Fostering historical knowledge and thinking skills using hypermedia learning environments: The role of self-regulated learning

In this study, we examined how high-school students utilized a hypermedia learning environment (HLE) to acquire declarative knowledge of a historical topic, as well as historical thinking skills. In particular, we were interested in whether self-regulated learning (SRL; Winne & Hadwin, 1998; Zimmerman, 2000) processing was related to the acquisition of declarative knowledge and historical thinking. We found that, using the HLE, participants did learn from pretest to posttest, and that they most often engaged in strategy use SRL processes. However, the frequency of participant use of planning SRL processes, not strategy use, was predictive of learning. This study has implications for how educators use HLEs to foster historical thinking skills, and suggests that scaffolding planning skills may facilitate students’ use of computers as cognitive and metacognitive tools for learning (Azevedo, 2005; Lajoie, 2000).     

A Hybrid Architecture for Situated Learning of Reactive Sequential Decision Making

In developing autonomous agents, one usually emphasizes only (situated) procedural knowledge, ignoring more explicit declarative knowledge. On the other hand, in developing symbolic reasoning models, one usually emphasizes only declarative knowledge, ignoring procedural knowledge. In contrast, we have developed a learning model CLARION, which is a hybrid connectionist model consisting of both localist and distributed representations, based on the two-level approach proposed in [40]. CLARION learns and utilizes both procedural and declarative knowledge, tapping into the synergy of the two types of processes, and enables an agent to learn in situated contexts and generalize resulting knowledge to different scenarios. It unifies connectionist, reinforcement, and symbolic learning in a synergistic way, to perform on-line, bottom-up learning. This summary paper presents one version of the architecture and some results of the experiments.     

A co-creation blended KM model for cultivating critical-thinking skills

Both critical thinking (CT) and knowledge management (KM) skills are necessary elements for a university student’s success. Therefore, this study developed a co-creation blended KM model to cultivate university students’ CT skills and to explore the underlying mechanisms for achieving success. Thirty-one university students participated in this study. Findings from the 17-week training program suggest that scaffolding university students through knowledge sharing, internalization, and co-creation processes in a blended KM environment can effectively enhance their CT skills. Moreover, the attribute–treatment interaction (ATI) analysis suggests that judicial thinking style which relates to a deep learning approach may facilitate KM and help improve CT skills. Notably, the complex underlying mechanisms and paths of influence found in this study attest to the highly dynamic nature of the proposed KM processes.     

支持创新型组织学习:基于任务情景的知识适用性管理

面临商务环境的快速变迁和难以预测,创新型组织学习正在成为组织提高生存、适应和竞争能力的关键途径.然而,现有的KM技术对于如何支持创新型组织学习,没有进行深入、系统的研究;导致知识工作者在获取适用性好的信息体(从而促进业务创新)和主动参与OM开放性进化(以促进创新知识的传播和共享)方面缺乏有效的支持.文中提出基于任务情景的知识适用性管理方法KAMTC,旨在以基于应用域本体的任务情景描述模式作为统一的语义基础,去确切、全面和便捷地描述业务工作的查询需求和受检信息体的适用性,以克服这些挑战性问题,进而有效支持知识创新和创新型组织学习的展开.     

The comparisons of the influences of prior knowledge on two game-based learning systems

Game-based learning provides many benefits, such as enhancing the interaction with students and stimulating their learning motivation. Thus, it is popular to learners who have diverse characteristics. To this end, individual differences play an essential role. Among various individual differences, previous studies demonstrated that prior knowledge has great effects on game-based learning. However, such studies mainly considered a single game-based learning system. To address this issue, this study examined how prior knowledge affects students' reactions to two different types of game based learning systems, i.e., the Machinarium and the CSI: Web Adventures. The former delivers procedural knowledge while the latter provides declarative knowledge. The results from this study indicate that prior knowledge has positive impacts in the CSI group while it has negative impacts in the Machinarium group. These findings imply that prior knowledge is useful for the context of declarative knowledge while it may not be helpful for the context of procedural knowledge.     

