In this study we investigate how prior knowledge influences knowledge development during collaborative discovery learning. Fifteen dyads of students (pre-university education, 15-16 years old) worked on a discovery learning task in the physics field of kinematics. The (face-to-face) communication between students was recorded and the interaction with the environment was logged. Based on students' individual judgments of the truth-value and ''testability'' of a series of domain-specific propositions, a detailed description of the ''knowledge configuration'' for each dyad was created before they entered the learning environment. Qualitative analyses of two dialogues illustrated that prior knowledge influences the discovery learning processes, and knowledge development in a pair of students. Assessments of student and dyad definitional (domain-specific) knowledge, generic (mathematical and graph) knowledge, and generic (discovery) skills were related to the students' dialogue in different discovery learning processes. Results show that a high level of definitional prior knowledge is positively related to the proportion of communication regarding the interpretation of results. Heterogeneity with respect to generic prior knowledge was positively related to the number of utterances made in the discovery process categories ''hypotheses generation'' and ''experimentation.'' Results of the qualitative analyses indicated that collaboration between extremely heterogeneous dyads is difficult when the high achiever is not willing to scaffold information and work in the low achiever's zone of proximal development. ß 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J

Inquiry learning is an effective learning approach if learners are properly guided. Its effectiveness depends on learners' prior knowledge, the domain, and their relationship. In a previous study we developed an Experiment Design Tool (EDT) guiding learners in designing experiments. The EDT significantly benefited low prior knowledge learners. For the current study the EDT was refined to also serve higher prior knowledge learners. Two versions were created; the "Constrained EDT" required learners to design minimally three experimental trials and apply CVS before they could conduct their experiment, and the "Open EDT" allowed learners to design as many trials as they wanted, and vary more than one variable. Three conditions were compared in terms of learning gains for learners having distinct levels of prior knowledge. Participants designed and conducted experiments within an online learning environment that (1) did not include an EDT, (2) included the Constrained EDT, or (3) included the Open EDT. Results indicated low prior knowledge learners to benefit most from the Constrained EDT (non-significant), low-intermediate prior knowledge learners from the Open EDT (significant), and high-intermediate prior knowledge learners from no EDT (non-significant). We advocate guidance to be configurable to serve learners with varying levels of prior knowledge.

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The process of collaborative inquiry learning requires maintaining a mutual understanding of the task, along with reaching consensus on strategies, plans and domain knowledge. In this study, we explore how different supportive measures affect students' consensus-building process, based on a re-analysis of data from four studies. We distinguish between scaffolds that aim at supporting students' collaborative processes and scaffolds that aim primarily at supporting the inquiry learning process. The overall picture that emerges from the reanalysis is that integration-oriented consensus-building activities are facilitated by scaffolds that provide explicit instruction in rules for effective collaboration and by scaffolds that encourage students to collaboratively construct a representation. Scaffolds that display interindividual differences between students' opinions resulted primarily in quick consensusbuilding activities.jca_302 252..267

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