Trialogical Learning Handbook Teachers FINAL KP-LAB

TRIALOGICAL LEARNING
A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS

January 2010
Anne-Christin Tannhäuser
Sally Reynolds
Michela Moretti
Elena Cariolato
Trialogical Learning - A handbook for Teachers
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to express our thanks to the whole KP-Lab project team whose partners
shared their ideas with us and provided us with their input and feedback.
Particular thanks goes to Sami Paavola and Jerry Andriessen for their valuable input
concerning trialogical learning in different contexts. Without their help and advice, we would
not have been able to compose this handbook.
We would also like to thank Simona Feletti for all her work on the layout of this book.
Disclaimer: The content of this document does not necessarily reflect the view or legislation
of the European Commission. Neither the European Commission nor the project partners or
any person acting on behalf of the Commission is responsible for the use that might be made
of the information in this document.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................2
TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................5

PURPOSE OF THIS HANDBOOK ................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2 THINK TRIALOGICAL OR THE GENERIC PROCESS MODEL FOR TRIALOGICAL

LEARNING..........................................................................................................................8
HOW TRIALOGICAL LEARNING EVOLVED - BACKGROUND ................................................................. 8
TRIALOGICAL LEARNING PROCESSES – VISUALISED AND EXPLAINED ................................................ 13
SO WHAT IS INNOVATIVE ABOUT TRIALOGICAL LEARNING? – ......................................................... 17
TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN A NUTSHELL – 8 BASIC IDEAS ............................................................. 18
CHAPTER 3 TOOLS FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING..............................................................19

THE KNOWLEDGE PRACTICES ENVIRONMENT (KPE).................................................................... 19
Different “views” for different purposes.........................................................................................20
CREATING, TRANSFORMING AND ELABORATING KNOWLEDGE ARTEFACTS ......................................... 22

Document management..................................................................................................................23
Wiki..................................................................................................................................................23
Note Editor ......................................................................................................................................24
Sketch Pad .......................................................................................................................................25
Comment and Semantic Tagging.....................................................................................................25
Visual Modelling (Language) Editor.................................................................................................27
PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING PROCESSES............................................................. 28

ToDoTool .........................................................................................................................................29
Calendar...........................................................................................................................................30
Chat – One-to-one and context-bound ...........................................................................................31
Map-IT and Meeting Management Tool (M2T)...............................................................................32
MANAGING SOCIAL RELATIONS AROUND SHARED OBJECTS ............................................................ 34

Group management ........................................................................................................................35
Forum ..............................................................................................................................................35
Group emailing ................................................................................................................................37
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CHAPTER 4 TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN ACTION OR A PROCESS MODEL FOR TEACHERS ....38

TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO IN TEACHER EDUCATION ......................................................... 38
Context ............................................................................................................................................38
This scenario demonstrates.............................................................................................................39
Learning Objective...........................................................................................................................39
Activities ..........................................................................................................................................40
Tools ................................................................................................................................................43
MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDENT TEAM WORK AND A REAL CUSTOMER............................................... 44

Context ............................................................................................................................................44
This scenario demonstrates.............................................................................................................44
Learning Objectives .........................................................................................................................44
Activities ..........................................................................................................................................45
Tools ................................................................................................................................................46
TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN OTHER PEDAGOGICAL SETTING ............................................................. 48
CHAPTER 5 DESIGN YOUR OWN TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SYSTEM ....................................49

BEFORE STARTING: WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS A TEACHER? .............................................................. 49
DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING ........................................................................ 50
RECOMMENDATION AND ACTIVITIES TO PLAN YOUR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO ..................... 51
A CHECKLIST FOR YOUR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO ............................................................ 62
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE OF THIS HANDBOOK

If you are teacher working in higher education, teacher training, or professional networks
and you want to prepare your students for the challenges of the knowledge society – then
this handbook is for you.
You already know just how important this preparation is, and you are certainly not alone -
this concern is shared across the globe. Here is what others have had to say on the matter.
“Learners as little as forty years ago would complete the required schooling and enter a
career that would often last a lifetime. Information development was slow. The life of
knowledge was measured in decades. Today, these foundational principles have been
altered. Knowledge is growing exponentially.”1
“[…] various changes in modern society form [are characterised by]

1) the rapid development of new technology which has formed and is all the time
forming qualitatively new possibilities for distributed interaction and collaboration
2) the pressure to create– and learn deliberately to create – new knowledge and
transform existing practices in various areas of life, and
3) the complexity of modern society which requires people to combine their expertise to
solve emerging and often unforeseen complex problems.”2
“Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our
educational system was designed to teach.”3
You might be working with digital native learners, who are used to receiving information
quickly from multiple multimedia sources, who prefer learning that is relevant, instantly
useful and fun. Even if your students are not digital natives, and were born before, say 1980,
1
George Siemens (2004). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age.
http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm accessed in October 2004
2
Sami Paavola, Ritva Engeström & Kai Hakkarainen. Trialogical Approach as a New Form of Mediation. In: Moen, A.
Mørch, A.I., and Paavola, S., (Eds.). Collaborative Knowledge Creation: Practices, Tools, and Concepts
http://www.knowledgepractices.info/wiki/index.php?title=Handbook_on_Trialogical_Learning
Accessed in October 2010
3
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–2.
www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf
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they will be working in rather different, even unrelated fields of life-time as members of a
society were learning and working are not any longer separated.
Bearing this concern in mind, you might want to read this handbook, which suggests
teaching practices that address the types of challenges faced by students today. You might
want to read about how you can facilitate the creation of new knowledge that is
collaboratively shared and developed further by your students in and beyond your
classroom. The purpose of this handbook is to introduce innovative pedagogical principles
and practices that can be used for advancing new knowledge in different contexts.
The Trialogical Learning Approach has been developed within a project called KP-Lab; an
acronym for Knowledge Practice Laboratory. During the project’s life cycle theories, tools,
practical models, and research methods were developed to deliberately advance the ways in
which knowledge is created and that help to transform knowledge practices in education
and in the workplace. This iinitiative received funding from the European Union for 5 years
starting in 2006. A large multinational team of experts in pedagogy, knowledge management
and software development which included both researchers and technologists tested and
applied trialogical learning in various settings including universities, workplaces and
informal learning contexts in order to carry out research into new forms of collaboration and
knowledge advancement. An important goal of this initiative was to provide models that can
serve as useful tools for teachers/educators, empowering them as professionals in the
development of learning environments. These models were intended to support the work of
teachers and trainers when guiding their students in rich technological learning
environments.
This handbook is a concrete outcome of this long-term commitment. Another output is an

