Epistemic understanding of discourse and collective responsibility in a knowledge building community

Abstract

This study examined students’ discourse and collective responsibility in a computer-supported knowledge building environment supported by Knowledge Forum® (KF), and specifically focused on investigating how students’ KF participation and knowledge-building involvement relate to their understanding of inquiry and discourse. Participants were one class of a secondary school students. Knowledge Building Discourse Explorer (KBDeX), an assessment tool in exploring the network structures of students’ discourse, was used to examine students’ collective responsibility and identify the pivotal points in their KF discussion. Findings indicated that students who took the collective responsibility and played as an essential role in the pivotal conversation turn had a deeper understanding of discourse than students who did not involve in the community discussion. Implications of using KBDeX and investigating of students’ understanding of discourse were discussed.