Distinguishing knowledge-sharing, knowledge-construction, and knowledge-creation discourses

van Aalst, Jan

The researcher and teacher met several times at the beginning of the school year to plan the project, deciding that the then recent outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Avian Flu in 2003 and 2004 could provide a suitable area of inquiry for secondary school students. For example, students could build on their knowledge of science to study what was known about these phenomena, critique media attention, examine the economic impact, or form a position on how governments should have responded to the outbreaks. The Grade 10 course provided a promising context for integrating a focus on such questions into the curriculum, as one of its main goals was learning how to conduct research. The Grade 11 course also provided a good opportunity to engage in knowledge creation, as one of its main goals was for students to learn how information and communication technology could be utilized for learning in global societies. The second main topic on the Grade 11 course syllabus was "computer viruses," which was added to SARS and Avian Flu as a third main topic for inquiry with the aim of having the students examine the nature of viruses in both biological and non-biological systems and identify patterns across them. (However, the topic only accounted for 11.5% of the coded notes.)