online environment designed to suit collaborative knowledge advancement, called the
“Knowledge Practice Environment (KPE)”. You will learn a more about KPE later on in this
handbook.
But before talking about tools, you will first read in Chapter 2 about some of the concepts
and theories that underpin the Trialogical Learning Approach as well as some of the ideas
that are central to an understanding of what constitutes trialogical learning.. This chapter
includes a model of typical trialogical learning processes. At the end of this chapter, basic
features of the approach are listed, so if you want to jump directly to the chapters dealing
with tools or practical examples in educational contexts, we suggest you first read the final
section in Chapter 2, Trialogical learning in a nutshell – so you have at least a basic grasp of
what this approach entails.
Chapter 3 provides an introduction to technological tools that support trialogical learning

activities for three purposes: coordinating processes, managing social relations around
shared objects, and elaborating on knowledge artefacts.
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Two cases studies in which trialogical learning is put into practice are described in chapter 4.
In this chapter you can find out more about how teacher students in the Netherlands
deepened their professional knowledge and how a multidisciplinary course in project
management in Finland used trialogical learning to provide students with a learning
experience that enabled them to acquire sophisticated knowledge creation and
management skills.
Chapter 5 has been tailored to meet your needs as a pedagogical practitioner. With practical
recommendations, some activities to work on and a checklist, it will help you to design your
own trialogical learning scenario for your learners.
Let’s get started.
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CHAPTER 2
THINK TRIALOGICAL
OR THE GENERIC PROCESS MODEL FOR
TRIALOGICAL LEARNING
HOW TRIALOGICAL LEARNING EVOLVED - BACKGROUND

Before presenting some examples from different educational contexts that employ the
Trialogical Learning Approach, this section will provide some background to the approach
and will introduce some basic notions and concepts that will help you to better understand
this innovative approach to enhancing knowledge creation and management in a learning
context.
If you are more interested in practical examples, then feel free to simply skip this chapter
and move directly to chapter 3.
Two existing approaches to learning are important for understanding the background to
trialogical learning, these are Inquiry-based learning and project-based learning.
Inquiry-based learning is learning that is organised around questions, finding explanations,
theories, and scientific information in the cycle of deepening inquiry, discussion, and
reflection.
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4
Figure a): Inquiry-Based Learning (from Hakkarainen, 2004 )
Project-based learning (PBL) is learning that takes place when learners work on a complex
real-world authentic question or problem and try to come up with answers and solutions in a
collaborative process of investigation over an extended period of time. This kind of learning
also requires inquiry but furthermore something new is created. One form of PBL is Design-
based learning, where students learn about content while designing an object or prototype,
and this form has the potential to dramatically increase student learning by incorporating
design experiences into the study of science. Typical steps involve: describing the current
situation, identifying needs, developing criteria, generating alternatives and making choices,
creating a prototype and evaluating/reflecting on the results5. Students work co-operatively
and actively on multidisciplinary tasks.
Another concept that constitutes the foundation of the trialogical approach is the knowledge
creation metaphor of learning. To understand this metaphor let’s first refer to two well-
known metaphors for learning against which is should be considered. First, the Knowledge
acquisition metaphor which describes the effort of a single learner who individually
internalizes a body of knowledge; this metaphor comes closest to the folk theory of mind.
4
Hakkarainen, K. (2003). Emergence of progressive inquiry culture in computer-supported collaborative learning.
Learning Environments Research, 6(2), 199-220.
5
Those steps are taken from a scheme by Mehalik, M. M., & Doppelt, Y., & Schunn, C. D. (2008). Middle-school science
through design-based learning versus scripted inquiry: Better overall science concept learning and equity gap reduction.
Journal of Engineering Education, 97(1), 71-85. pdf
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Secondly, a different concept of learning is

Box 1) Artefacts, what do you described by the social participation
mean? These can be metaphor, here learning is viewed as a
everything! process in which a group of people
Exactly right. Artefacts can be material collaboratively appropriate a body of
like cups, tables, or conceptual like
knowledge.6
scientific theories. Particularly relevant
artefacts for trialogical learning include:
drafts and sketches project plans, Without the need to make a wide-reaching
mindmaps, notes, work processes, and conceptual analysis of different models and
working practices. terms used7, it is important to present the
By focussing explicitly on these artefacts, knowledge-creation metaphor which
tacit knowledge from individuals is represents a new understanding which has
externalised and made available for an evolved with the rapid changes and demands
entire group. Encouraging groups of of today’s society as already discussed in the
learners to produce artefacts introduction. – This metaphor is made more
collaboratively makes it easier for them tangible given the increased availability of
to reach a common understanding of
technology which is designed to support
problems at hand.
human learning; technology that offers quick
and easy access to up-to-date knowledge and
provides tools for knowledge sharing and
creation, which is not constrained by
geographic proximity.
One of the core ideas which is central to the trialogical approach is that commonly created
artefacts (see Box 1) are at the center of activities. These artefacts are modified and
commented on iteratively in trialogical learning.
The trialogical learning approach suggests organizing work and learning around those
artefacts. This idea of learning is considered to fit well with current ideas about workplace
learning or organizational learning, networked learning or the learning that takes place in
open source community (See figure below).
6
This distinction is introduced by Sfard, A. (1998). On two metaphors for learning and the dangers of choosing just one.
Educational Researcher, 27(2), 4-13.
7
Recommended further reading: Paavola, S., Lipponen, L., & Hakkarainen, K. (2004). Models of innovative learning
communities and three metaphors for learning
http://www.helsinki.fi/behav/valinnat/2006/valintakoekysymykset06/AikuiskasvatustiedeMO06_aineistoteksti.pdf
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Figure b): Three metaphors of learning
“Speaking very generally, the acquisition

