A blended model for knowledge communities: embedding scaffolded inquiry

This study investigates a new approach that connects scaffolded inquiry activities within a knowledge building curriculum in secondary school science. We present a blended model that accounts for the flow of ideas within such a curriculum. Using a co-design methodology, researchers collaborated with veteran secondary science teachers to create engaging curriculum that provided the context for two studies. Study 1 created a four-day biology lesson where 104 grade-ten students developed a knowledge base of ideas about human physiology, then connected those ideas to inquiry activities. Students and teachers succeeded in collaborative knowledge construction, and individual students demonstrated impressive learning gains. Study 2 extended these principles to create an eight-week curriculum unit on biodiversity. This study replicated the co-design process, resulting in a successful curriculum, and further refined our technology environment. The outcomes of this work offer promising evidence for a blended model where knowledge building intersects with scaffolded inquiry.