Perspectives on knowledge creating inquiry in higher education

Higher education is faced with the challenge of strengthening students competencies for the constantly evolving technology-mediated practices of knowledge work. The knowledge creation approach to learning (Paavola et al., 2004; Hakkarainen et al., 2004) provides a theoretical tool to address learning and teaching organized around complex problems and the development of shared knowledge objects, such as reports, products, and new practices. As in professional work practices, it appears necessary to design sufficient open-endedness and complexity for students teamwork in order to generate unpredictable and both practically and epistemologically challenging situations. The studies of the thesis examine what kinds of practices are observed when student teams engage in knowledge creating inquiry processes, how the students themselves perceive the process, and how to facilitate inquiry with technology-mediation, tutoring, and pedagogical models. Overall, 20 student teams collaboration processes and productions were investigated in detail. This collaboration took place in teams or small groups of 3-6 students from multiple domain backgrounds. Two pedagogical models were employed to provide heuristic guidance for the inquiry processes: the progressive inquiry model and the distributed project model. Design-based research methodology was employed in combination with case study as the research design. Database materials from the courses virtual learning environment constituted the main body of data, with additional data from students self-reflections and student and teacher interviews. Study I examined the role of technology mediation and tutoring in directing students knowledge production in a progressive inquiry process. The research investigated how the scale of scaffolding related to the nature of knowledge produced and the deepening of the question explanation process. In Study II, the metaskills of knowledge-creating inquiry were explored as a challenge for higher education: metaskills refers to the individual, collective, and object-centered aspects of monitoring collaborative inquiry. Study III examined the design of two courses and how the elaboration of shared objects unfolded based on the two pedagogical models. Study IV examined how the arranged concept-development project for external customers promoted practices of distributed, partially virtual, project work, and how the students coped with the knowledge creation challenge. Overall, important indicators of knowledge creating inquiry were the following: new versions of knowledge objects and artifacts demonstrated a deepening inquiry process; and the various productions were co-created through iterations of negotiations, drafting, and versioning by the team members. Students faced challenges of establishing a collective commitment, devising practices to co-author and advance their reports, dealing with confusion, and managing culturally diverse teams. The progressive inquiry model, together with tutoring and technology, facilitated asking questions, generating explanations, and refocusing lines of inquiry. The involvement of the customers was observed to provide a strong motivation for the teams. On the evidence, providing team-specific guidance, exposing students to models of scientific argumentation and expert work practices, and furnishing templates for the intended products appear to be fruitful ways to enhance inquiry processes. At the institutional level, educators do well to explore ways of developing collaboration with external customers, public organizations or companies, and between educational units in order to enhance educational practices of knowledge creating inquiry.