perspective, (represented in this diagram as Box 2) What are knowledge practices
the acquisition metaphor) focuses on (KPs)?
knowledge and knowledge structures in KPs are the methods and procedures used
learning and processes of learning within in science and industry to answer questions
individuals’ minds. The participation like: How does this work? How might a
process be improved? What do we need to
perspective (represented in this diagram as
learn to achieve such improvements? Such
the participation metaphor) emphasizes the
practices are not static, but keep changing
meaning of social practices and activities as because scientists and innovators reflect on
bases for learning. And the knowledge and modify them.
creation perspective focuses on analyzing
the processes whereby new knowledge and
new mediating objects of activity are collaboratively created, whether in schools or at
work.”8
An new understanding of learning as described above has its roots in research work related
to Knowledge Building which is a rather new discipline as compared to pedagogy and
instructional design, which examines the processes people use in creating ideas, and solving,
in a sustained way, knowledge problems by modifying and commenting collaboratively upon
each other’s’ ideas, often with the use of external means and support mechanisms. This field
has largely emerged in business administration, library and information science and
management studies.
8
S. Paavola, L. Lipponen, and K. Hakkarainen. Models of Innovative Knowledge Communities and Three Metaphors of
Learning". Review of Educational Research, 74(4):557-576, 2004. Page 573
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Within the field of knowledge management a number of practices have been developed
that provid input to the Trialogical Learning Approach, e.g. setting up communities of
practice, learning networks, sharing best practices and knowledge mapping9. These are all
different ways to support knowledge creation processes in organisations that provide
methods for making implicit knowledge explicit for the use of the whole organisation. Much
of this discussion has emerged in the business world and is linked to experiences related to
business management processes. In the Trialogical Learning Approach, researchers aim to
further develop these collaborative knowledge creation processes.
Furthermore, cultural historical activity theory, also called cultural historical psychology,
also plays a role here. This is the theory that builds on the idea that human activities are
mediated by artefacts and tools, used and modified by succeeding generations of human
beings and grounded in practical, everyday activities. The Trialogical Learning Approach
takes these ideas on the meaning of practical and tool mediated processes further in the
context of learning practices particularly related to knowledge creation with the help of new
digital technology.
Ideas and concepts originating in the field of Computer-supported collaborative learning

(CSCL) also feed into the Trialogical Learning Approach as a way to understand collaborative
learning and knowledge advancement in a technology-rich environment.
A central idea of this field of research and practice is that the quality of learning is different
when working in pairs or groups. The group activities require a higher degree of self-
evaluation and meta-cognition and create a situation in which even the more knowledgeable
group members benefit from working collaboratively. Technological tools are designed in
order to scaffold learning and to support the articulation of thought by individual learners
for the benefit of the entire group10.
9
An short overview on knowledge management practices is offered at:
http://www.skyrme.com/resource/kmbasics.htm#Practices accessed in October 2010
10
Miyake, N., 2007, Computer Supported Collaborative Learning, in R. Andrews & C. Haythornthwaite, "The Handbook of
Elearning Research," London: Sage Publications.
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TRIALOGICAL LEARNING PROCESSES – VISUALISED AND

EXPLAINED
Let us now turn to the Trialogical Learning itself.

The term describes all those forms of learning Box 3) The goal is more than
where people are collaboratively developing individual learning.
When researchers write a joint research
and transforming concrete “objects” in a
article, they will not only go through
systematic fashion. The focus on shared objects
different rounds of reviewing, they share
is set to foster shared epistemic agency (see
and develop concepts – conceptual
Box 3).
artefacts – and in doing so they do not only
There are a number of processes which typically
improve their individual understanding, but
occur during a trialogical learning. These
they work towards creating new shared
processes are illustrated in the model below knowledge for the whole group of writers.
(Figure c). It is a generic model in the sense that The goal is “shared epistemic agency”; i.e.
it visualizes the core trialogical learning each group member is responsible for
activities. The model does not imply that these building one’s own knowledge and the
occur in a strict and pre-defined order, the intellectual community at the same time by
specific order in practice depends on the engaging in inquiry with the others.
particular domain and educational setting
where they are applied (see chapter 4).
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F A
E
B
D
C
Figure c): A generic model for the trailogical learning process
As can be seen in the graphic, there are six concrete activities that occur in technology
mediated processes which are all centred around working on shared objects.
The activities are divided into two different groups (blue and green) to highlight two parallel
but closely interlinked processes. They are
separated to emphasise the role of both Box 4) Why a generic pedagogical
sets of processes in trialogical knowledge model?
creation activities: The term “pedagogical model” is often
a) One process (blue) of trialogical used in the context of e-learning. A
learning is the collaborative work for model serves as “an analytic lens to
developing knowledge artefacts. frame a research study or as a scaffold
Learning trialogically means that the for guiding educational innovation” as
goal of the collaborative activity is has been the case for the KP-Lab project.
“not [only] to learn something (i.e., Pedagogical models build on theories of
to change, or simply add to their own learning or cognition and represent most
mental states) but to solve problems, often a more specific application to a
originate new thoughts, and advance certain problem or situation then
communal knowledge. In other theories do. They help to frame our
words, their goal is to create new understanding of real-life teaching
practice
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knowledge and add the value of conceptual artefacts.”11

b) The other parallel process (as shown above in green) is linked to the transformation of
common processes and practices supporting this work
Let us go through each one of the processes.
Explicating real purpose and need for creating new knowledge / for transforming
A practices
A central starting point is that the learning community aims at producing knowledge
artefacts and learn practices which have “real” use, that is, something which is not
made just for the purpose of the specific learning context (like an exam or an essay
to be checked by the teacher) but which can be reused later on. Connected to this
element is the re-use of previously produced knowledge artefacts and practices (see
process F)
Framing questions and epistemic challenges / common process organization

