Knowledge Construction and Information Seeking in Collaborative Learning

Abstract

This study aims to better understand the complex dynamics of knowledge construction and information seeking in a collaborative learning setting. A total of 34 graduate students who participated in a collaborative research project were asked to complete process surveys in the initiation, midpoint, and completion phases of the project. The process survey for this study comprised closed questions that sought to measure students' perceptions of knowledge and difficulty as well as open-ended questions that asked students what they knew about the topic and what they considered difficult at each phase of the project. The results revealed growth in individual students' knowledge as they proceeded through the project. When the results of this study are compared to findings from studies focusing on individual information seeking, students who participated in the collaborative research project began the project with confidence as they developed a shared understanding of the topic in the early phase of the project. However, students became more stressed as the project progressed as they carried out their information-seeking activities in individual ways.