knowledge creators and engagement

I am interested in how knowledge building communities can enhance engagement (social and cognitive). But the question is how do you measure engagement? A recent literature review has prompted more questions that answers.

What does engagement look like?
Is it the number of times that students contribute to the discussion? The depth of the contribution? The amount of times an idea is revisited and revised? Or is it something altogether more holistic, such as a reflective thinking portfolio? (Lee, Chan and Aalst, 2006)

Knowledge building teachers, if we think knowledge building enhances engagement in classes, how can identify it.
I would love to hear your ideas and experiences.

Community and belonging

Having finally completed a literature review into how knowledge building communities might enhance engagement and self-efficacy, I have been wrestling with some emerging questions about the community aspect of knowledge building communities. Establishing a culture of collaboration is fundamental. The problem is, how can trust and connections between community members be developed?

How can an authentic community be developed in the online environment?

I would love to hear from teachers who have been tinkering with knowledge building communities. What makes a difference in establishing a culture of knowledge sharing?

Also in general, NZ teachers what does whanaungatanga look like in your class?

Inquiry research

I am wrestling with how to form a really good question for a literature review (part of my Mindlab study this year)

I am planning to focus on my online art history class. We collaborate using Knowledge Forum a lot (Kwok-Wing Lai, 2014), to explore big questions and construct an understanding of art history concepts as a class. 

I am a bit hesitant to box myself in with the term 'knowledge building' in my research question. I guess I want to be able to compare other collaborative models with knowledge building, which will require a more open question.

I am interested in how collaborating in an online setting can affect engagement (lots of barriers in online teaching) and epistemic agency 

I've formed a few possible questions, that you are welcome to critique:

1. How can use of 21st-century technologies and constructivist models enhance student engagement and epistemic agency in the online environment?

2. How can collaborative tools increase epistemic agency in the online environment?

3. How can knowledge building communities enhance student engagement and self-efficacy in the online environment?

Feedback, please! I'm trying to write a really rich question that's neither too broad or too narrow.

Engagement in my classroom

Just a few reflections on engagement and what it looks like in the classroom.

Defining Engagement - Collaborative task WHS

Defining Engagement

Engagement is a complex and broad concept. There are visible elements (what we can see within the four walls of our classroom), and invisible elements(the emotional and the cognitive).  What influences engagement within a classroom though? How do you shift what is valued, or how a subject is percieved?