Knowledge building teacher network (KBTN) in Hong Kong: Sustaining and scaling up knowledge building through principlebased innovation

Abstract

This CSCL event is designed to introduce knowledge building model and practice (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006), to showcase teacher innovation situated in a knowledge building teacher network (KBTN), to explore principle-based innovation for teacher development, and to provide an opportunity for community dialogue about issues of CSCL research and sustained innovation in classrooms. With an increasing number of teachers implementing knowledge building, it may be fruitful to explore the experience of KBTN, with many new teachers coming together to work on knowledge building. How do Hong Kong teachers understand, adapt and implement the innovation in relation to the socio-cultural context with much emphasis on examination? How might teachers and researchers tackle tensions between scaling up versus lethal mutation, a common problem when teachers merely follow surface activities? This CSCL practitioner event examines successes and barriers, and explores principle-based innovation for tackling the challenges of classroom innovation from both practitioner and researcher perspectives.