Designing collaborative knowledge building environments accessible to all learners: Impacts and design challenges

The present study attempted to investigate whether young learners who were new to knowledge building approaches could work towards advancing both individual and collective knowledge, and whether knowledge building could be beneficial to both high-achieving and low-achieving students. Findings reported in this paper are from one and a half-year design research for science learning in one primary school in Singapore. In this study, we closely examined the design and enactment of the Knowledge Building Community model in one class with high-achieving students and two classes with mixed-ability students. The research consists of two phases: Phase I Cultivating a collaborative knowledge building culture and Phase II Progressive Knowledge Building using Knowledge Forum. Data were collected from multiple sources, including knowledge assessment, conceptual understanding tasks, and the content analysis of Knowledge Forum postings. The results in Phase I show that while it is critical for students to monitor and build knowledge for their own understanding, they had difficulties developing such skills. In both phases, we found positive impacts on academic achievements showing improvement of student understanding in the course of reflective thinking and progressive inquiry. Overall, quantitative data suggest that the collaborative knowledge building environment was beneficial for both high-achieving and low-achieving students. We conclude by discussing some of challenges and issues in designing collaborative knowledge building environments for young learners with diverse abilities.     

Exploring knowledge management software implementation from a knowing-in-practice perspective

This paper draws attention to a major issue of Knowledge Management (KM) technology implementation: potential sources of incongruence between KM software and the adopting organization. Using the case of a global consultancy firm, the paper explains KM software-organization incongruences as the consequence of differences between organizational and KM software developer’s knowledge work context and practice. Such differences reflect the differing ‘situated’ knowledge work practices that KM software developers and adopting organizations deliberately acquire and evolve over time. Theoretically, this paper gives a more comprehensive account of how knowledge work practices emerged and were then embedded into the software or the organization. Practically, this study would help make organizations more aware of the factors influencing KM software adoption and implementation, particularly in the case of large firms that are characterized by high-value, text-based content for decision-making such as professional service, R&D, and healthcare organizations.     

Dynamic scaffolding of socially regulated learning in a computer-based learning environment

The aim of this study is to test the effects of dynamically scaffolding social regulation of middle school students working in a computer-based learning environment. Dyads in the scaffolding condition (N = 56) are supported with computer-generated scaffolds and students in the control condition (N = 54) do not receive scaffolds. The scaffolds are dynamically adjusted to dyads’ progress with an attention management system. The scaffolds support two aspects of socially regulated learning namely the metacognitive and cognitive activities. We analyzed the effects of dynamic scaffolding on dyads’ performance, their perception of the learning environment and students' knowledge acquisition. We found that scaffolding had a positive effect on the dyads’ learning performance, but did not affect students’ domain knowledge. The repeated measurements of perception of the learning environment showed that dyads in the experimental condition were more positive about their teachers and their collaborators than students in the control condition. With respect to their perception of the software and the 3D embodied agent delivering the scaffolds, we found a stronger decrease of appreciation over time in the scaffolding condition compared to the control condition.     

The effect of scaffolding students’ context-generating cognitive activity in technology-enhanced case-based learning

This study investigates the hypothesis that students’ learning and problem-solving performance in ill-structured domains can be improved, if elaborative question prompts are used to activate students’ context-generating cognitive processes, during case study. Two groups of students used a web-based learning environment to criss-cross and study case-based material in the software project management domain. The experimental group was additionally prompted to consistently answer a set of questions based on a model of context-generating processes, meant to engage students in deeper processing of information presented in cases. Students were also classified as having either “complex” or “simple” EB profile (based on their epistemological beliefs record), thereby establishing a 2 × 2 factorial design. Results indicated that scaffolding treatment had a significant main effect on students’ performance, with the experimental group performing better in both domain knowledge acquisition and knowledge transfer post-test items. There is also tentative indication that EB profile and scaffolding treatment interact, with complex-EB learners benefiting most from the scaffolded condition. Overall, the study provides evidence that it is possible to improve individual learning in a technology environment for case-based learning, by implementing appropriate questioning strategies that trigger students to activate their context-generating cognitive processes, while studying the contextually rich material of cases.     

