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College Students Constructing Collective Knowledge of Natural Science History in a Collaborative Knowledge Building Community

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Abstract

This study investigates whether engaging college students (n = 42) in a knowledge building environment would help them work as a community to construct their collective knowledge of history of science and, accordingly, develop a more informed scientific view. The study adopted mixed-method analyses and data mainly came from surveys and student online discourse recorded in a database. Findings indicate that students’ knowledge building activities were conducive to the development of their online collaboration as a learning process and the effective collective knowledge work concerning natural science history as a learning outcome. Moreover, students were able to attain a more constructivist-oriented epistemic view that sees scientific theories as invented, tentative, and improvable objects. Finally, based on course reflection, students also regarded their collective learning experiences in this course as meaningful and productive.

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Acknowledgments

Support for writing this article was in part provided from a National Science of Council Grant (NSC #101-2628-S-004-001-MY3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Chengchi University, No. 64, Sec. 2, Zhinan Rd., Wenshan District, Taipei, 11605, Taiwan, ROC

    Huang-Yao Hong

  2. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Ching Sing Chai

  3. Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

    Chin-Chung Tsai

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  1. Huang-Yao Hong
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  2. Ching Sing Chai
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Correspondence to Huang-Yao Hong.

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Hong, HY., Chai, C.S. & Tsai, CC. College Students Constructing Collective Knowledge of Natural Science History in a Collaborative Knowledge Building Community. J Sci Educ Technol 24, 549–561 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-015-9546-8

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