Seng Chee Tan

Engaged Learning: Making Learning an Authentic Experience

This chapter attempts to make sense of engaged learning. Approaches such as problem-based learning should be advocated because it is an authentic form of learning encouraging students to be self-regulated and thus metacognitive towards their own thinking and behaviors. Contrary to passive forms of instruction where learners are not perceived to be active and engaged, neither reflective, we are highlighting alternative pedagogies which promote this sense of self-regulatory actions. We describe the engaged learning framework — focusing on both problem and process — which would be necessary for authenticity in learning experiences.

Students' multimodal construction of work-energy concepts

This article examines the role of multimodalities in representing the concept of work–energy by studying the collaborative discourse of a group of ninth‐grade physics students engaging in an inquiry‐based instruction. Theorising a scientific concept as a network of meaning relationships across semiotic modalities situated in human activity, this article analyses the students’ interactions through their use of natural language, mathematical symbolism, depiction, and gestures, and examines the intertextual meanings made through the integration of these modalities. Results indicate that the thematic integration of multimodalities is both difficult and necessary for students in order to construct a scientific understanding that is congruent with the physics curriculum. More significantly, the difficulties in multimodal integration stem from the subtle differences in the categorical, quantitative, and spatial meanings of the work–energy concept whose contrasts are often not made explicit to the students. The implications of these analyses and findings for science teaching and educational research are discussed.

Knowledge Creation in Education

This book arises from research conducted through Singapores National Institute of Education on such topics as integrating knowledge building pedagogies into Singaporean classrooms, with both students and teachers across school levels, from primary schools to high schools. Additionally, international scholars contribute research on theories of knowledge creation, methodological foundations of research on knowledge creation, knowledge creation pedagogies in classrooms and knowledge creation work involving educators. The book is organized in two sections. Section A focuses on theoretical, technological and methodological issues, where sources of justification for claims are predominantly theories and extant literature, although empirical evidence is used extensively in one chapter. Section B reports knowledge creation practices in schools, with teachers, students or both; the key sources of justification for claims are predominantly empirical evidence and narratives of experience The editor asserts that schools should focus on developing students capacity and disposition in knowledge creation work; at the same time, leaders and teachers alike should continue to develop their professional knowledge as a community. In the knowledge building vernacular, the chapters are knowledge artifacts artifacts that not only document the findings of the editors and authors, but that also mediate future advancement in this area of research work. The ultimate aim of the book is to inspire new ideas, and to illuminate the path for researchers of similar interest in knowledge creation in education.

Education in the Knowledge Age — Engaging Learners Through Knowledge Building

In this Knowledge Age or innovation-driven age, knowledge is a key asset for a society to create value. The health and wealth of societies depend increasingly on the capacity of people to innovate (Scardamalia & Bereiter, in press 2002). Since schools are responsible for preparing the young for the future they have to be models of innovation, where teachers and students are “willing to take new routes, try different methods, and occasionally break the mould” (Shanmugaratnam, 2003). Too often, however, we find classroom pedagogies varying between two extremes: didactic knowledge transmission where teachers are the “sage on the stage”, or constructivist approaches where students are actively engaged on activities. The former approach is often criticized for treating students as a passive party, assuming that knowledge can be transmitted and assimilated into the student’s mind. The latter approach, on the other hand, has the tendency to motivate students to complete tasks and activities, but not necessarily engaged with the knowledge creation process. In this chapter, we argue that we should engage our students directly in knowledge production, not so much of asking students to produce new knowledge or discoveries, but putting them into a development trajectory to be knowledge producers. Examples of knowledge building classrooms in Cananda and Singapore schools will be used to illustrate how we can engage students as knowledge producers, who take on ownership of learning by collaboratively and continually improve upon their initial ideas to better ideas, thus advancing collective knowledge within the community.

Constructive use of authoritative sources in science meaning making

Researchers are skeptical about the role of authoritative sources of information in a constructivist learning environment for fear of usurping students’ critical thinking. Taking a social semiotics perspective in this study, authoritative sources are regarded as inscriptions of cultural artifacts, and science learning involves meaning‐making of these cultural artifacts. In studying the meaning‐making process of a group of students doing problem‐based learning (PBL), our findings show that authoritative sources played an important role in deepening and expanding students’ scientific knowledge. We also found that constructive use of authoritative sources involves interpretation of meaning in context. This structural coupling of authoritative sources and context for meaningful sense‐making has to be taken into consideration in the design of learning environment.

Online Learning Communities in K-12 Settings

This review aims to clarify the concept and boundary of research on online learning communities, identify the major trends of research, and suggest pertinent issues for future research. Four online learning communities, namely, Knowledge Building communities, Quest Atlantis, Virtual Math Team, and Web-based Inquiry Science Environment were reviewed. We compare and contrast the design principles and characteristics of these learning environments along cognitive, social, and technological dimensions. Potential implementation and research issues were discussed, including the contradictions with traditional school cultures and practices, the issues of authenticity versus simulation approach in schools, the cognitive and socio-emotional outcomes of online learning communities, and the possibilities and impact of advances in technologies.

Knowledge Creation in Singapore Schools: Our Journey and Ways Forward

This concluding chapter includes a reflection on the trajectory Singapore researchers have taken in introducing pedagogies of knowledge creation paradigm into classrooms and in developing teachers’ capacity in building professional knowledge and in facilitating knowledge creation pedagogies. It introduces some key research projects that are related to knowledge creation, including some that have not been featured in this book. Three broad phases of development were observed: exploration phase (year 2001–2004) that saw the initial attempts to introduce knowledge building practices to some schools; deepening of practices phase (year 2005–2012) that witnesses a spike in variety of research projects in schools, characterized by collaborative work with teachers to iteratively classroom practices; and the current effort (2012 and beyond) that focuses on empowering teachers’ agency and expanding students’ epistemic repertoires. This chapter ends with a glimpse into the research directions in the near future.