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

van Aalst, Jan

It is important to understand that there is not one answer to this question. I am limited in my understanding because I get my information from news sources that may be biased. I can also not understand how SARS spreads scientifically because I am not a scientist or a doctor. I am like the rest of the public that gets information from news sources. (Group D summary note) These considerations have important implications for developing an innovation ecology. In school, it is important that students develop academic knowledge: for example, concepts, explanations, explanatory principles, inquiry methods, and meta-conceptual knowledge. Social norms are needed in the classroom to keep these things in focus as students engage in knowledge creation. In other words, in getting a knowledge-creation experience started, the curriculum, students' prior academic knowledge, and their interests should be explored together to forge a closer connection to the curriculum and assess the potential of ideas for inquiry. In the study, students did explore the potential of their ideas but did so independently in their own groups, and the social norms were not developed. A closer connection to the curriculum would also be needed for scaling up knowledge creation in schools. Many other researchers link inquiry to the attainment of national educational standards (Krajcik et al. 2008) but do this in ways that undermine key goals of knowledge creation (e.g., epistemic agency, adding to the intellectual heritage of a community). Further research into how knowledge-creation experiences can be integrated into the curriculum is much needed.