Didactical reconstructions for organizing knowledge in physics teacher education

Physics teachers are in a key position to form the attitudes and conceptions of future generations toward science and technology, as well as to educate future generations of scientists. Therefore, good teacher education is one of the key areas of physics departments education program. This dissertation is a contribution to the research-based development of high quality physics teacher education, designed to meet three central challenges of good teaching. The first challenge relates to the organization of physics content knowledge. The second challenge, connected to the first one, is to understand the role of experiments and models in (re)constructing the content knowledge of physics for purposes of teaching. The third challenge is to provide for pre-service physics teachers opportunities and resources for reflecting on or assessing their knowledge and experience about physics and physics education. This dissertation demonstrates how these challenges can be met when the content knowledge of physics, the relevant epistemological aspects of physics and the pedagogical knowledge of teaching and learning physics are combined. The theoretical part of this dissertation is concerned with designing two didactical reconstructions for purposes of physics teacher education: the didactical reconstruction of processes (DRoP) and the didactical reconstruction of structures (DRoS). This part starts with taking into account the required professional competencies of physics teachers, the pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning, and the benefits of the graphical ways of representing knowledge. Then it continues with the conceptual and philosophical analysis of physics, especially with the analysis of experiments and models role in constructing knowledge. This analysis is condensed in the form of the epistemological reconstruction of knowledge justification. Finally, these two parts are combined in the designing and production of the DRoP and DRoS. The DRoP captures the knowledge formation of physical concepts and laws in concise and simplified form while still retaining authenticity from the processes of how concepts have been formed. The DRoS is used for representing the structural knowledge of physics, the connections between physical concepts, quantities and laws, to varying extents. Both DRoP and DRoS are represented in graphical form by means of flow charts consisting of nodes and directed links connecting the nodes. The empirical part discusses two case studies that show how the three challenges are met through the use of DRoP and DRoS and how the outcomes of teaching solutions based on them are evaluated. The research approach is qualitative; it aims at the in-depth evaluation and understanding about the usefulness of the didactical reconstructions. The data, which were collected from the advanced course for prospective physics teachers during 20012006, consisted of DRoP and DRoS flow charts made by students and student interviews. The first case study discusses how student teachers used DRoP flow charts to understand the process of forming knowledge about the law of electromagnetic induction. The second case study discusses how student teachers learned to understand the development of physical quantities as related to the temperature concept by using DRoS flow charts. In both studies, the attention is focused on the use of DRoP and DRoS to organize knowledge and on the role of experiments and models in this organization process. The results show that students understanding about physics knowledge production improved and their knowledge became more organized and coherent. It is shown that the flow charts and the didactical reconstructions behind them had an important role in gaining these positive learning results. On the basis of the results reported here, the designed learning tools have been adopted as a standard part of the teaching solutions used in the physics teacher education courses in the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki.

Globalising knowledge

The technology enablers of Friedman’s Flat World have made enormous differences to knowledge creation and sharing. The disaggregation of supply chains has been followed by the partial disaggregation of knowledge supply chains as some knowledge producers set up innovation centres in various locations around the world. But there is considerable evidence that instead of a flat world distribution of knowledge production there are hubs of innovation and knowledge creation developing in a relatively limited number of locations around the world. This paper discusses this clustering effect and looks at some of the possible explanations. In particular it looks at the human and social aspects of knowledge creation and sharing that resist distance and are starting to be taken into account in the design of technological approaches to knowledge management.

Le processus de production de savoirs dans la pratique infirmière au moyen de la réflexivité

Un nouveau cadre théorique pour concevoir le processus de production du savoir dans la pratique infirmière s’avère nécessaire pour tenir compte du processus sur les plans individuel et collectif et de l’influence du contexte dans cette production. Pour cette démarche, c’est la théorie de la réflexivité de Giddens qui nous a semblé être la plus pertinente pour guider la présente étude qui visait à décrire et à comprendre le processus de production du savoir dans la pratique infirmière au moyen de la réflexivité. Plus concrètement, l’étude s’est intéressée à découvrir les conditions et dynamiques des contextes institutionnel, pratique et professionnel qui peuvent influencer le processus de production du savoir dans la pratique infirmière ainsi qu’identifier les étapes de ce processus. Le constructivisme projectif fut le paradigme qui a guidé l’étude. Le devis de recherche ce fut l’analyse secondaire de données qualitatives. Le contexte de l’étude était une unité de soins intensifs d’un hôpital général et universitaire à Barcelone. La collecte de données avait été réalisée à l’aide de l’observation systématique, de six entrevues structurées, de sept réunions de groupe et d’une analyse documentaire. L’analyse des données a été effectuée selon des critères provenant de l’approche mixte de Miles et Huberman, du processus d’analyse des données qualitatives de Morse ainsi que des recommandations faites par des auteurs clés par rapport à l’analyse secondaire. Les critères de rigueur ont été utilisés et les aspects éthiques ont été assurés. Les résultats de cette étude démontrent que les conditions et dynamiques des contextes institutionnel, pratique et professionnel influencent profondément l’action infirmière et le développement du savoir. Ces conditions et dynamiques sont intériorisées dans la vie professionnelle des infirmières et constituent des façons «normales» d’aborder la pratique. Toutefois, bien qu’il existe une acceptation du statu quo, les sentiments contradictoires et la souffrance ressortent facilement. Ces conditions et dynamiques provoquent chez les infirmières une incapacité à agir de façon juste, éthique et responsable ainsi qu’une limitation face à l’exploration de nouvelles possibilités, formulations et manifestations de pratique. Les résultats mettent également en évidence les étapes du processus de production du savoir au moyen de quatre grands thèmes: la reconnaissance de la réflexivité quotidienne, l’examen systématique des pratiques, la construction d’un nouveau savoir et la reconstruction émancipatrice du savoir. Finalement, cette thèse met en relief l’importance de la théorie de Giddens pour l’étude de la production du savoir et de la relation entre l’infirmière et le contexte ainsi que l’utilisation du devis d’analyse secondaire des données qualitatives pour la discipline infirmière.

