Teacher-education students’ views about knowledge building theory and practice

This study investigated the effects of engaging students to collectively learn and work with knowledge in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment called Knowledge Forum on their views about knowledge building theory and practice. Participants were 24 teacher-education students who took a required course titled “Integrating Theory and Practice in Teaching.” Data mainly came from (1) student discourse recorded in a Knowledge Forum database, (2) a survey that examined students’ views about knowledge building, and (3) interviews with regard to students’ perceived barriers to implementing knowledge building theory in teaching. Findings suggest that with sustained discourse to construct their collective understanding of the relationships between theory and practice in teaching for a semester, the participants were able to attain more informed and practical views about knowledge building theory. In addition, students’ perceived barriers to implementing knowledge building in teaching were identified and strategies to help overcome these barriers discussed.