A framework to analyze argumentative knowledge construction in computer-supported collaborative learning

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is often based on written argumentative discourse of learners, who discuss their perspectives on a problem with the goal to acquire knowledge. Lately, CSCL research focuses on the facilitation of specific processes of argumentative knowledge construction, e.g., with computer-supported collaboration scripts. In order to refine process-oriented instructional support, such as scripts, we need to measure the influence of scripts on specific processes of argumentative knowledge construction. In this article, we propose a multi-dimensional approach to analyze argumentative knowledge construction in CSCL from sampling and segmentation of the discourse corpora to the analysis of four process dimensions (participation, epistemic, argumentative, social mode)

The social cognition of medical knowledge, with special reference to childhood epilepsy

This paper arose out of an engagement in medical communication courses at a Gulf university. It deploys a theoretical framework derived from a (critical) sociocognitive approach to discourse analysis in order to investigate three aspects of medical discourse relating to childhood epilepsy: the cognitive processes that are entailed in relating different types of medical knowledge to their communicative context; the types of medical knowledge that are constituted in the three different text types analysed; and the relationship between these different types of medical knowledge and the discursive features of each text type. The paper argues that there is a cognitive dimension to the human experience of understanding and talking about one specialized from of medical knowledge. It recommends that texts be studied in medical communication courses not just in terms of their discrete formal features but also critically, in terms of the knowledge which they produce, transmit and reproduce

Fostering collaborative knowledge construction with visualization tools

This study investigates to what extent collaborative knowledge construction can be fostered by providing students with visualization tools as structural support. Thirty-two students of Educational Psychology took part in the study. The students were subdivided into dyads and asked to solve a case problem of their learning domain under one of two conditions: 1) with content-specific visualization 2) with content-unspecific visualization. Results show that by being provided with a content-specific visualization tool, both the process and the outcome of the cooperative effort improved. More specifically, dyads under that condition referred to more adequate concepts, risked more conflicts, and were more successful in integrating prior knowledge into the collaborative solution. Moreover, those learning partners had a more similar individual learning outcome

"Implicature-Laden" Elicitations in Talk Radio Shows

Indirect elicitations in talk radio programmes on BBC Radio are not uncommon, notwithstanding, misunderstanding between the host and his conversational partner is not frequent. Investigating some of the reasons this paper focuses on how the socio-cultural and cognitive factors of the context interweave in discourse. The author suggests that valid interpretation and appropriate response to inferred elicitations can be best explained within the framework of Relevance Theory, and more specifically, with the presumption of accessibility of schemas obtained from the cognitive environment of the discourse partners. Through examples of empirical research the paper aims to reveal how the mutual knowledge of the participants controls discourse via the mental processes occurring in the interaction of two minds

Discourse through making: eliciting knowledge to support craft skills learning

In this paper I describe the development of techniques for eliciting craft knowledge for use in an interactive learning resource, illustrated with examples from two practical research projects. In each I explored the skills of both expert and novice craft practitioners, firstly in the field of traditional bowl turning and secondly in the field of traditional clog making. The result of this work was to highlight the personal, context-specific and highly tacit nature of such craft knowledge which is explained through a review of the writings of Michael Polanyi and Donald Schön. I conclude by redefining the concept of knowledge elicitation and transmission in this context. I describe the role of the designer-researcher as helping the expert to articulate their tacit knowledge through stimulating reciprocal reflection between the expert and a novice, and designing interpretation to help bridge the knowledge gap between the two.</p

A real interlocutor in elicitation techniques: does it matter?

This study investigates whether adding a real interlocutor to elicitation techniques would result in requests that are different from those gathered through versions with a hypothetical interlocutor. For this purpose, a written method is chosen. One group of 40 students receive a written discourse completion task (DCT) with two situations that ask respondents to write emails on paper to an imaginary professor. This data is compared to earlier data collected from 27 students, where a group of students composed emails for the same situations and sent them electronically to their professor. Thus, while one group write emails to a hypothetical professor, the other group is provided with a real interlocutor. The data is analyzed for the inclusion of opening and closing moves, density, the level of directness and the choices of moves in the opening and closing sequences, as well as the choices of supportive moves. Results indicate significant differences in (the) level of directness, and the choices of moves in the opening and closing sequences. The other analyses do not show significant differences. The findings reveal that the addition of a real interlocutor does make a difference, albeit not a drastic one. The results have implications for the design of elicitation techniques that aim to simulate real life

Questions Used in Primary Efl Classroom Discourse

This thesis is the study of types and functions of questions based on features of classroom discourse. In this study, the writer observed the types of questions that the English teacher used in General English classroom, and the functions of the questions based on features of classroom discourse. The data were collected through classroom observation and audio-recording of one class of the sixth grade. The theories applied are the teachers' questions by Ellis (2008) and types of questions and features of classroom discourse by Walsh (2011). The qualitative approach was used in this study. The finding revealed that the teacher used two types of questions which were display questions and referential questions in the two meetings. Each meeting took 40 until 50 minutes. In addition, the teacher used three functions of questions based on features of classroom discourse, which are control of procedure, checking understanding, and eliciting a response. The finding also revealed that display questions have the function of checking understanding while referential questions have the functions of control of procedure, checking understanding and eliciting a response. In conclusion, questions can be considered as a tool for the teacher to check the students' understanding and to elicit the students' responses during teaching and learning proces

Knowledge convergence in collaborative learning

In collaborative learning the question has been raised as to how learners in small groups influence one another and converge or diverge with respect to knowledge. Knowledge convergence can be conceptualised as knowledge equivalence and as shared knowledge prior to, during, and subsequent to collaborative learning. Knowledge equivalence refers to learners becoming more similar to their learning partners with regard to the extent of their individual knowledge. Shared knowledge means that learners have knowledge on the very same concepts as their learning partners. In this article, we provide measures for assessing both, knowledge equivalence and shared knowledge

Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: NL

Proceedings ICPW'07: 2nd International Conference on the Pragmatic Web, 22-23 Oct. 2007, Tilburg: N