B
This is a kind of a brainstorming phase for the overall knowledge creation challenge
and for the ways of organizing the process. It often requires a variety of different
activities and tools rather than more elaborate work with knowledge artefacts but
should already produce some concrete outcomes with which the group can work
(notes, sketches, idea lists, outlines etc).
Drafting and versioning knowledge artefacts and solutions / process plans and
C models
Very early on participants are encouraged to start drafting concrete knowledge

artefacts which are meant to be early versions of the final products. The core idea of
trialogical learning is that these drafts are then concretely elaborated and versioned
by participants throughout the process. Some of these knowledge artefacts are
meant to function as a means for the final end products. Similarly, process plans
(process models, task definitions, responsibilities, timetables, milestones, etc.) are
drafted and elaborated by participants during the process for deliberate
organization and monitoring of shared activities.
11
S. Paavola, L. Lipponen, and K. Hakkarainen. Models of Innovative Knowledge Communities and Three Metaphors of
Learning". Review of Educational Research, 74(4):557-576, 2004. Page 561
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D Examining and reflecting on produced knowledge artefacts / enacted practices
Both knowledge artefacts developed and enacted practices are constantly

scrutinized and evaluated during the process in order to ensure the quality of the
knowledge artefacts produced and practices enacted. The participants critically
evaluating the overall status of the knowledge artefacts that have been produced
and the activities and practices which have been conducted. Appropriate technology
can provide support for this in the form of various views into the shared virtual
working areas and analytic tools. There should also be room for presenting
alternatives, questions, conceptualizations, visualizations, links, tags, etc. in relation
to things which have already been developed.
Finalising and specifying produced knowledge artefacts / process models and

E practices
Knowledge artefacts and practices are meant to be used later on (by others or by
participants themselves later on). They must be finalized and explained for that
purpose.
F Reusing knowledge artefacts / practices
This element has a double role in the model. On the one hand, in the starting phases
of trialogical knowledge creation processes, existing knowledge artefacts and
practices are utilized as building materials and models for new development. On the
other hand, a central aim of trialogical learning is to produce reusable knowledge
artefacts and practices, meaning that the participants’ knowledge creation and
development work has a real meaning for other people in the future.
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SO WHAT IS INNOVATIVE ABOUT TRIALOGICAL LEARNING? –

During our introduction of trialogical learning and its scientific roots, we hope you have been
able to spot several innovative aspects about this approach:
The extent to which it supports advanced knowledge creation processes which merge
project realisation tasks with acquiring sophisticated knowledge creation skills, in other
words, learners are supported in advancing their knowledge creation skills while
realising practical real-life knowledge creation projects.
Its contribution towards overcoming polarities (dichotomies) that still exist in the
background of many approaches to learning, for example, between individualistic
learning vs. social approaches to learning, tacit knowledge vs. explicit knowledge,
conceptual knowledge vs. practices by emphasising collaborative work for creating and
developing artefacts and practices together.
The way in which it supports both idea-driven work with epistemic artefacts (in line
with inquiry learning) and organised work for developing processes, communities and
practices around these artefacts (in line with project-based learning).
The manner in which it provides the means to analyse what is happening in iterative,
long-term collaborative work which includes jointly versioning, commenting and
developing artefacts with knowledge artefacts.
This approach actively promotes the teaching of knowledge practices that are needed
in modern knowledge work; e.g., working in teams, planning and developing products
jointly for later use, reflecting and developing one’s ways of working.
The way in which it has facilitated the creation of a set of technologies which not only
support mediation and reflection but also enable researchers to measure the impact of
mediation and reflection on the knowledge creation process.
This approach focuses on changing practices which means that the artefacts that are
produced and the practices that are modified are re-usable outside the narrow
pedagogical confines of the research setting.
This approach has been piloted with KP-Lab technology in several higher education
courses and contexts and been the subject of considerable research effort. This effort
has led to the creation of a significant evidence-base related to innovative knowledge
creation practices.
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TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN A NUTSHELL – 8 BASIC IDEAS

This chapter presented the cornerstones of the Trialogical Learning Approach to you; it
explained how to think trialogically in a general sense without making reference to examples
in the classroom, or more generally, in the teaching and learning domain. Before moving on
to chapter 3 and to describing some examples of its application in real-life, let us summarize
the main ideas.
Box 5) Learning is trialogical if:

• it is learner-centred
• it involves a community of learners
• it is long-term work on open-ended “real-life" tasks
• it is centered around the creation of artefacts, which are changed and developed
in an iterative process by the group members
• the produced artefacts enhance the knowledge of the whole group
• the outcomes of the activities are reusable
• the process of collaborative knowledge-creation is made explicit in the group
• it is supported by technology, which provides new means of working with
externalised, concrete artefacts, which have different kinds of dynamics than
dialogues.
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CHAPTER 3
TOOLS FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING

The Trialogical Approach emphasises a specific approach to learning which takes place when
a group of individuals works together and collaboratively advances each group member’s
knowledge through collaborative ways of creating and developing knowledge artefacts.
In the previous chapter we argued that trialogical learning builds this recent idea about
learning, which fits particularly well with technology-rich learning environments. Its novelty
is to view the learning process from the knowledge creation perspective focusing on
innovation and transformation of knowledge practices.
A precondition for working trialogically is that every user can share his knowledge in a
common space to develop collective knowledge by creating new means and new awareness,
enriching both the group and the subjects. This process is possible with a specific set of tools
to create, transform and elaborate knowledge and sharing ideas and individual means that
foster collaborative work and high-level responsibility for the knowledge creation processes.
The KP-Lab project developed technological tools to facilitate this kind of learning.
This chapter aims to describe the main tool that supports you as teacher to advance
individual as well as group knowledge: the Knowledge Practice Environment. The following
sections are meant to be a straightforward guide to help you getting acquainted with tools
that allow students to work collaboratively – although being in different place - and advance
individual and group knowledge.
THE KNOWLEDGE PRACTICES ENVIRONMENT (KPE)

