Sustaining Collaborative Knowledge Construction in Graduate- Level Education: Examining Design Issues

Abstract: This paper presents a design-based study of a graduate level course that uses CSCL methods to establish a unique pedagogical form of knowledge community. This interdisciplinary seminar is divided into a set of knowledge media themes, with a different group of students leading each theme. With each new offering of the course, students inherit a course wiki that aggregates the content and pedagogical knowledge from prior offerings. For each theme, the student leaders work closely with the instructor to design pedagogical approaches that engage the class in specific knowledge practices that are pertinent to the theme. This study considers the theme of “immersive environments”, and analyzes instructor and student actions through three iterations of the course in terms of pedagogical designs and use of technologies. Introduction and Purpose of the Study ICT-supported higher education presumably accommodates active learning, facilitates extended collaborations beyond face-to-face class meetings and provides easy-access repository of resources (Chan & VanAalst, 2004; Bonk & Graham, 2006). Yet the controversial evidence about the quality of ICT integration in higher educatio