"Project
based learning is often focused on the production of tangible products
such as multi-media presentations, whereas the focus in knowledge building
is on the knowledge itself, its physical representation being secondary."
Marlene
Scardamalia/Carl Bereiter;
University of Toronto
http://kf.oise.utoronto.ca/abstracts/ciar-understanding.html
As schools increasingly
rely on ICT's (Information & Communication Technologies) to manage
their workload and also to access information in order to provide students
with background information, certain principles need to be considered.
Principle
1
The most powerful
attribute of conceptual model building is that the owner can actually
create and build new knowledge in excess of that which contributed to
the development of the initial model.
We have already discussed the importance of asking clever, high order
thinking questions, which encourage students to build conceptual models
of understanding. In order for students to be able to think laterally,
they must first create in their minds a conceptual framework/model of
understanding. It is only then that they can build on this framework
and improve upon it. If students have only facts to work with, they
cannot create new information from these alone.
The creation of
new knowledge (to the owner) may not necessarily result in innovation
but it is a precursor to the instigation of that process.
Principle
2
Thinking is a discipline
and as such calls for changes in the way we carry out our daily activities,
and make decisions, and that requires a consciousness of thought.
In other words
in order for students to think about what they're doing they need to
be encouraged into a discipline of questioning, and reflecting on their
thoughts and thought processes and content. This is often referred to
as metacognitive activity. It is the ability to think about your own
thinking.
Principle
3
Educators tend
to believe that knowledge is one-dimensional and resides in a location;
. . . . the mind.
. . . . whereas
in the 21st C, knowledge can also be thought of as a product that can
be collectively constructed/created (new knowledge).
Inevitably some
teachers will make the mistake of believing that unless there is concrete
evidence in a physical format of the student's understanding, then the
student does not understand the concept or principal being discussed.
Lawyers are all too well aware that intellectual property (IP) is very
real, and can be patented and protected, even though there is no visible
product to demonstrate that intellectual capacity.