An efficient collaborative environment requires an integrated structure in which it is possible
to provide certain functionalities to sustain a collaborative work with shared common
objects12. It should not rely on fixed folder structures or hierarchical presentation of the
content. Instead the KP-Lab project set out to develop an integrated offer, i.e. one platform
to support collaborative knowledge creation, a modular, flexible, and extensible ICT system
that supports pedagogical methods to foster knowledge creation in educational and
workplace settings. KPE users are able to build collaboration environments by creating and
configuring the means, as opposed to operating in predefined structures, of the common
practice. The software is designed to mediate various aspects (epistemic, pragmatic, social,
reflective) of collaborative work in an integrated way which can be called “multimediation”.
KPE is structured to help a group of learners to
12
http://www.kp-lab.org/tools/knowledge-practices-environment, accessed in October 2010
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Plan, organize and coordinate processes, i.e. support task allocation, creation of
common appointments and events, to do lists
Manage social relations around shared objects, i.e. allowing for chats and comments
specifically on documents, graphs, schemes developed by the group and to support the
creation of a common vocabulary in the learning domain.
Create, transform and elaborate knowledge artefacts, i.e. building, elaborating and
sharing knowledge artefacts and to achieve the collective goals.
KPE is designed to provide specific affordances for joint development; concrete, epistemic
objects as will as for planning, organizing and reflecting on relate tasks user networks (see
Markkanen et al. 2008). The software can be adapted to various practices, and is suitable
and useful in various domains of knowledge thus enabling end-user appropriation. It
provides a shared knowledge space with versatile tools for developing and managing
knowledge artefacts, organizing processes and people, and reflecting on practices from
several perspectives. The virtual environment includes a set of integrated tools that:
• working spaces with real-time and history-based awareness
• wikis
• comment and chat function
• semantic tagging and search to working with the shared knowledge objects.13
Different “views” for different purposes

The KPE Shared Space enables viewing the knowledge objects and their relations from
different perspectives. There are four main views to support the first three dimensions of
trialogical activities (see above), namely the content view, the tailored view, the process
view and the community view.
13
M. Lakkala, S.Paavola, K. Kosonen, H. Muukkonen, M. Bauters & H. Markkanen “Main functionalities of the Knowledge
Practices Environment (KPE) affording knowledge creation practices in education” In: Computer Supported
Collaborative Learning Practices - CSCL2009 Community Events Proceedings.
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Figure d): Main tools and features of KPE

Content, process, community and specialised view each come with various tools and
functionalities to enable versatile and flexible creation, connection, organization and
reflection of the material in Shared Space. These tools are highly integrated in these main
views to enable object-bound development as well as flexible connection and organization
of all information related to the knowledge objects, processes and people concerned. Let us
now have a closer look at these different views.
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CREATING, TRANSFORMING AND ELABORATING KNOWLEDGE

ARTEFACTS
A central view in KPE for working on knowledge artefacts is the Content View. This view
allows for creation and uploading of content items into a shared space, free visual
arrangement and linking of content items and other objects, as well as filtering of items
based on metadata and tags.
Content View in KPE
Learners can arrange their created artefacts in a mind map like fashion to demonstrate their
relation towards each other. These artefacts can range from word and excel documents,
pictures and wikis. The workspace view allows for easier reuse of these new knowledge
artefacts due to the availability of information related to the evolution of creation process of
objects which provides a base to the group of learners continue to work to increase this new
knowledge, facilitating users’ work.14
The tools available in the content view are designed to increase the active role of all
learners, which can lead to higher motivation and shared responsibility in an iterative
process aimed at achieving common goals in an efficient collaborative way. The main tools
available on KPE to creating, transforming and elaborating knowledge artefacts are:
14
http://www.knowledgpractices.info accessed in November 2010
Page 22 of 62
Document management
Document sharing allows you to upload your files or other media content in a common space
where all the members can access, view or download the materials. The tool works like a common
library in which it is possible to store, manage, found and exchange resources for the groups
knowledge advancement. Document management is the key to offer a resource environment
where all learners can upload drafts, pictures, links, media, maps and notes about tasks to make
them accessible to all team members.
Documents can be exported to Google Docs; the functionalities can be summarized as:
Export a document
Share a document with other Google accounts
Search a text in all the documents present on the Google Docs
Wiki
Wikis are web pages that allow anybody to edit, add, remove or change the content in a
quick and easy way, with an interface similar to a word processing software. Wikis are a very
efficient tool for collaboration based on the fundamental idea of sharing knowledge with
each learner being able to contribute to the content creation and thus playing an active role.
Moreover, they enable the exchange of ideas and they facilitate group interaction.
Figure e): Wiki page inside KPE Wiki
Page 23 of 62
Wikis are an extremely flexible tool because they reside on the web; therefore they allow
many people to work on the same document from different places at different times.
Moreover, on the wiki pages it is possible to add links to other resources.
In a wiki you and your learners can add or correct a content that already exists, but it is also
possible to create new texts without changing the structure of the site. The KPE wiki has a
page history function which allows learners to see the evolution of their work over time,
making progress visible to all group members.
Wiki document can be added as content item in the Content View which offers the
possibility to access the same wiki document from Shared Spaces. It is possible to link to
pages in other work spaces that you are member of.15
The basic functions related to a KPE wiki are:
Add, editing, deleting a wikipage
Commenting on wikipage
Attach a file and adding links
Note Editor
The Note Editor is an editor that enables writing and/or editing of a simple text object, referred to
as a note object, without the need for an external application. The basic idea is that it would be
used for easy idea construction and elaboration. The note editor is linked to the “note” object in
that it is the manner by which a note's content can be edited/modified. The idea behind the note
editor would be that it is not a replacement for applications such as MS Word, but rather a very
simple editor that is tightly integrated into the already existing Shared Space tool.
15
http://2d.mobile.evtek.fi/help/index.php/KP-Environment_Wiki , accessed in October 2010
Page 24 of 62
Figure f): Opening the Note Editor from within the Shared Space
With Note Editor user can directly write their ideas and thoughts as content items in a
shared space, without the labor of creating and uploading an external text file (Furnadziev,
Tuchoumatchenko, Vasileva & Lakkala). All members of a space can open and edit the crated
notes and view their previous versions.
Furthermore, users can open manly notes simultaneously for comparison and integration,
and link notes to other content items in the Content View. The implementation of Note
Editor in KPE is a simple but powerful tool for collaborative knowledge creation.16
Sketch Pad17
Sketch Pad tools provides the functionality for drawing simple graphics (squares, circles,
triangles, lines, arrows, free drawing; with colors and with simple editing commands) with
texts added in between for sketching and white-boarding purposes. It is similar to the Note-
editor (and Vocabulary editor) visually. Functionalities have also similarities to the Note-
editor, so that these two are easy to be used side by side (with Note-editor the user can
externalize ideas as text notes and with the Sketch pad with graphics).
With this tool users can make simple sketches to support brainstorming and externalizing
ideas with figures and short texts (while, for example, planning a structure for a text
document, or planning upcoming tasks and work in a group). The tool does not contain too
much functionality but only basic ones for making simple sketches, and moving and copying
them in the whiteboard kind of an area. Simplicity means that editing is not as advanced as
in more specific drawing tools but the power of this tool is in its easiness of use. Users can
undo at least the last drawing/editing operation. Drawn images can be saved as content
items into Shared Space (with metadata).
Comment and Semantic Tagging

