This design-based research study investigates the development of progressive discourse among participants (n=15, n=17, n=20) in three online graduate course contexts. Progressive discourse is a kind of discourse for inquiry in which participants share, question, and revise their ideas to deepen understanding and build knowledge. Although progressive discourse is central to knowledge building pedagogy, it is not known whether it is possible to detect its emergence in the patterns of participation in asynchronous conferencing environments or what kinds of instructional scaffolding are most effective to support its development. This study offers a unique perspective by characterizing episodes of discourse where participants honor the commitments for progressive discourse and by refining designs of peer and software-based scaffolding for progressive discourse. Results showed that measures such as note count, replies, and thread sizes can determine some qualities of online discourse but do not shed light on the development of progressive discourse. Thus an in-depth analysis of discourse for groups was developed to trace the interdependent individual contributions to the group discourse. Peer scaffolding that made norms for progressive discourse explicit was introduced to encourage participants to engage in sustained student-centered discourse for inquiry. Findings show that this intervention was most effective at the beginning of a course for newer online learners and newer graduate students, and least effective for students who were practicing K-12 teachers. A significant barrier to fostering progressive discourse is the tendency for teachers to reject these norms and revert to belief-mode thinking and devotional discourse typical of traditional schooling. Additionally, findings suggest that software-based scaffolding (as found in Knowledge Forum’s scaffold support feature) is a promising avenue for future design innovations to encourage progressive discourse. Although the results of this study are only suggestive, the findings do illustrate ways in which graduate students can uphold the commitments to move beyond expressions of socio- affective connection and opinion to discuss ideas in ways that lead to more useful explanations. The implications for these results for analyzing the quality of online discourse and the designs of instructional scaffolding in online learning environments are discussed.

This design-based research study investigates the development of progressive discourse among participants (n=15, n=17, n=20) in three online graduate course contexts. Progressive discourse is a kind of discourse for inquiry in which participants share, question, and revise their ideas to deepen understanding and build knowledge. Although progressive discourse is central to knowledge building pedagogy, it is not known whether it is possible to detect its emergence in the patterns of participation in asynchronous conferencing environments or what kinds of instructional scaffolding are most effective to support its development. This study offers a unique perspective by characterizing episodes of discourse where participants honor the commitments for progressive discourse and by refining designs of peer and software-based scaffolding for progressive discourse. Results showed that measures such as note count, replies, and thread sizes can determine some qualities of online discourse but do not shed light on the development of progressive discourse. Thus an in-depth analysis of discourse for groups was developed to trace the interdependent individual contributions to the group discourse. Peer scaffolding that made norms for progressive discourse explicit was introduced to encourage participants to engage in sustained student-centered discourse for inquiry. Findings show that this intervention was most effective at the beginning of a course for newer online learners and newer graduate students, and least effective for students who were practicing K-12 teachers. A significant barrier to fostering progressive discourse is the tendency for teachers to reject these norms and revert to belief-mode thinking and devotional discourse typical of traditional schooling. Additionally, findings suggest that software-based scaffolding (as found in Knowledge Forum’s scaffold support feature) is a promising avenue for future design innovations to encourage progressive discourse. Although the results of this study are only suggestive, the findings do illustrate ways in which graduate students can uphold the commitments to move beyond expressions of socio- affective connection and opinion to discuss ideas in ways that lead to more useful explanations. The implications for these results for analyzing the quality of online discourse and the designs of instructional scaffolding in online learning environments are discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:36:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 MarinaPR.pdf: 319152 bytes, checksum: d966ebd92611cecb9603ae010fba2510 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-09-26 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / The juvenile period represents the developmental phase between weaning and sexual maturity. Weaning occurs when the youngster does not receive direct care from the caretakers anymore. Individuals in the species Callithrix jacchus live in groups composed by the reproductive pair and successive twin sets. Cooperative care is the rule. Infants are weaned early, and from then on, food is provided by the adults in the group. These animals present high levels of social interactions, through play, grooming and social contact. During infant age, the twin becomes the main partner. There are few studies about the juvenile period, especially on Callithrix gender. The objective of this study was describing the pattern of activities and social interactions of four sets (one single and three twin sets) during juvenile phase in two Callithrix jacchus groups. We used instantaneous and continuous focal sampling for juveniles and scan sampling for adults behavioral recordings. Juveniles presented the same behavioral pattern as the adults relating the activity budget, in particular, foraging along the months. The composition of the diet was the same as that of the adults. Food transfer ended along the juvenile period. Social play as much as grooming were important socializing activities for the juveniles. The young individuals in the group were the main partners in social play, specially the twin. Adults were the main partners in grooming interactions. Scent marking differed between twins in the male/female sets, the female presenting the highest levels of marking. The juveniles were independent from adults in foraging activity. Social interaction varied according to group composition, but in general, interacted more with the twin and with the youngsters (infants and subadults), except in grooming. Even presenting many similarities, juveniles showed some differences between genders, which indicates the differentiation in behavior towards reproductive strategies early in the juvenile period / O per?odo juvenil representa a etapa de desenvolvimento entre o desmame e a maturidade sexual. O desmame ? caracterizado como o momento em que o animal jovem p?ra de receber cuidados diretos dos cuidadores. Na esp?cie Callithrix jacchus, os indiv?duos vivem em grupos familiares formados pelo par reprodutor e por sucessivas proles, que s?o, via de regra, gemelares. Os infantes deixam de ser amamentados precocemente nessa esp?cie. Em virtude disso, passam a ser provisionados pelos animais mais velhos, ou seja, mesmo n?o sendo amamentados, ainda recebem cuidados diretos. Apresentam intensa intera??o social, atrav?s de brincadeira, cata??o e contato social. Durante a inf?ncia o g?meo se torna o principal parceiro de intera??o. H? poucos estudos sobre o per?odo juvenil, em especial no g?nero Callithrix. O objetivo deste trabalho foi descrever o padr?o de atividades e a intera??o social de quatro proles na fase juvenil em dois grupos. Foi utilizado o focal instant?neo e cont?nuo para os juvenis e a varredura para os animais adultos. Os juvenis apresentaram o mesmo padr?o dos animais adultos com rela??o ao or?amento de atividade e, em particular, ao forrageio ao longo dos meses. A composi??o da dieta foi dos mesmos itens dos adultos. A transfer?ncia de alimento cessou no decorrer do per?odo. Tanto a brincadeira social quanto a cata??o foram importantes atividades de socializa??o dos animais juvenis. Os animais jovens foram os parceiros predominantes na brincadeira, com destaque para o g?meo. Na cata??o prevaleceram os machos adultos. A marca??o de cheiro diferiu nas proles mistas, com maior freq??ncia nas f?meas. Os animais juvenis se mostraram independentes no forrageio. A intera??o social variou de acordo com a composi??o do grupo, por?m, de forma geral, interagiram mais com o g?meo e com demais indiv?duos jovens (infantes e subadultos) na brincadeira social e com machos adultos na cata??o. Apesar de apresentarem muitas semelhan?as, os juvenis j? mostram algumas diferen?as entre os sexos, em especial na freq??ncia da marca??o de cheiro, o que indica a diferencia??o com rela??o ?s estrat?gias reprodutivas entre os sexos j? no per?odo juvenil

No description available.