Information Dynamics and Knowledge Management in Science & Technology

This paper describes the current information dynamics and its effect in higher education and research in science and technology. Open access movement ,Institutional repositories ,Digital libraries,Knowledge gateways,Blogs,Wikis,and social bookmark tools have rapidly emerged on the web creating a new scenerio that radically changes the knowledge production process such as the creation of information,formats and sources of information,coding and processing ,accessing managing sharing and dissemination of information.The management of knowledge created by academia of Cochin University Of Science And Technology is examined in this challenging context of information dynamics.

Towards (more) integrity in academia: transcending neo-liberal assumption of research and knowledge creation and the “rules” supressing academic freedom

European researchers across heterogeneous disciplines voice concerns and argue for new paths towards a brighter future regarding scientific and knowledge creation and communication. Recently, in biological and natural sciences concerns have been expressed that major threats are intentionally ignored. These threats are challenging Europe’s future sustainability towards creating knowledge that effectively deals with emerging social, environmental, health, and economic problems of a planetary scope. Within social science circles however, the root cause regarding the above challenges, have been linked with macro level forces of neo-liberal ways of valuing and relevant rules in academia and beyond which we take for granted. These concerns raised by heterogeneous scholars in natural and the applied social sciences concern the ethics of today’s research and academic integrity. Applying Bourdieu’s sociology may not allow an optimistic lens if change is possible. Rather than attributing the replication of neo-liberal habitus in intentional agent and institutional choices, Bourdieu’s work raises the importance of thoughtlessly internalised habits in human and social action. Accordingly, most action within a given paradigm (in this case, neo-liberalism) is understood as habituated, i.e. unconsciously reproducing external social fields, even ill-defined ways of valuing. This essay analyses these and how they may help critically analyse the current habitus surrounding research and knowledge production, evaluation, and communication and related aspects of academic freedom. Although it is acknowledged that transformation is not easy, the essay presents arguments and recent theory paths to suggest that change nevertheless may be a realistic hope once certain action logics are encouraged.

Challenges of Knowledge Representation in Contemporary Archival Science

Since its emergence as a discipline, in the nineteenth century (1889), the theory and practice of Archival Science have focused on the arrangement and description of archival materials as complementary and inseparable nuclear processes that aim to classify, to order, to describe and to give access to records. These processes have their specific goals sharing one in common: the representation of archival knowledge. In the late 1980 a paradigm shift was announced in Archival Science, especially after the appearance of the new forms of document production and information technologies. The discipline was then invited to rethink its theoretical and methodological bases founded in the nineteenth century so it could handle the contemporary archival knowledge production, organization and representation. In this sense, the present paper aims to discuss, under a theoretical perspective, the archival representation, more specifically the archival description facing these changes and proposals, in order to illustrate the challenges faced by Contemporary Archival Science in a new context of production, organization and representation of archival knowledge.

