institute and the World Federation of Associations for Teacher Education; 2015--fellow of the American Educational Research Association; 2007—ORION Learning Award to the institute she directs for the development of the world’s first collaborative learning environment and for leadership in research-based innovations in theory, pedagogy, and technology, all aimed at making citizens part of a 21st-century knowledge-creating culture; 2006—the World Award of Education from the World Cultural Council for “remarkable contributions in the field of social education, revolutionizing schooling by engaging students more directly and productively in creative work based on knowledge and ideas”; 2005—along with Carl Bereiter, the first-ever CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) Career Achievement Award for foundational work in knowledge building environments and the Knowledge Society Network. Other awards include a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, election to the U. S. National Academy of Education (second Canadian so honoured), member of the Human Development Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Ontario Psychological Foundation Contribution to Knowledge award, the Onwell Visiting Fellowship in Education from the University of Hong Kong and visiting professorship, Hiroshima University, Japan.

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (2018). Fixing Humpty-Dumpty: Putting higher-order skills and knowledge together again. In Kerslake, L. & Wegerif, R. (Eds.), Theory of teaching thinking. International Perspectives (pp. 73-88). London, UK & New York, NY: Routledge.

Scardamalia, M. (2017). Foreword: Pedagogical innovations and new knowledge media. In C. C. Hung & S. Divaharan, Teaching and learning framework. Singapore: National Institute of Education.

Scardamalia, M. (2017). Knowledge Forum. In K. Peppler (Ed.), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Out-of School Learning (pp. 401-403). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2017). Two modes of thinking in knowledge building. Revista Catalana de Pedagogia, 12, 61-83.

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (2016). “Good Moves” in knowledge-creating dialogue. QWERTY, 11(2), 12-26.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2016). Creating, criss-crossing, and rising above idea landscapes. In R.H. Huang, Kinshuk, & J. K. Price (Eds.), ICT in education in global context: comparative reports of K-12 schools innovation (pp. 3-17). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.

Resendes, M., Scardamalia, M., Bereiter, C., Chen, B., & Halewood, C. (2015). Group-level formative feedback and metadiscourse. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 10(3), pp 309-336.

Hong, H-Y. & Scardamalia, M. (2014). Community knowledge assessment in a knowledge building environment. Computers and Education, 71, 279-288.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2014). Education in an open informational world. In R. Scott, and S. Kosslyn (Eds.). Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences. Wiley Online Library. doi:10.1002/9781118900772

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2014). Knowledge building and knowledge creation: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (Second Edition) (pp. 397-417). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (2013). Self-organization in conceptual growth. Practical implications. In. S. Vosniadou, (Ed.), International handbook of research on conceptual change (2nd ed.)(pp. 504-519). New York: Routledge.

Goldman, S. R., & Scardamalia, M. (Eds.). (2013). Multiple document comprehension [Special issue]. Cognition and Instruction, 31(2).

Goldman, S. R., & Scardamalia, M. (2013). Managing, understanding, applying, and creating knowledge in the information age: Next-generation challenges and opportunities. Cognition and Instruction, 31(2), pp. 255-269.

Scardamalia, M., Bransford, J., Kozma, R., & Quellmalz, E. (2012). New assessments and environments for knowledge building. In P. Griffin, B. McGaw, & E. Care (Eds.), Assessment and Learning of 21st Century Skills (pp. 231-300). Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Chuy, M., Zhang, J., Resendes, M., Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2011). Does contributing to a Knowledge Building dialogue lead to individual advancement of knowledge? In H. Spada, G. Stahl, N. Miyake, & N. Law (Eds.), CSCL2011 Computer Supported Collaborative Learning: Connecting Research to Policy and Practice, Conference Proceedings, Vol. I (pp. 57-63). Hong Kong, China: International Society of the Learning Sciences, Inc.

Zhang, J., Hong., H. Y., Scardamalia, M., Teo, C. L., & Morley, E. A. (2011). Sustaining knowledge building as a principle-based innovation at an elementary school. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 20(2), 262-307.

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (2010). “Good moves” in knowledge-creating dialogue: Preliminary sketch of a model. [Online].

Scardamalia, M., & Egnatoff, W. (2010). Editors. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, Special Issue on Knowledge Building. 36(1). (11 Articles conveying the breadth and depth of knowledge building advances and innovations).

Scardamalia, M., Bereiter, C., & Oshima, J. (2010). “Knowledge Building” Learning Environment for Knowledge Creation. Journal of Japanese Educational Technology Society, 33(3), 197-208. (in Japanese with English abstract).

Zhang, J., Scardamalia, M, Reeve, R., & Messina, R. (2009). Designs for collective cognitive responsibility in knowledge building communities. Journal of the Learning Sciences (18),7-44.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2008). Pedagogical biases in educational technologies. Educational Technology, XLVIII(3)3-11.

Reeve, R., Messina, R., & Scardamalia, M. (2008). Wisdom in Elementary School. In M. Ferrari & G. Potworowski (Eds.), Teaching for Wisdom: Cross-cultural Perspectives on Fostering Wisdom (pp. 79-92). New York: Springer. Retrieve from http://books.google.ca/books?id=Cr_6g3IC7hcC&pg=PA79&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2007). “Fostering communities of learners” and “knowledge building”: An interrupted dialogue. In J. C. Campione, K. E. Metz, & A. S. Palincsar (Eds.), Children's learning in the laboratory and in the classroom: Essays in honor of Ann Brown (pp. 197-212). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Teplovs, C., Donoahue, Z., Scardamalia, M., & Philip, D. (2007). Tools for concurrent, embedded, and transformative assessment of knowledge building processes and progress. Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning 2007 (pp. 720-722). Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, NJ.

Zhang, J., Scardamalia, M., Lamon, M., Messina, R., & Reeve, R. (2007). Socio-cognitive dynamics of knowledge building in the work of nine- and ten-year-olds. Educational Technology Research and Development, 55 (2), 117-145. Online First version (posted Sept. 26/06) is available here. (Outstanding Manuscript of the Year Award presented by Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT)-Division of Instructional Development)

Gan, Y.C., Scardamalia, M., Hong, H.-Y., & Zhang, J. (2007). Making thinking visible: Growth in graphical literacy, Grades 3 and 4. Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning 2007 (pp. 206-208). Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, NJ.

Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (2006). Knowledge building: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (pp. 97-118). New York: Cambridge University Press. (Note: Cambridge University Press has contracted with Educational Scientific Publishing House for a Chinese simplified language edition).

Scardamalia, M. (2006). Technology for understanding. In K. Leithwood, P. McAdie, N. Bascia, & A. Rodrigue (Eds.), Teaching for deep understanding: What every educator needs to know (pp. 103-109). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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

Scardamalia, M. (2003). Knowledge building environments: Extending the limits of the possible in education and knowledge work. In A. DiStefano, K. E. Rudestam, & R. Silverman (Eds.), Encyclopedia of distributed learning (pp. 269-272). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

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.