Knowledge construction in the learner-centered classroom.

Abstract

In this study, the author describes the nature and occurrence of knowledge-construction links (KCLs) in 3 6th-grade classrooms that varied in degree of learner centeredness. KCLs are operationalized as prior learning that students bring to their current classroom experiences and include school and nonschool experiences. They are hypothesized to facilitate a knowledge-construction process that values prior learning. In the more learner-centered classroom, KCLs occurred in conjunction with open and divergent dialogue, positive reactions to students' use of prior learning, and opportunities within the classroom that allowed students to gain new experiences on which they could draw in further knowledge-construction efforts. In contrast, KCLs were ignored or viewed as inappropriate in the least learner-centered classroom, dialogue about content was convergent, and performance goals were the norm.

Middle Grades Students’ Situation Definitions: Development of a Knowledge-Linking Inventory

“…For example, consider a sixth grade student in a science lesson that introduces the biomes using a textbook map noting biome locations. Given his experiences of watching football on television, he questioned why Green Bay, Wisconsin, was called the "frozen tundra" when Green Bay was not in the tundra biome marked on the map (Schuh, 2003). His question illustrated his relation between two different situations as he tried to make sense of the new content.…”

“…This concept occurs as cue and trajectory-dimension pairs (Schuh, 2003(Schuh, , 2007. Cues are a feature of the new content/event that that are aligned with with the prior learning.…”

“…These trajectory dimensions, or the contexts in which the prior learning occurred, reflected the expanding world of the early adolescent, pointing to events and influences important to her or him. Links included encounters with family, friends, school, society, and media (Schuh, 2003(Schuh, , 2004(Schuh, , 2007. In addition, affect played a role in many of the links these students created (Schuh & Rea, 2001).…”

“…Briefly, a number of cues in the data from the fifth and sixth grade students are elaborated elsewhere (Schuh, 2003(Schuh, , 2004(Schuh, , 2007Schuh & Rea, 2001). Sensory cues include those that seemed to draw on surface characteristics (e.g., that the new information looked like or sounded like something with which the learner was familiar).…”

“…A series of previous qualitative studies (Schuh, 2003(Schuh, , 2004(Schuh, , 2007Schuh & Rea, 2001) described the nature of the student knowledge links that fifth and sixth grade learners created in their classrooms, those links between what they were learning and aspects of their personal experiences. As students shared these links via questions or comments, some were viewed by the teachers as off-task, tangential, or inappropriate, given the topic being studied.…”