Revisiting and revising knowledge building community design principles: What do the participants have to say?

Underlying the KBC approach is a set of idea-centered design principles. In this paper, we propose taking another look at these principles in light of qualitative empirical research focused on the experiences of KBC participants. Our study presents a phenomenographic analysis of the expressions of 21 tenth grade students who were first-time participants in a year-long KBC. Findings indicate that there is a large degree of overlap between the students’ understandings of the KBC approach and the existing principles; that KBC design principles are potentially broader than we were initially aware; and that the formulation of a new principle may be in order. We conclude by outlining a promising direction for future research that stands to advance the conversation surrounding KBC design principles, based on existing formulations, participants’ experiences, and in-situ observations.