Knowledge Building

 

Moving Students to a Knowledge-Building Stance

Team

Don, undergraduate students from the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus.

Problem

When entering graduate school, students find it hard to switch from the undergraduate style of thinking where they rely more on guidance from their supervisors or instructors, to the thinking style of more mature researchers where they take more initiative and work more independently.  Failure to switch to a more mature way of thought can result in failure in the program.

Goal

To work with four undergraduate students to help them switch from undergraduate thinking styles to the knowledge-building style of a researcher.

Progress

A process of qualitative analysis was used where text from online note postings was searched for key words and examined for evidence of independent work.  A network map of their postings was made and provided evidence confirming that the students were able to take initiative and work independently.