Learning Through Collaborative Creation of Knowledge Objects in Teacher Education

Abstract

This contribution presents an empirical study of object-oriented collaboration. The participants are groups of teacher students, who work on knowledge objects (e.g., didactic materials, study materials and guidelines for teachers) intended to address problems identified at schools where they pursue their internships. The knowledge creation approach to learning, which places collaborative creation of knowledge objects at its core, served as a guide for the pedagogical design, which includes specifications of the collaborative activities and tools utilized. We collected different types of data. Analyses followed three lines of investigation: analysis of group interactions, of concepts and ideas uptake, and of object co-construction and development. Findings show various degrees of idea sharing and of co-elaboration of object iterations. These findings assist us in formulating recommendations for future research and pedagogical design, especially with regard to pedagogical settings, and technological support for object co-construction and co-elaboration.