Knowledge-Creation Metaphor of Learning

The purpose of present article is to examine a trialogical approach to learning that is the foundation of the Knowledge-Practices Laboratory project (see www.kp-lab.org). We will contrast the trialogical framework with prevailing monological (cognitive) and dialogical (situated cognition) approaches. Five characteristics of a trialogical approach to learning and cognition are distinguished: it 1) concentrates on processes which aim at developing shared objects; 2) takes place across long timescales, 3) involves interaction between individual and collective processes, 4) relies on cross-fertilization of knowledge practices, 5) relies on collaborative technologies designed to elicit object-oriented activities, and 6) develops through transformations and reflections across forms of knowledge. Three cases applying the trialogical approach will be presented in order to examine its empirical and practical dimensions.

The purpose of the present article is to examine the concept of Innovative Knowledge Community (IKC) that appear to help to understand communities typical for advanced knowledge society that the notion of Community of Practice (COP) Even if both communities rely on shared goals, practices and stories, the former di-verge substantially from the latter. Firstly, ICKs function in an environment in which the criteria of successful performance are constantly tightening. Secondly, the main focus of IKCs is the production of knowledge and innovations rather than transmitting tradition. Thirdly, there are not so strict differences concerning knowledge sand competence between newcomers and oldtimers in IKCS than in COPs; heterogeneously distributed expertise and symmetric knowledge advancement rather than one-directional flow of information from experts to novice is typical of IKCs. The present analysis relies on a comparison of three models of IKC, i.e., Nonaka & Takeuchi’s model of knowledge-creating companies, Engeström’s expansive learning models, and Bereiter’s knowledge-building approach. These three approaches constitute a novel approach on learning and expertise that we call 2knowledge-creation metaphor”.

This article analyzes three approaches to resolving the classical Meno paradox, or its variant, the learning paradox, emphasizing Charles S. Peirce’s notion of abduction. Abduction provides a way of dissecting those processes where something new, or conceptually more complex than before, is discovered or learned. In its basic form, abduction is a “weak” form of inference, i.e., it gives only tentative suggestions for further investigation. But it is not too weak if various sources of clues and restrictions on the abductive search are taken into account. We present three, complementary versions of abduction: 1) as a sort of guessing instinct or expert-like
intuition, where unconscious clues are important; 2) as a form of inference, where a strategic point of view is essential; and 3) as a part of distributed cognition and mediated activity, where the interaction with the material, social, and cultural environment is emphasized. Our starting point is Peirce’s own notion of abduction, but we broaden the perspective, especially to the direction of distributed cognition.

In the present article, a specified Pedagogical Infrastructure Framework, including technical, social, epistemological and cognitive components, is introduced as a conceptual
tool for design-based research to examine the design of complex learning settings. The applicability of the framework was assessed by retrospectively exploring an evolving design
effort in four, consecutive, undergraduate courses in cognitive psychology. The development of the course design was driven by the principles of the Progressive Inquiry model, such as
grounding the inquiry process on students’ authentic knowledge problems, sustained engagement in the elaboration of explanations, the promotion of collaborative activity, or the
use of appropriate technological tools to mediate collaborative knowledge creation. The Webbased software system that was utilized in the courses evolved in parallel with the pedagogical development. The results provide insights into the critical aspects of the pedagogical organization of the courses influencing the characteristics of students’ collaborative inquiry. The most important benefit of the framework was that it helped structure an overview of various design features in a concise form that facilitates the examination of the interplay between the critical components. In order to serve as a practical design tool for educators, the components of the framework need to be further specified and concretized.

The purpose of the present paper was to examine three generations of research on technology-mediated learning carried on by the present investigator’s research group. The first generation focused on examining computer-supported collaborative learning from the cognitive perspective. The main focus was to examine to what extent knowledge-seeking inquiry elicited conceptual change. Problems of transferring inquiry learning culture from one country to another pushed us to examine social practices and other participatory aspects of learning that had been invisible to cognitive researchers. The second-generation research focused on analyzing patterns of participation in computer-supported collaborative learning. The emerging third generation research aims at overcoming the dichotomy between the cognitive (knowledge acquisition) perspective and socio-cultural (participation) perspective by means of long-standing and deliberate efforts of knowledge-creation, involving what we call objects of activity. Theoretical and methodological implications of the generations are discussed.

The purpose of the present book is to examine the challenges to human skills and competencies emerging from the knowledge society. Relying on a series of empirical workplace studies, as well as an extensive review of the psychological, sociological and educational literature, the authors develop a framework for examining human competence as a process of networked expertise. Networked expertise is relational in nature; it is con-stituted in interaction between individuals, communities, and larger networks supported by cognitive artifacts, and it coevolves with continuously transforming innovative knowledge communities. Networked expertise is examined from the perspective of three metaphors of learning, i.e. knowledge acquisition, participation, and knowledge creation, which are all relevant in workplaces as well as in educational institutions.