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Knowledge Building Communities 93Fig. 1. The interface of Knowledge Forum.Bereiter, 1994). It is an asynchronous discussion forum that acts as a collectivedatabase. Any member of a community can submit a posting (which is calleda Note) and read each other's Notes. As a communication platform, it eliminatesturn taking that is required in face-to-face discourse and alters theteacher-centred structure that is prevalent in ordinary classrooms. Figure 1shows a screen capture of the software from one of our local databases.Although it may look like an ordinary discussion board, it has a numberof features that are specially designed to support knowledge building discourse.First, it allows teachers to provide prompts for students known asscaffolds. These are metacognitive prompts guiding the students in onlinediscourse in the discipline that students are learning. For example, thegeneric scaffolds include prompts such as "My Theory is", "I need tounderstand, "New Information", which are designed specifically toengaged students in making scientific hypothesis, identifying gaps inknowledge and sharing new information. Teachers can design scaffolds,such as "This theory cannot explain", "A better theory is", to encouragestudents to challenge each other and thereby fostering a progressive
94 Chai Ching Sing and Tan Seng Cheeinquiry. Second, features such as "Build On" and "Rise above" encouragestudents to build on each other's ideas and summarize ideas at a higherlevel of conceptualization. Third, the Notes can be revised as students'undertsandings improve. These features help to foster a knowledge transformationdiscourse among the participants.Research EvidenceAlthough implementing KBC is not an easy task, it will repay the time andenergy invested. Results of studies conducted in Canada and Singapore providesome support for the claim that implementing KBC in the classroomhelps to better equip students for the knowledge society. Studies conductedin Canadian primary schools have to date indicated that students participatingin KBC outperformed students in ordinary classrooms in terms of depthof learning, inquiry and reflection (Scardamalia and Bereiter, 1994). In termsof traditional assessment such as standardized reading and vocabularytests, KBC students scored significantly higher than other students(Scardamalia, Bereiter, Brett, Burtis, Calhoun and Smith Lea, 1992).Interview transcripts from grade six students who had experienced KBCshow that they developed a sophisticated view about research and a commitmenttowards thorough research (Lamon, Secules, Petrosino, Hackett,Bransford and Goldman, 1994).Local studies in the context of scientific inquiry at secondary school levelsshowed significant improvement in students' scientific inquiry skills(Tan, So and Hung, 2003). Teachers who had participated in implementingKBC generally valued the accessibility provided by the technology. Theyemployed Knowledge Forum in problem-solving projects, scientificinquiries and project-based learning for a variety of subjects. They werehappy that given accessibility of the technology, their students were able toengage in independent learning, conduct wider research and share theirknowledge. They were also plesantly surprised by the ability of students inhandling complex problems of understanding in a KBC (Chai, Tan andHung, 2003).Application GuidelinesIn the following section, we will attempt to illustrate the steps in fosteringa KBC in our classroom environment. The examples used are adapted from
Page 1 and 2: \NarNalif Educatic
Page 3 and 4: REACTReview of Educational Research
Page 5 and 6: About the ContributorsChai Ching Si
Page 7 and 8: REACT, Vol. 22, No. 2 (December 200
Page 11 and 12: Cooperative Learning and Service-Le
Page 17: 92 Chai Ching Sing and Tan Seng Che
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Page 23 and 24: 98 Chai Ching Sing and Tan Seng Che
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Page 29 and 30: Influence of Peer Assessment 105Joh
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Page 39 and 40: 116 Jim Murphyconcerned with lectur
Page 41 and 42: 118 Jim Murphythey did after (follo
Page 43 and 44: 120 Jim Murphyhe feels responsible
Page 45 and 46: 122 Jim Murphyto allow myself to gr
Page 47 and 48: 124 Jim MurphyIn many disciplines l
Page 49 and 50: 126 John Tan and Michael KohTypical
Page 52 and 53: Collaborative Learning in Physical
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Page 62 and 63: 140 Kirsten Schaetzelaspects of edu
Page 64 and 65: 142 Kirsten Schaetzeldiscussion and
Page 66 and 67: 144 Kirsten Schaetzelthe press, gay
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146 Kirsten Schaetzelas discussion
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