On producing and sharing knowledge across boundaries: experiences from the interfaces of an international development research network

The number of large research networks and programmes engaging in knowledge production for development has grown over the past years. One of these programmes devoted to generating knowledge about and for development is National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South, a cross-disciplinary, international development research network funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Producing relevant knowledge for development is a core goal of the programme and an important motivation for many of the participating researchers. Over the years, the researchers have made use of various spaces for exchange and instruments for co-production of knowledge by academic and non-academic development actors. In this article we explore the characteristics of co-producing and sharing knowledge in interfaces between development research, policy and NCCR North–South practice. We draw on empirical material of the NCCR North–South programme and its specific programme element of the Partnership Actions. Our goal is to make use of the concept of the interface to reflect critically about the pursued strategies and instruments applied in producing and sharing knowledge for development across boundaries.

Scientists’ situated knowledge: Strong objectivity in transdisciplinarity

Although transdisciplinary research has started addressing important epistemological challenges, as evidenced by the discussion about ‘mode 2’ knowledge production, its relation with postulations of ‘scientific objectivity’ is not yet well clarified. A common way of dealing with the epistemological challenge of situated knowledge production, as proposed by transdisciplinarity, is to point to the fundamental aspect of reflexivity. But reflexivity also includes being aware that power and control over the object is derived from the social position of researchers, an issue not often explicitly discussed in transdisciplinary research. Reflexivity thus represents an important but insufficient principle for guaranteeing appropriate levels of self-reflection within a process of knowledge coproduction. We therefore hypothesize that transdisciplinary research could greatly benefit from feminist scientific tradition, in particular the insights of standpoint theory and the concept of ‘strong objectivity’. We analyse, and reflect upon, how a recent transdisciplinary research initiative – conducted together with civil society organizations in (CSOs) in six countries: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Ecuador and India – has benefited from the use of ‘strong objectivity’. We analyse how the social position of all stakeholders, including ourselves as the scientific actors in this initiative, influence the process and conditions of transdisciplinary knowledge co-production, and we discuss how power and control by scientists affects the process and conditions of interaction. Thereby we argue for the necessity of explicitly assuming sides in contested contexts for reaching objectivity in transdisciplinary research.

The World of Indicators. The Making of Governmental Knowledge through Quantification

The twenty-first century has seen a further dramatic increase in the use of quantitative knowledge for governing social life after its explosion in the 1980s. Indicators and rankings play an increasing role in the way governmental and non-governmental organizations distribute attention, make decisions, and allocate scarce resources. Quantitative knowledge promises to be more objective and straightforward as well as more transparent and open for public debate than qualitative knowledge, thus producing more democratic decision-making. However, we know little about the social processes through which this knowledge is constituted nor its effects. Understanding how such numeric knowledge is produced and used is increasingly important as proliferating technologies of quantification alter modes of knowing in subtle and often unrecognized ways. This book explores the implications of the global multiplication of indicators as a specific technology of numeric knowledge production used in governance. Combination of insights from anthropology of law, history of science, science and technology studies, sociology of quantification, economics and geography will appeal to those who are uncomfortable with the separation between 'theoretical' and 'empirical' approaches and with the current weakness of critique that address the main trends shaping the relations between capitalism, markets, law and democracy Theoretical discussion of the nature and historical formation of quantification will appeal to those who ask questions such as, 'What is new or different about our contemporary reliance on quantitative knowledge?' Groundbreaking empirical case studies uncover the social work and politics that often go into the making of indicators and explore the far-reaching effects and impacts of these numerical representations in specific settings

Knowledge-based development in leading regions across the globe:an exploratory analysis of the co-evolution of resources, capabilities, and outputs

It is widely observed that the global geography of innovation is rapidly evolving. This paper presents evidence concerning the contemporary evolution of the globe's most productive regions. The paper uncovers the underlying structure and co-evolution of knowledge-based resources, capabilities and outputs across these regions. The analysis identifies two key trends by which the economic evolution and growth patterns of these regions are differentiated-namely, knowledge-based growth and labour market growth. The knowledge-based growth factor represents the underlying commonality found between the growth of economic output, earnings and a range of knowledge-based resources. The labour market growth factor represents the capability of regions to draw on their human capital. Overall, spectacular knowledge-based growth of leading Chinese regions is evident, highlighting a continued shift of knowledge-based resources to Asia. It is concluded that regional growth in knowledge production investment and the capacity to draw on regional human capital reserves are neither necessarily traded-off nor complementary to each other. © 2012 Urban Studies Journal Limited.

