Constraining Knowledge Building: The Limitations of 'Progressive Discourse'

摘要

In her article, Chwee Beng Lee [this issue] seeks a productive synthesis of the conceptual change [e.g., Sinatra & Pintrich, 2003; Vosniadou, 2008a] and knowledge building [e.g., Bereiter, 1994; Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1996; Scardamalia & Be-reiter, 2006] literatures. She begins by noting fundamental points of overlap between the two lines of work. Just as concepts in conceptual change research are often seen as embedded in larger knowledge structures (e.g., naive theories of the world), ideas in knowledge building approaches are seen as interconnected with a number of others. Both approaches reject a view of knowledge acquisition as simply attempts to eliminate isolated naive beliefs (or misconceptions) and replacing them with accepted knowledge. Instead, both are committed to viewing the process of knowledge acquisition as a constructive process of evaluating and then revising naive concepts/ideas, with the result being concepts that begin to approximate scientific concepts (from a conceptual change perspective) or idea improvement (from a knowledge building perspective). Moreover, Lee notes that conceptual change researchers are increasingly broadening their examination of mechanisms of change beyond internal, cognitive processes to encompass affective and motivational factors, as well as the role of the material and social contexts of learning. Similarly, proponents of knowledge building view idea improvement as fundamentally a social process: ideas are treated as public contributions (conceptual artifacts) to a community's collective knowledge. Finally, both approaches acknowledge the impact of the learner's metacognitive awareness and understanding of knowledge, sources of knowledge and the mechanisms whereby knowledge advances, on the process of knowledge acquisition itself.