Strengthening the Conceptual Foundations of Knowledge Building Theory and Pedagogy Katerine Bielaczyck (Chair), National Institute of Education (Singapore), kateb@gmail.com Kai Hakkarainen, Department of Education, Assistentinkatu 5, 20014 University of Turku, kai.hakkarainen@utu.fi Guiseppe Ritella, Centre for Research on Activity, Development, and Learning (CRADLE), Institute for Behavioural Sciences, P.O. Box 9, SF-00014 University of Helsinki, guiseppe.ritella@helsinki.fi Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, Centre for Research on Activity, Development, and Learning (CRADLE), Department of Teacher Education, P.O. Box 9, SF-00014 University of Helsinki, pirita.seitamaa- hakkarainen@helsinki.fi Gerry Stahl, Drexel University, gerry.stahl@gmail.com Marlene Scardamalia, Carl Bereiter, Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology, University of Toronto, marlene.scardamalia@utoronto.ca , carl.bereiter@utoronto.ca Abstract: The term “knowledge building,” introduced in the late 1980s, has gradually acquired a distinctive meaning within the family of constructivist approaches in education. It refers to the creation of knowledge as a public good. It represents a positive answer to questions raised in a 1994 paper: “Can a school class, as a collective, have the goal of understanding gravity or electricity? Can it sustain progress toward this goal even though individual members of the class may flag in their efforts or go off on tangents? Can one speak of the class--again, considered as a community, not as a mere collection of individuals--achieving an understanding that is not merely a tabulation of what the individual students understand?” New concepts such as Hakkarainen’s “epistemic mediation,” Stahl’s “group cognition,” Scardamalia and Bereiter’s “improvable ideas” and their distinction between “belief mode” and “design mode” offer insight into how community advances in understanding are achievable. Focus of the Symposium A paper titled “Computer Support for Knowledge-Building Communities” (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994) is frequently cited as the definitive representation of knowledge building theory, pedagogy, and technology. However, all of these elements have undergone considerable subsequent development, not only by the original authors and their collaborators but also by others who, while recognizing the early work as a starting point, have proceeded either to infuse new ideas into the original conception or to embed the basic ideas of knowledge building in different theoretical frameworks. The key concept that continues to distinguish knowledge building from other constructivist approaches in education is that of creating knowledge as a public good, as distinct from its construction as mental content or as situated practice. Outside of education, the concept of knowledge creation has taken shape referring to the same process (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). In fact, “knowledge building” and “knowledge creation” may be treated as equivalent terms (Paavola & Hakkarainen, 2005). In an educational context, however, it becomes important to establish in what sense students may be thought to create new knowledge (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 2010). More generally, the question “How is it possible?” looms much larger in education than it does in business and research contexts where knowledge creation is pursued. This symposium brings together thinkers who have been working at basic theoretical levels to establish sound and fruitful conceptions of knowledge building/knowledge creation. Among the ideas featured in this symposium are “epistemic mediation,” “group cognition,” “improvable ideas,” and a distinction between “belief mode” and “design mode.” Because of the diversity of ideas represented, this symposium is designed as a highly interactive one between the contributors and the audience, with the chair person moderating the discussion.