Diversity and knowledge in the age of nation-building: Space and time in the thought of Yanagita Kunio

The study examines the thought of Yanagita Kunio (1875–1962), an influential Japanese nationalist thinker and a founder of an academic discipline named minzokugaku. The purpose of the study is to bring into light an unredeemed potential of his intellectual and political project as a critique of the way in which modern politics and knowledge systematically suppresses global diversity. The study reads his texts against the backdrop of the modern understanding of space and time and its political and moral implications and traces the historical evolution of his thought that culminates in the establishment of minzokugaku. My reading of Yanagita’s texts draws on three interpretive hypotheses. First, his thought can be interpreted as a critical engagement with John Stuart Mill’s philosophy of history, as he turns Mill’s defense of diversity against Mill’s justification of enlightened despotism in non-Western societies. Second, to counter Mill’s individualistic notion of progressive agency, he turns to a Marxian notion of anthropological space, in which a laboring class makes history by continuously transforming nature, and rehabilitates the common people (jomin) as progressive agents. Third, in addition to the common people, Yanagita integrates wandering people as a countervailing force to the innate parochialism and conservatism of agrarian civilization. To excavate the unrecorded history of ordinary farmers and wandering people and promote the formation of national consciousness, his minzokugaku adopts travel as an alternative method for knowledge production and political education. In light of this interpretation, the aim of Yanagita’s intellectual and political project can be understood as defense and critique of the Enlightenment tradition. Intellectually, he attempts to navigate between spurious universalism and reactionary particularism by revaluing diversity as a necessary condition for universal knowledge and human progress. Politically, his minzokugaku aims at nation-building/globalization from below by tracing back the history of a migratory process cutting across the existing boundaries. His project is opposed to nation-building from above that aims to integrate the world population into international society at the expense of global diversity.

Ipswich stories : using digital storytelling to research intergenerational sharing of heritage, history, place, identity and community connection : a pilot study

Co-creative media production practices offer important new modes and opportunities for social participation and engagement. In mid-2009 Institute for Creative Industries and Innovation researchers at QUT adapted a specific model of co-creative media production, known as ‘digital storytelling’ and piloted it as an action research platform for facilitating and researching knowledge production based on intergenerational dialogue and exchange. Nine stories were produced and important insights were generated into this particular use of digital storytelling, as well as the impact of institutional constraints and opportunities on the possibilities and outcomes co-creative media practices and processes.

Introduction

The production of knowledge has become central to economic life. Competitiveness in the 21st century market place is now characterized by the ability to translate scientific and technological knowledge into innovation. But does this render cultural and social knowledge unimportant? This unique book advocates a broader epistemological base for the term ‘knowledge’ and develops policy implications from this perspective. By examining long-term challenges, the volume argues that fresh policy thinking is needed not only in the obviously knowledge-intensive portfolios but across all areas of knowledge production and questions how the different dynamics of the knowledge era affect defence, employment, environment, indigenous and international relations, multiculturalism and urban policy.

Challenging cohesion

Cohesion as a term connotes attraction, unity, and commonness amongst discrete entities. Considering cohesion as a concept is timely with the recent rise of network culture, which comes with both subtle and radical changes in how people connect with, position themselves in relation to, and understand other constituents of society (cf. Varnelis; Castells; Jenkins et al.). Such dis- and inter-connections signify an imminent and immanent epistemological challenge we must confront: how can we understand inherently multi-faceted subjects, components of which are in constant transformation? For researchers, disciplinary complexity is one of the main implications of this situation. While disciplinary integration may be an effective or vital component in pursuit of knowledge (cf. Nicolescu) it may also impart significant conceptual and pragmatic conflicts. What are possible ways to coalesce multiple dimensions of reality that can lead to conceptually cohesive and useful knowledge production? This issue of M/C Journal attempts to answer this question by looking at different perspectives on the notion of cohesion across topical and disciplinary boundaries.