Oracy, Literacy, Conceptual Maps and ICT as Mediators of the Social Construction of Knowledge among Peers

Abstract

In this paper we provide an account of how primary school children collaborated over time to develop a team project, which involved the joint construction of knowledge. In particular, children worked on a writing project using diverse cultural artefacts, including oracy, literacy, conceptual maps and ICT. The project involved researching, writing, illustrating and eventually delivering a multimodal conference on a topic of their interest. We first review some central socio-cultural concepts, which serve as a theoretical framework for the research reported. Then we focus on the macro level, describing the context in which the children interacted to create their projects. This context refers to a ?Ǩ?earning community?Ǩdeveloped as part of an innovative educational programme called ?Ǩ?earning Together?Ǩ We then present, at a micro level, in-depth analyses of the quality of the interactions taking place as peers worked together on their projects and how these collaborative processes and uses of the diverse mediational artefacts, and particularly conceptual maps, were gradually appropriated by two teams of 6th grade children (11-12 year-old). Overall, the work reveals the dynamic functioning in educational settings of some central socio-cultural concepts.