Email this article Peer Knowledge Sharing Outside the Undergraduate STEM Classroom
Abstract
Student interest is associated with persistence in STEM courses of study (Maltese, Melki, & Wiebke, 2014). If peers decide, of their own accord, to discuss knowledge among each other outside of the classroom context, the behavior is indicative of deepening interest in the information being shared (Renninger & Hidi, 2002). Understanding outside classroom knowledge sharing behaviors among peers involved in a STEM course may help educators construct learning contexts that promote interest and persistence in STEM subjects. To that end, this study examined two important research questions: (1) what are the key factors that influence peer to peer knowledge sharing outside the classroom? and (2) what are the methods the student use to share content knowledge? In order to explore these questions, a qualitative study was designed to explore knowledge sharing between peers outside the classroom. A semi-structured interview protocol with eight students from a Mid-Atlantic community college was conducted to explore students’ perceptions of knowledge sharing between peers. Data were coded and analyzed by a group of researchers and themes were identified and theoretical and practical implications of the study were recorded. Several key facilitators of knowledge sharing were identified: self-efficacy, interpersonal relationships, interpersonal similarity and media richness. Implications for teachers are presented. Limitations and future research are included in the end of the study.
Keywords: knowledge sharing, peer to peer, peer learning, knowledge transfer, content knowledge, college science teaching, community college
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ajzen, I. (2002). Perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, locus of control, and the theory of planned behavior. Journal of applied social psychology, 32(4), 665-683.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2002.tb00236.x
Bandura, A. (1986). The explanatory and predictive scope of self-efficacy theory. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4(3), 359-373. DOI: 10.1521/jscp.1986.4.3.359
Bechky, B.A. (2003). Sharing meaning across occupational communities: The transformation of understanding on a production floor. Organization Science, 14(3), 312-330.
DOI: 10.1287/orsc.14.3.312.15162
Bickerstaff, S., Barragan, M., & Rucks-Ahidiana, Z. (2012). “I came in unsure of everything”: Community college students’ shifts in confidence (CCRC Working Paper No. 48). New York, NY: Columbia University, Teachers College, Community College Research Center.
Blumenfeld, P.C., Marx, R.W., Soloway, E., & Krajcik, J.S. (1996). Learning with peers: From small group cooperation to collaborative communities. Educational Research, 25(8), 37-40. DOI: 10.3102/0013189X025008037
Bock, G.W., & Kim, Y.G. (2002). Breaking the myths of rewards: An exploratory study of attitudes about knowledge sharing. Information Resources Management Journal, 15(2), 14-21.
Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (Eds.). (2001). Peer learning in higher education: Learning from & with each other. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, Inc.
Boyle, J.T., & Nicol, D.J. (2003). Using classroom communication systems to support interaction and discussion in large class settings. Research in Learning Technology, 11(3), 43-57.
Cabrera, A., Collins, W.C., & Salgado, J.F. (2006). Determinants of individual engagement in knowledge sharing. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(2), 245−264. DOI: 10.1080/09585190500404614
Choi, S.Y., Lee, H., & Yoo, Y. (2010). The impact of information technology and transactive memory systems on knowledge sharing, application, and team performance: A field study. MIS Quarterly, 34(4), 855-870.
Colbeck, C.L., Campbell, S.E. & Bjorklund, S.A. (2000). Grouping in the dark: What college students learn from group projects. Journal of Higher Education. 71, 61.
DOI: 10.1080/00221546.2000.11780816
College Board. (2016). Trends in Student Aid: 2016. Downloaded from:
https://trends.collegeboard.org/sites/default/files/2016-trends-student-aid_0.pdf
Community College Enrollment and Completion. (2017, May 4). Retrieved September 04, 2017, from:
https://www.ccidinc.org/single-post/2017/05/04/Community-College-Enrollment-and-Completion
Coolahan, K., Fantuzzo, J. Mendez, J., & McDermott, P. (2000). Preschool peer interactions and readiness to learn: Relationships between classroom peer play and learning behaviors and conduct. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(3), 458.
DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.92.3.458
Coppola, B.P., & Krajcik, J.S. (2013). Discipline‐centered post‐secondary science education research: Understanding university level science learning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(6), 627-638.
DOI:10.1002/tea.21099
Creswell, J.W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Daft, R.L., & Lengel, R.H. (1986). Organizational information requirements, media richness and structural design. Management science, 32(5), 554-571.
DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.32.5.554
Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 8(1). Retrieved October 7, 2008 from
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n1
Darling-Hammond, L. (2002). The research and rhetoric on teacher certification: A response to
“Teacher certification reconsidered.” Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 10(36).
Retrieved October 7, 2008 from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n36
Dennis, A.R., & Valacich, J.S. (1999). Rethinking media richness: Towards a theory of media synchronicity. System Sciences, 1999. HICSS-32. Proceedings of the 32nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press.
DOI: 10.1109/HICSS.1999.772701
Eisenhardt, K.M., & Graebner, M.E. (2007). Theory building from cases: Opportunities and challenges. Academy of Management Journal, 50(1), 25-32.
DOI: 10.5465/AMJ.2007.24160888
Fike, D.S., & Fike, R. (2008). Predictors of first-year student retention in the community college. Community College Review, 36(2), 68-88. DOI: 10.1177/0091552108320222
Ford, M.J., & Wargo, B.M. (2012). Dialogic framing of scientific content for conceptual and epistemic understanding. Science Education, 96(3), 369-391. DOI:10.1002/sce.20482
Glaser, B.G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago, IL: Aldine.
Hambrick, D.C., Cho, T.S., & Chen, M. (1996). The influence of top management team heterogeneity on firms' competitive moves. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41, 659-684. DOI: 10.2307/2393871
Hansen, M.T. (1999). The search-transfer problem: The role of weak ties in sharing knowledge across organization subunits. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(1), 82-111. DOI: 10.2307/2667032
Hidi, S., & Renninger, K.A. (2006). The four-phase model of interest development. Educational psychologist, 41(2), 111-127. DOI: 10.1207/s15326985ep4102_4
Horwitz, S., & Horwitz, I. (2007). The effects of team diversity on team outcomes: A meta analytic review of team demography. Journal of Management, 6, 987–1015.
DOI: 10.1177/0149206307308587
Huff, K.L., & Bybee, R.W. (2013). The practice of critical discourse in science classrooms. Science Scope, 36(9), 29.
Hyde, M.S., & Gess-Newsome, J. (2000). Factors that increase persistence of female undergraduate science students. In Bart, J. (Ed). Women succeeding in the sciences: Theories and practices across disciplines (pp. 115-137). USA: Purdue University Press.
Ibarra, H. (1992). Homophily and differential returns: Sex differences in network structure and access in an advertising firm. Administrative Science Quarterly, 422-447. DOI: 10.2307/2393451
Jackson, S.E., Joshi, A., & Erhardt, N.L. (2003). Recent research on team and organizational diversity: SWOT analysis and implications. Journal of Management, 29(6), 801-830. DOI: 10.1016/S0149-2063_03_00080-1
Jehn, K.A., & Shah, P.P. (1997). Interpersonal relationships and task performance: An examination of mediation processes in friendship and acquaintance groups. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(4), 775. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.72.4.775
Kahu, E., Nelson, K., & Picton, C. (2017). Student interest as a key driver of engagement for first year students. Student Success, 8(2). DOI: 10.5204/ssj.v8i2.379
Kankanhalli, A., Tan, B., & Wei, K. (2005). Contributing knowledge to electronic knowledge repositories: An empirical investigation. Mis Quarterly, 29, 113-143.
Kaplan, A.M., & Haenlein, M. (2011). The early bird catches the news: Nine things you should know about micro-blogging. Business Horizons, 54(2), 105-113.
Karabenick, S.A. (1998). Strategic help seeking: Implications for learning and teaching. Mahwah, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Kearney, E., Gebert, D., & Voelpel, S.C. (2009). When and how diversity benefits teams: The importance of team members' need for cognition. Academy of Management Journal, 52(3), 581-598.
DOI: 10.5465/AMJ.2009.41331431
Levin, H.M., & Calcagno, J. (2008). Remediation in the Community College. Community College Review, 35(3), 181-207. DOI: 10.1177/0091552107310118
Liu, D., & Grotzer, T. (2009). Looking forward: Teaching the nature of science today and tomorrow. In I. M. Saleh, & M. S. Khine (Eds.), Fostering scientific habits of mind: Pedagogical knowledge and best practices in science education (pp. 9-36). Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Lovelace, K., Shapior, D.L., & Weingart, L.R. (2001). Maximizing cross-functional new product teams' innovativeness and constraint adherence: A conflict communications perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 44(4), 779-793. DOI: 10.2307/3069415
Maltese, A. V., Melki, C. S., & Wiebke, H. L. (2014). The Nature of Experiences Responsible for the Generation and Maintenance of Interest in STEM. Science Education, 98(6), 937-962. DOi:10.1002/sce.21132
McFarland, J., Hussar, B., de Brey, C., Snyder, T., Wang, X., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., Gebrekristos, S., Zhang, J., Rathbun, A., Barmer, A., Bullock Mann, F., & Hinz, S. (2017). The Condition of Education 2017 (NCES 2017- 144). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from:
https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2017144.
