Association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education
Celebrating 30+ Years of
Service to the IT in Education / E-Learning Community
Celebrating 30+ Years of
Service to the IT in Education / E-Learning Community
Invited Speaker
Knowledge Building is a fundamentally social process requiring creation and continual improvement of ideas, with members sharing responsibility for advancing not just individual but group knowledge. In a fully developed knowledge building environment, interactions between people and ideas enable deep understanding, knowledge creation, and practical action. In this paper principles for knowledge building are presented, with indication of how these map onto dynamics of knowledge-creating organizations. Sequences leading from entry- to mature-level 21st century competencies provide a framework for moving toward high-end knowledge building environments. A traditional approach to education based on “working backward from goals” is contrasted with an approach more attuned to “emergence of new competencies,” with focus on how modern technologies can create optimal conditions for knowledge creation. Optimal conditions include supports for advanced knowledge processes, formative assessment that allows users to take charge of these processes and boost the work of the collective enterprise, and semantic web technologies to enhance productive interactions between people and ideas. Procedural supports must be comprehensive enough to accommodate a broad array of starting points and to facilitate pathways to higher-order achievements for all, from elementary through to tertiary education, and applicable to out-of-school contexts, so as to support an inclusive model of 21st century knowledge building.
Marlene Scardamalia holds the Presidents' Chair in Education and Knowledge Technologies at OISE/University of Toronto and directs the Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology—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 led the team that created 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 countries worldwide, 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.
Marlene 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 headed 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 work has led to several honours and awards, including the ‘Jose Vasconcelos’ World Award of Education, given by the World Cultural Council, for “her 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.” Other awards include 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); member of the Human Development Program of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research; an honorary doctorate from the University of Joensuu, Finland and honorary diploma from the Michener Institute ; fellow of the American Educational Research Association; and an Ontario Psychological Foundation Contribution to Knowledge award.