Integrating computer- and teacher-based scaffolds in science inquiry

Because scaffolding is a crucial form of support for students engaging in complex learning environments, it is important that researchers determine which of the numerous kinds of scaffolding will allow them to educate students most effectively. The existing literature tends to focus on computer-based scaffolding by itself rather than integrating it with teacher support. This study examined students' inquiry learning skills and content knowledge when they utilized a virtual learning environment called Supervolcano: Kikai Caldera. The present study specifically explored how the timing of teacher-based metacognitive scaffolding in combination with different types of computer-based procedural scaffolding affected students’ science inquiry learning. To answer this question, a 2 × 2 factorial design was conducted. One factor examined continuous and faded computer-based procedural scaffolds, and the other factor investigated early and late teacher-based metacognitive scaffolds. Students who received both continuous computer-based procedural scaffolding and early teacher-based metacognitive scaffolding performed best in acquiring scientific inquiry skills. Students using both faded computer-based procedural and early teacher-based metacognitive scaffolding had the worst performance in learning scientific inquiry skills. However, although we applied different types of scaffolding, the results showed no statistically significant difference among the groups' science learning knowledge.     

A knowledge construction methodology to automate case-based learning using clinical documents

The case-based learning (CBL) approach has gained attention in medical education as an alternative to traditional learning methodology. However, current CBL systems do not facilitate and provide computer-based domain knowledge to medical students for solving real-world clinical cases during CBL practice. To automate CBL, clinical documents are beneficial for constructing domain knowledge. In the literature, most systems and methodologies require a knowledge engineer to construct machine-readable knowledge. Keeping in view these facts, we present a knowledge construction methodology (KCM-CD) to construct domain knowledge ontology (i.e., structured declarative knowledge) from unstructured text in a systematic way using artificial intelligence techniques, with minimum intervention from a knowledge engineer. To utilize the strength of humans and computers, and to realize the KCM-CD methodology, an interactive case-based learning system(iCBLS) was developed. Finally, the developed ontological model was evaluated to evaluate the quality of domain knowledge in terms of coherence measure. The results showed that the overall domain model has positive coherence values, indicating that all words in each branch of the domain ontology are correlated with each other and the quality of the developed model is acceptable.     

What does it mean? Students’ procedural and conceptual problem solving in a CSCL environment designed within the field of science education

This article discusses the relationship between procedural and conceptual problem solving in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment designed within the field of science education. The contribution of this article, and our understanding of this phenomenon, is anchored in our socio-cultural interpretation, and that implies distinctive inputs for the design and re-design of these kinds of learning environments. We discuss institutional aspects linked to the school as a curriculum deliverer, as well as to the presentation of the knowledge domain and the construction of the CSCL environment. The data is gathered from a design experiment in a science setting in a secondary school, and video data is used to perform an interaction analysis. More specifically, we follow a group of four secondary school students who solve a biological problem in a computer-based 3D model supported by a website. Our findings are clear in the sense that the procedural types of problem solving tend to dominate the students’ interactions, while conceptual knowledge construction is only present where it is strictly necessary to carry out the problem solving. Based on our analyses, we conclude that this can be explained partly by how the knowledge domain is presented and how the CSCL environment is designed, but that the main reason is linked to the institutional aspects related to the school as curriculum deliverer where its target is to secure that the students actually solve problems that are predefined in the syllabus list. We argue that this affords some particular challenges, linked to making conceptual knowledge constructions in science education explicit in the CSCL environment, and to encouraging the teachers and the school as a curriculum deliverer to give this kind of knowledge construction a prioritised value.     