The KPE system relies on the ontological representation of the shared space and its
knowledge artefacts, as well as the users’ actions, which include commenting and tagging
activities.
Semantic tagging allows learners to describe items with non-hierarchical keyword or terms.
Learners can create free text terms during the on-going phase of knowledge elicitation. The
tagging lists can be personalized by users. Creating their own way of structuring the
developed artefacts, they also make previous work related to some specific subject easier to
find for other learners.
16
Practices Environment (KPE) affording knowledge creation practices in education”. In "Computer Supported
Collaborative Learning Practices - CSCL2009 Community" , 2009, ISLS, pp. 297-306. ISBN 978-1-4092-8598-4
17
KP-Lab, deliverable D6.6 M33 specification of end-user applications – Drawing Tool (Sketch Pad), October 2008
Page 25 of 62
Figure g): A list of tags from an existing Figure h): An example of tags assigned to objects.
structured vocabulary is presented to the user
Comments are a way of expressing opinions, posing questions, discussing different positions
and viewpoints and even influencing the directions of a discourse. Comments are an
important type of users-produced contents and represent the most informal and dynamic
part of the discourse that users carry out on knowledge artefacts.
Figure i): A slice of the KPE Comment : arrows Figure j): Opening the comments generates
with labels represent named relationships between the comment threads view where people can read,
objects while tiny notes with a circled number depicts create a new thread or reply to existing comments18
the number of total comments attached to each
knowledge artefact.
18
Locoro, A. and Scapolla, A.M. and Grignani, D. (2009) Semantic Annotation and Tagging in the KP-LAB environment:
mining the learning and knowledge dynamics. In: V International Conference on Multimdia and ICT in Education (m-
ICTE2009), April 2009, Lisbon, Portugal.Semantic Annotation and Tagging in the KP-LAB environment: mining the
learning and knowledge dynamics.
Page 26 of 62
Comments can by displayed in a collated fashion which will help as teacher you as you could
receive a feedback of the ongoing activities as well as a feeling of the group progressions and
dynamics.
Visual Modelling (Language) Editor

The Visual Modelling (Language) Editor is an extension to the basic functionalities offered by
the KP-Environment and allows users to create, share, use, and update various kinds of
diagrams that depict the relationship among concepts and ideas. The Visual Modelling
(Language) Editor allows users to work collaboratively on visual models with explicitly
defined semantics. Think of visual models as diagrams that symbolize the relationship among
concepts and represent the structural pattern of knowledge. The relationship between the
concepts in the map is described with links or key words to visualise the connection and
denote the construction of the ideas.
Figure k): Visual Model Example
Creating concept supports learners to develop shared meanings of tasks, concepts,

procedures, and strategies. Thus, collaborative concept maps allow to share individual skills
and tasks with the group, contributing to common knowledge development 19. Producing
such maps with a group of learners fosters discussion about the concepts and collaboratively
elaborated reasoning, thus improves the processes of co-constructing meaning as well as
supports critical thinking among learners.
19
Ahmad Khamesan & Nick Hammond "Synchronous collaborative concept mapping via ict: learning effectivness and
personal and Interpersonal awareness " Concept Maps: Theory, Methodology, Technology, Proc. of the First Int.
Conference on Concept Mapping A. J. Cañas, J. D. Novak, F. M. González, Eds., Pamplona, Spain 2004
Page 27 of 62
For each model the learners can choose from a set of predefined visual languages which
provide them with various types of nodes and links that can be used in a model. Such nodes
and links allow the learners distinguish, for example, between variables, resources, actions
and goals relevant to a particular project. Learners can create their own visual modelling
language based on specific domain-ontologies in a visual format. Making the semantics of
visual models and conceptual maps transparent to the user provides a basic means for
scaffolding collaborative modelling activities and allows for systematic comparison of both
models as well as the language used. 20
Box 6) The best use of Concept Mapping Tools is when:

approaching complex real-life problems
Starting to work in a multidisciplinary team with team members having different
ideas and concepts
PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING PROCESSES

In a collaborative knowledge building process organising and planning of group efforts play
an important role. Every learner should be able to participate in this process, keeping in
mind that roles can change from purely “executing” a given task or its coordination. The KPE
allows for involving everyone during all parts of the knowledge building process,
encouraging the participation of all the group and increasing responsibility, ownership and
motivation.
KPE’s process view enables learners to plan tasks and processes in a chronological manner as
well as to monitor how the required tasks have been accomplished. Process View provides
the user interface and a set of functions for describing and planning knowledge processes (in
terms of tasks, their relationships, resources, and responsibilities). 21
20
21
Practices Environment (KPE) affording knowledge creation practices in education”. In "Computer Supported
Collaborative Learning Practices - CSCL2009 Community" , 2009, ISLS, pp. 297-306. ISBN 978-1-4092-8598-4
Page 28 of 62
Process View in KPE
Other implemented tools shall also be described here; you might be acquainted with these
from single non-integrated applications.
ToDoTool
ToDo lists are commonly used in business management, project management, software
development, but also in self-management. The KPE ToDo tool allows learners to compose
and share a list of tasks to be completed and by doing so collaboratively planning the steps
toward completing a project or process. It supports planning and managing of individual
users’ work. All work space members can add notes or change the common list in real-time.
ToDo items on a list can be checked as “done”. Further functionalities are:
Add, edit or delete new ToDo item into the list

