Characterizing metacognitive and progressive dialogue in knowledge-building classroom

Abstract

This study investigates how secondary school students engaged in metacognitive and progressive classroom dialogue in a computer-supported knowledge building environment. Thirty-one Grade 9 students studying in Art and Design participated in the study using Knowledge Forum® (KF), a multi-media collaborative inquiry workspace. A key design involved the integration of online KF discourse and classroom discourse in the form of meta-reflection talk - knowledge building principles were embedded in classroom dialogue to support idea development and rise-above dialogue. Knowledge Building Discourse Explorer (KBDeX), a social network analysis tool, was used to track students’ changing collective responsibility over time. Classroom dialogue analyses identified dialogic moves into three areas including articulation and elaboration, building-on and connection, and collective reflection and idea development. Analyses illuminated how students engaged in collective meta-reflection and progressive dialogue. Implications of enriching classroom dialogue using knowledge-building perspectives involving meta-reflection and progressive dialogue are discussed.