Investigating Knowledge Management Factors Affecting Chinese ICT Firms Performance: An Integrated KM Framework

This article sets out to investigate the critical factors of Knowledge Management (KM) which are considered to have an impact on the performance of Chinese information and communication technology (ICT) firms. This study confirms that the cultural environment of an enterprise is central to its success in the context of China. It shows that a collaborated, trusted, and learning environment within ICT firms will have a positive impact on their KM performance.     

INCREMENTAL LEARNING OF PROCEDURAL PLANNING KNOWLEDGE IN CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS

Autonomous agents that learn about their environment can be divided into two broad classes. One class of existing learners, reinforcement learners, typically employ weak learning methods to directly modify an agent's execution knowledge. These systems are robust in dynamic and complex environments but generally do not support planning or the pursuit of multiple goals. In contrast, symbolic theory revision systems learn declarative planning knowledge that allows them to pursue multiple goals in large state spaces, but these approaches are generally only applicable to fully sensed, deterministic environments with no exogenous events. This research investigates the hypothesis that by limiting an agent to procedural access to symbolic planning knowledge, the agent can combine the powerful, knowledge-intensive learning performance of the theory revision systems with the robust performance in complex environments of the reinforcement learners. The system, IMPROV, uses an expressive knowledge representation so that it can learn complex actions that produce conditional or sequential effects over time. By developing learning methods that only require limited procedural access to the agent's knowledge, IMPROV's learning remains tractable as the agent's knowledge is scaled to large problems. IMPROV learns to correct operator precondition and effect knowledge in complex environments that include such properties as noise, multiple agents and time-critical tasks, and demonstrates a general learning method that can be easily strengthened through the addition of many different kinds of knowledge.     

Knowledge construction and misconstruction: A case study approach in asynchronous discussion using Knowledge Construction – Message Map (KCMM) and Knowledge Construction – Message Graph (KCMG)

This paper introduces a methodology for analyzing the knowledge construction and misconstruction processes occurring in online asynchronous discussion for Secondary 2 (Grade 8) students. The use of purposive sampling targeting specific students in a single course forum could potentially advance understanding of these processes using Knowledge Construction – Message Map (KCMM) and Knowledge Construction – Message Graph (KCMG). This paper traced the communication patterns and knowledge construction as well as misconstruction processes of students working in groups to formulate scientific ideas. This methodology reveals the dynamics of asynchronous discussion through mapping and quantifying the electronic learning process. This will equip educational practitioners and researchers with a useful tool for describing online interaction through adoption of a measurement methodology more systematic and effective than anecdotally. The research findings suggest that self-directed learning through asynchronous discussion has to be monitored by facilitators as learners possessed misconceptions that could potentially mislead other participants.     

Students' views of collaboration and online participation in Knowledge Forum

This study examined students’ views of collaboration and learning, and investigated how these predict students’ online participation in a computer-supported learning environment. The participants were 521 secondary school students in Hong Kong, who took part in online collaborative inquiry conducted using Knowledge Forum™. We developed a questionnaire to assess the students’ views of their collaboration aligned with the knowledge-building perspective. We also administered the Learning Process Questionnaire to examine their preferred approaches to learning. The students’ online participation in Knowledge Forum was examined using the Analytic Toolkit software. Analyses indicated that students who viewed their collaboration as more aligned with collaborative knowledge building were more likely to employ a deep approach to learning. A structural equation model indicated that the students’ views of collaboration exerted a direct effect on online participation in Knowledge Forum and mediated the effects of deep approaches on forum participation. Implications of examining students’ views of collaboration for productive online participation are discussed.     