Adding or changing due date and descriptions of a ToDo item
Add related links to the items (e.g. Content Items)
Toggle the state of a ToDo item
Export the list to a Google calendar22
22
http://2d.mobile.evtek.fi/help/index.php/Google_Calendar_Tool accessed in October 2010
Page 29 of 62
Box 5): The best use of ToDoList is when:

the purpose is shared and
everybody has a specific task to
combine in order to bring the work
there are many tasks to be shared
and coordinated
work has deadlines
Calendar
The Calendar tool allow to share every event, appointment and note about the collaborative
work and knowledge in a common space, thus creating processes like in a common agenda
in which the group can view, add or change notes. It supports export of tasks and ToDos to a
Google calendar.
Box 6): The best use of Calendar is

when:
tasks have deadlines
collaborative work involves
sharing moments
the work involves more different
people
you need to plan common activity
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Chat – One-to-one and context-bound

Online Chat allows communicating in a synchronous way to other learners who are working
in the KPE shared workspace at the same time. Chats have become one of the most popular
tool for online socializing. It is an efficient tool to discuss and establish relationships among
online users. The KPE software offers chats in its “traditional” sense. These One-to-One chats
(Private Chat) can be initiated by creating a personal contact list of KP-Environment users
and the chat history is visible for chat participants only.
Figure l): Context based chat window
Furthermore and most relevantly, there is another type of chat which was designed and
integrated to enhance working on shared artefacts, e.g. a report or a graph. This Context-
bound chat (Public Chat) is part of a shared space and stored as a content item in the
Content View of a shared space. Learners can compare ideas, knowledge and opinions in
real-time on the object at hand. The conversations can be accessed by all members of the
shared space and the chat history is available for all users; they can read the history even if
they did not participate in the conversation.
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Box 7) The best use of private chat is when:

you need to talk informally and in real-time
the issue is easy and fast to solve
messages are not long or complicate
The best use of context-bound chat is when:
the conversation is about a specific artefact
the artefact will be changed/improved
all workspace users and involved gain
Map-IT and Meeting Management Tool (M2T)

Map-It was created to facilitate effective and efficient virtual and f2f discussions in any
learning environment. The tool supports preparation, execution and analysis of meetings. It
aids to organize, conduct and document meetings comprehensively and effectively manage
the associated knowledge in a novel way. 23 It is noteworthy, that Map-It is designed to
encourage learners to pay much of their attention to meeting.
Synchronous and asynchronous interactions visualised through the collaborative elaboration
of "discussion maps" that capture user interactions. Input to the discussion map is created in
preparation and updated by all participants and fed with information generated
automatically by the system.
Map-It allows the use of meeting templates, sharing individual preparations, accessing
artefacts from the workspace, planning and follow-up of actions, automatic generation of
meeting minutes in various formats. It also provides analytical tools for exploring meeting
practices and their integration in larger-scope activities, by connecting them to other KP-Lab
concepts, visualisations and tools (e.g. KPE’s Content Views, ToDo, Agenda).
Map-It enable the users to work it one of two modes:
On-line collaborative mode in which each person creates and submits his/her own
contribution to the discussion map as the conversation progresses; and note-taking
mode where one of the participant is assigned the role of the "secretary", write and submit
all participants’ contributions to the discussion map. Face-to-face and distant meetings or a
mix of these are supported.
The Map-It tool enhances the meeting experience by proposing innovative facilities for
sustaining best practices.
23
http://www.kp-lab.org/tools/map-it accessed in October 2010
Page 32 of 62
Figure m): Map-It visualised
Page 33 of 62
MANAGING SOCIAL RELATIONS AROUND SHARED OBJECTS

Social relations within a learning process are important because they enable to improve a
social entity, responsibility and motivation that enhances learning and knowledge
development.24 Unlike monological prospective, which provides an individual relationship
between subject and knowledge artefact, the Trialogical approach needs a collaborative
space from which users can share and exchange their opinions and their means, allowing a
new authentic knowledge as a common result. For these reasons it is important that a
Trialogical environment caters a set of tools that support communications and interactions
about shared objects and foster a social scenario creating knowledge and relations.
In KPE, social mediation is envisioned in functionalities that support users in maintaining
their contacts and keeping up with changing information about other participants, as well as
their relations to the share processes and content items.
Community View in KPE
The Community View provides support for sustained networking with colleagues, external
stakeholders and other communities. It provides the user interface for building, managing
and visualizing user communities (or groups) and social networks. In Community View all
users of the space are displayed, it visualizes the social network structures of all learners
involved. The user can define the information which is displayed in the social network: the
relation to other users across activities (e.g. who commented the same items, participated in
the same chat, etc.), relations through invited contacts and group interaction.
24
Page 34 of 62
Community View also provides information on each learner. They can create and maintain
their own profile information, and manage their personal contacts. Contact can contain
other KPE users but also people outside KPE.
The main functionalities available in KPE to manage social relation around shared objects are:
Group management
In KPE learners can form groups. Each users can be involved in more than one group and can
be assigned different roles. The Community View allows managing, building and visualizing
these. Each member is represented as a node in the Community View. The nodes are
randomly organized in the space. The nodes include an image of the user, his/her name,
email-address, a shout-box (personal message) and an indication of his/her status (e.g.
colour of the node indicating whether s/he is online, etc.). Each user can edit this
information in his/her profile.
Figure n): Group created in KPE
Forum
Fora are asynchronous tools to discuss with the other users and exchange ideas or
knowledge. KPE provides a forum in the shared space and allows discuss about a specific
item or general topics. Learners can communicate, discuss, compare and share both
personal experiences, ensuring the development of social relationships, and particular skills
that are helpful to reach the common purpose.
Page 35 of 62
Figure o): Forum in KPE
Interactions do not request a real-time presence of the actors, learners are able to read all
the threads that have been already created and you can add posts freely.
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Group emailing
Mailing Lists are a special use of email
Box 8) The best use of Mailing list is when:
sent to a group of recipients. In this
way it is possible to contact many making announcements to a larger
people at the same time without group of learners
wasting time and distribute information
on an artefact to everyone .
In KPE is possible to create mailing List in the Community View, making it easy to
communicate to a group of learners (see above “Group management”) by simply clicking on
a group node. The local mail client opens and all addresses of the groups’ members
automatically appear.
Page 37 of 62
CHAPTER 4
TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN ACTION
OR A PROCESS MODEL FOR TEACHERS
This chapter is intended to give you a good idea of how trialogical learning can be applied in
practice. Within the next pages 2 different pedagogical contexts will be described. However,
in principle, trialogical learning can be applied in a variety of different contexts as outlined in
the last part of this chapter.
Two scenarios will be described. Firstly, the context will be described which will elaborate on
the approach taken and the students who were involved. Secondly, we will present to you
what the scenario demonstrates when applied in an educational setting.Thirdly, the specific
learning objectives for the case are listed. After that, the activities undertaken by students
and teachers will be explained and visualized which includes a short overview of the
technological tools that were used.
TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO IN TEACHER

