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in the learning sciences (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999; Chan, & van Aalst,
2008; Sawyer, 2005; Zhang, Scardamalia, Reeve, & Messina, 2009). Unlike Brown
and Campione's learning communities approach, knowledge-building communities
make use of information and communication technology because it not only affords
communication without restrictions of time and space, it also allows dialogue that
can become more reflective, democratic, and collaborative.
Idea improvement is the central concept of Bereiter and Scardamalia's
knowledge-building epistemology (Scardamalia et al., 1994). Other variants include
the notions of dialogue (Wegerif, 2007), exploratory talk (Mercer, 2000), account-
able talk (Michaels, O'Connor, Hall, & Resnick, 2002), and depth of understanding
(Woodruff & Meyer, 1997). Knowledge building is a collaborative effort directed
toward creating and improving theories, designs, and problem solving. Ideally, ideas
get out into the whole community in a form that allows all to create new arti-
facts, to identify problems of understanding, to gather and critique information
from authoritative sources, to design experiments and to create theories, explana-
tions, historical accounts, problem formulations, or solutions. Familiar examples
come from scientific research laboratories, expert jazz bands, and Olympic teams.
These communities encourage individual and collective expertise, while continually
advancing the frontiers of knowledge. Knowledge-building communities function
then as second-order learning environments—cultures that support progressive
problem solving (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1993). Knowledge-building communi-
ties are guided by a system of twelve values or principles (Scardamalia, 2002)
(Table 24.1). They are:
Table 24.1
Knowledge-building principles from Scardamalia (2002)
Knowledge-building
principles
Definitions
Real ideas and authentic
problems
Knowledge problems arise from efforts to understand the world.
Ideas produced or appropriated are as real as things touched and
felt. Problems are ones that learners really care about—usually
very different from textbook problems and puzzles
Idea diversity
Idea diversity is essential to the development of knowledge
advancement, just as biodiversity is essential to the success of an
ecosystem. To understand an idea is to understand the ideas that
surround it, including those that stand in contrast to it. Idea
diversity creates a rich environment for ideas to evolve into new
and more refined forms
Improvable ideas
All ideas are treated as improvable. Participants work continuously
to improve the quality, coherence, and utility of ideas. For such
work to prosper, the culture must be one of psychological safety,
so that people feel safe in taking risks—revealing ignorance,
voicing half-baked notions, giving and receiving criticism
Knowledge-building
discourse
The discourse of knowledge-building communities results in more
than the sharing of knowledge; the knowledge itself is refined
and transformed through the discursive practices of the
community—practices that have the advancement of knowledge
as their explicit goal