GDKAT: A goal-driven knowledge acquisition tool for knowledge base development

While knowledge-based systems are being used extensively to assist in making decisions, a critical factor that affects their performance and reliability is the quantity and quality of the knowledge bases. Knowledge acquisition requires the design and development of an in-depth comprehension of knowledge modeling and of applicable domain. Many knowledge acquisition tools have been developed to support knowledge base development. However, a weakness that is revealed in these tools is the domain-dependent and complex acquisition process. Domain dependence limits the applicable areas and the complex acquisition process makes the tool difficult to use. In this paper, we present a goal-driven knowledge acquisition tool (GDKAT) that helps elicit and store experts' declarative and procedural knowledge in knowledge bases for a user-defined domain. The designed tool is implemented using the object-oriented design methodology under C++ Windows environment. An example that is used to demonstrate the GDKAT is also delineated. While the application domain for the example presented is reflow soldering in surface mount printed circuit board assembly, the GDKAT can be used to develop knowledge bases for other domains also.     

Tracing knowledge co-evolution in a realistic course setting: A wiki-based field experiment

The co-evolution model of collaborative knowledge building by Cress and Kimmerle (2008) assumes that cognitive and social processes interact when users build knowledge with shared digital artifacts. While these assumptions have been tested in various lab experiments, a test under natural field conditions in educational settings has not been conducted. Here, we present a field experiment where we triggered knowledge co-evolution in an accommodation and an assimilation condition, and measured effects on student knowledge building outside the laboratory in the context of two university courses. Therefore, 48 students received different kinds of prompts that triggered external accommodation and assimilation while writing a wiki text. Knowledge building was measured with a content analysis of the students' texts and comments (externalization), and with concept maps and association tests (internalization). The findings reveal that (a) different modes of externalization (accommodation and assimilation) could be triggered with prompts, (b) across both conditions, this externalization co-occurred with internalization (student learning), and (c) there is some evidence that external assimilation and accommodation had differential effects on internal assimilation and accommodation. Thus, the field experiment supports the assumptions of the co-evolution model in a realistic course setting. On a more general note, the study provides an example of how wikis can be used successfully for collaborative knowledge building within educational contexts.     

The instructor's gaze guidance in video lectures improves learning

Instructor behaviour is known to affect learning performance, but it is unclear which specific instructor behaviours can optimize learning. We used eye‐tracking technology and questionnaires to test whether the instructor's gaze guidance affected learners' visual attention, social presence, and learning performance, using four video lectures: declarative knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance and procedural knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance. The results showed that the instructor's gaze guidance not only guided learners to allocate more visual attention to corresponding learning content but also increased learners' sense of social presence and learning. Furthermore, the link between the instructor's gaze guidance and better learning was especially strong for participants with a high sense of social connection with the instructor when they learned procedural knowledge. The findings lead to a strong recommendation for educational practitioners: Instructors should provide gaze guidance in video lectures for better learning performance.     

Students' online interactive patterns in augmented reality-based inquiry activities

Inquiry learning has been developing for years and many countries have incorporated inquiry learning into the scope of K-12 education. Educators have indicated the importance of engaging students in knowledge-sharing activities during the inquiry learning process. In this study, a location-based augmented reality (AR) environment with a five-step guiding mechanism is developed to guide students to share knowledge in inquiry learning activities. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in terms of promoting the knowledge sharing behaviors of students, an experiment has been conducted in an elementary school natural science course. The participants were 57 fourth-grade students from an elementary school in Northern Taiwan, divided into an experimental group of 28 students who learned with the AR-based approach and a control group of 29 students who learned with the conventional in-class mobile learning approach. The students' learning behaviors, including their movements in the real-world environment and interactions with peers, were recorded. Accordingly, the learning patterns and interactions of the two groups were analyzed via lag-sequential analysis and quantitative content analysis. It was found that, in comparison with the conventional inquiry-based mobile learning activity, the AR-based inquiry learning activity is able to engage the students in more interactions for knowledge construction. The findings of this study provide guidance for helping teachers develop effective strategies and learning designs for conducting inquiry-based learning activities.