Promoting knowledge construction using online learning tools

Having presented the process of knowledge construction in CSCL environments, it is necessary to discuss the potential impact of the use of Web 2.0 technologies and applications on the ability of higher education students to increase their knowledge.

There have been several studies that have targeted this subject directly and the following studies are significant for this study.

Teacher’s presence in the online learning environment has been shown to be important for knowledge construction. Saritas (2008) conducted research at a large Midwestern university in the USA to examine the knowledge construction of students in a CSCL environment. The main objective of Saritas’s study was to examine the perceived knowledge construction and interactive patterns through collaborative social interaction in an online discussion by 15 students enrolled in an online postgraduate course. The researcher used a qualitative methodology to content analyse online transcripts by employing the interactive analysis method (IAM) of Gunawardena, Lowe, and Anderson (1997). The researcher found that while students engaged in collaboration by commenting on the online posts of other students, the messages generally lacked a great deal of meaning or thought in relation to the larger topic and

course content. The results showed that although participants' posts generally lacked high levels of knowledge construction, the construction of knowledge was obvious at the first phases. Many of the messages were very short and contributed little to the knowledge construction among students. According to the findings of this study, the students' overall participation in the course and the online discussion was at a low level. Many of the messages that were added to the online discussion were only done because the teacher required them. The researcher suggested that possible reasons for these results were the lack of a course structure and organised online discussion, and the teacher's presence. The findings of this study suggest that online learning tools should be structured in a way that encourages students' motivation to participate and engage in the course discussion. In addition, they imply that teachers should also be involved in the course discussions to give feedback or to provide information when required (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001).

In addition, group size can be directly related to knowledge construction.

Schellens and Valcke (2006) investigated the impact of collaborative learning in a CSCL setting on academic discourse and knowledge construction. The 300 participants in the study were enrolled in a first year course in the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences that used a blended learning mode. The students were randomly assigned to and worked in 38 different electronic discussion groups.

The transcripts of the online discussions were coded and content analysed to examine the impact of collaborative learning in a CSCL environment on knowledge construction. The content analysis and coding were based on the models of Fahy, Crawford, and Ally (2001) and Veerman and Veldhuis-Diermanse (2001). The researchers found that the interactions between students lead to the enhancement of their perceived level of knowledge construction in CSCL environments. They also

found that the size of the groups significantly influenced knowledge construction, in that groups with fewer people resulted in higher levels of knowledge construction. The reason for this could be that the smaller groups allow the members to remain focused on the tasks that take place. According to Dewiyanti, Brand-Gruwel, Jochems, and Broers (2007), there is an indication that participant members of large groups (seven or more in a group) score lower on the experiences of collaborative learning than the participants of other groups with lower members.

Moreover, students’ active participation and collaborative engagement can lead to perceive higher quality of knowledge construction. Rosen and Rimor (2009) investigated the effective conditions for the collective and individual knowledge construction in an online course in a collaborative learning environment. The study aimed to examine the differences in the process of knowledge construction between students with a collaborative learning orientation and those with an individual learning orientation. Students (N = 58) were divided into groups of 3-4 members and were required to participate in online collaborative activities in order to construct an online database. The students were classified as either active or less active, based on the extent of their engagement in activities that were measured according to three criteria:

(1) the scope of the participation in the discussions (2) the number of queries initiated by the student in the forum and (3) the proposed additional information and links that contributed to the forum. The results of this study indicated that the active students perceived higher levels of knowledge construction as compared to the less active students. In addition, students with a collaborative learning orientation were more successful in knowledge construction when compared to those students who tended to be individual learners.

Furthermore, assigning individual students’ roles in collaboration can result in a higher quality of knowledge construction. De Wever et al. (2009) conducted a research study in a first year university course at Ghent University, Belgium. This course combined face-to-face sessions with an online CSCL environment, and the study aimed to examine the effect of assigning roles and self-assessment on the knowledge construction processes in online discussion groups. The 273 participants were divided into 20 discussion groups. The researchers used content analysis to determine students' knowledge construction through social negotiation. The transcripts of the discussion groups were analysed using the IAM of Gunawardena et al. (1997).

In addition, students were asked to self-assess their knowledge construction processes through an online questionnaire. The results showed a significant positive impact of assigning roles on the perceived level of knowledge construction, while self-assessment had no significant impact.

These studies suggest that merely implementing an online learning environment is not enough for knowledge construction to be enhanced. Instead, teachers should explore innovative ways for collaborative learning to occur in such online learning environments where the size of the group, teacher facilitation and assigning roles could have an impact on the overall perceived level of knowledge construction.

2.2.7 Web 2.0 and collaborative knowledge construction: Implications and