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

van Aalst, Jan

This paper has elaborated distinctions between three modes of online discourse-knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, and knowledge creation-which correspond to theories of transmission/naïve realism, cognitive psychology, and interactive learning using shared mediating objects. The framework was applied to a case study of four groups of students who used Knowledge Forum as part of an attempt to create knowledge about SARS and Avian Flu. Through the use of a new coding scheme, one group discourse was indentified as a threshold case of knowledge creation, one as knowledge sharing, and two as hybrids of all three modes. The study revealed the importance of the social interactions needed for a sense of community as one of the leading factors separating the group discourses.