Merriam, S.B., & Associates (2002). Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis. San Francisco, CA: Jose-Bass.
National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council (NAE & NRC). (2012) Community Colleges in the Evolving STEM Education Landscape: Summary of a Summit. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. DOI: 10.17226/13399.
National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council (NAE & NRC). (2014). STEM Integration in K-12 Education: Status, Prospects, and an Agenda For Research. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/18612
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2017). IPEDS Fall 2015 Enrollment Survey [AACC analysis]. As downloaded from:
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017024.pdf
National Research Council (NRC). (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
National Science Board. (2016). Science and Engineering Indicators Digest 2016. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation (NSB-2016-2).
Nemanich, L., Banks, M., & Vera, D. (2009). Enhancing knowledge transfer in classroom versus online settings: The interplay among instructor, student, content, and context. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 7(1), 123–148. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-4609.2008.00208.x
O’Conner, C. & Michaels, S. (2007). When is dialogue ‘dialogic’? Human Development, 50, 275-285. DOI:10.1159/000106415
Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace: Effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Pajares, F. (1996). Self-efficacy beliefs in academic settings. Review of Education Research, 66(4), 543-578.
DOI: 10.3102/00346543066004543
Pelled, L.H. (1996). Demographic diversity, conflict, and work group outcomes: An intervening process theory. Organization Science, 7(6), 615-631.
DOI: 10.1287/orsc.7.6.615
Provasnik, S., & Planty, M. (2008). Community Colleges: Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2008. Statistical Analysis Report. NCES 2008-033. National Center for Education Statistics.
Renninger, K. A., & Hidi, S. (2002). Student interest and achievement: Developmental issues raised by a case study. Development of achievement motivation, 173-195.
Rulke, D.L., Galaskiewicz, J. (2000). Distribution of knowledge, group network structure, and group performance. Management Science, 46(5), 612-625.
DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.46.5.612.12052
Sampson, J., & Cohen, R. (2001). Strategies for peer learning: Some examples. In D. Boud, R. Cohen, & J. Sampson (Eds.), Peer learning in higher education: Learning from & with each other (pp. 35-49). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, Inc.
Sias, P.M., & Cahill, D.J. (1998). From coworkers to friends: The development of peer friendships in the workplace. Western Journal of Communication, 62, 273-299.
DOI: 10.1080/10570319809374611
Testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on science and technology: Subcommittee on research and science education (2009) (testimony of Darryll J. Pines). Retrieved from http://gop.science.house.gov/Media/hearings/research09/oct22/Pines.pdf
Tiwana, A., & Mclean, E.R. (2003). Expertise integration and creativity in information systems development. Journal of Management Information Systems, 22(1), 13-43. DOI: 10.1080/07421222.2003.11045836
Tschannen-Moran, M., & Hoy, A.W. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17(7), 783-805.
DOI: 10.1016/S0742-051X(01)00036-1
Wells, J.G. (2008) STEM education: The potential of technology education. Invited paper
presented at the Annual Conference, Mississippi Valley Technology teacher Education Conference, St. Louis, MO. Retrieved from:
www.mississippivalley.org/archives-2
Wong, K., Kwan, R., & Leung, K. (2011). An exploration of using Facebook to build a virtual community of practice. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference, ICHL 2011 (pp. 316-324), Hong Kong, China.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-22763-9_30
Wong, S.S. (2008). Task knowledge overlap and knowledge variety: The role of advice network structures and impact on group effectiveness. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 591–614. DOI: 10.1002/job.490
Zee, M., & Koomen, H.M. (2016). Teacher self-efficacy and its effects on classroom processes, student academic adjustment, and teacher well-being: A synthesis of 40 years of research. Review of Educational research, 86(4), 981-1015. DOI: 10.3102/0034654315626801
Zhou, S., Siu, F., & Wang, M. (2010). Effects of social tie content on knowledge transfer. Journal of knowledge management, 14(3), 449-463. DOI: 10.1108/13673271011050157
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29311/ndtps.v0i12.2361
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
New Directions in the Teaching of Natural Sciences
eISSN: 2753-4138