EDUCATION25
Context
Where was the scenario applied:
This scenario was applied in STOAS University
of Applied Sciences and Teacher Education in
the Netherlands, which offers professional
studies for pre-service teachers, who will
work in professional secondary schools
within the fields of agriculture, horticulture,
food technology, animal breeding and
keeping. In the programme pre-service
teachers (students) are coached teachers
during their work in professional situations
Figure p): Website of STOAS University of Applied
Sciences and Teacher Education
25
P. Sins, University Utrecht, The Netherlands ”Teachers transforming their coaching practices”. Available at:
http://www.knowledgepractices.info/module-casestudies.html
Page 38 of 62
Who took part:

70 students (full-time and part-time) took part in this scenario over two semesters in three
different courses. All students were also working in the classroom in teaching or teaching-
related positions or as interns in schools. Some had experience with collaborative
assignments, which they had acquired during previous courses. Their attitudes’ towards
collaborative activities were mixed.
This scenario demonstrates

How students maintain close collaboration throughout the various stages of a design
process (instead of applying a simple division of labour and simply putting together
their individual productions at the end).
How students can be encouraged to continuously articulate their ideas and
understanding of the knowledge and artefacts under scrutiny.
How students take-up and materialize continuously evolving ideas.
How students’ classroom work can be made more relevant to their current or future
workplaces and colleagues.
Learning Objective
Overall goal of the course was to support self-reflection on students’ own practices, peer-
feedback and the design of educational material for students’ own or external use.
Work was defined in terms of open-ended tasks, in which knowledge and skills were
mobilized, but also in which new knowledge and skills were to be created and applied to one
of the following course topics (depending on the course students had registered for):
Designing and assessing evaluation instruments
Learning situations with learning and behavioural problems
Coaching and learning in intercultural contexts
The objective was that learning should be relevant to students themselves but also have a
strong connection to their workplaces.
Page 39 of 62
Activities
Much of the work took place in regular group meetings, but individual and collaborative
work was done also between meetings supported by technology.
First Phase – Getting started:
Collaborative Project Activities Specific Teacher Interventions
Beginning of September
Tool training
Students explore the KPE
tools hands-on training on
Lectures and workshops (for each of the three courses)
the use of the tool
Identifying overarching How to approach the

topics workplace
Each student brought This session prepared
forward some topics of students to identify topics
interest, which were then of within their
clustered to overarching professional domain
themes with the help of
the teacher
Group forming
Students chose topics and
groups of three to five
End of September
students were formed.

One teacher coach was
assigned per team.
Page 40 of 62
Here are some examples of the objects around which the different learner groups set out to
work on:
Analysis of assessment instruments for Guidelines for teachers to deal with pupils
secondary professional education and with learning and behavioural problems
guidelines for teachers to use these e.g., AD(H)D
methods and instruments
A website to help teachers to identify A manual for institutions offering

pupils with depression symptoms internships for pupils with disabilities
A website that could be used by teachers Didactical material for `green` schools
to recognise pupil’s depression, auto
mutilation and suicidal tendencies
An activities blueprint for schools hosting A set of guidelines for agricultural schools
disabled pupils to attract pupils with different cultural
backgrounds
Page 41 of 62
After the initial phase of getting familiar with the tools, deciding about topics and group
formation, a second phase started:
Collaborative Project Activities Specific Teacher

Interventions
Preliminary workplan
With the help of a template offered by the
teacher students discuss and agree on a
preliminary work plan.
October
Lectures and workshops (for each of the three courses)
10-14 face-to-face sessions

during the run of the course
(minimum 75 minutes project
Support with the Knowledge Practices Environment

conducted in the Knowledge Practice Environment
work) During the sessions individual and collaborative work was
• Brainstorming on the theme
under scrutiny to make the
knowledge of each member
explicit
• General discussions about the
progress of the project
• Presentation of ideas which
were then discussed, rejected or
accepted and, if accepted,
elaborated either individually or
collectively by the group
• Presentation of drafts to be
discussed, provided with
feedback and suggestions for
revisions
• Planning of future tasks and
January
agreement on the division of

labour
• Discussing the progress with the
teacher coach
• Collaborative work on some of
the products (less frequent)
Page 42 of 62
Tools
For their collaborative work, students used the “Knowledge Practice Environment” mainly for
Shared storage
Shared Workspace
◊ For collaborative creation and development (write, edit, revise) of the objects
under development
◊ For collaborative editing (in wiki) and for commenting on each other’s work
◊ To visualize the process through linking those objects
◊ To chat on the developed work
And external e-mail for further communication.
Figure q): The shared workspace of students in the Knowlegde Practice Environment
Page 43 of 62
MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDENT TEAM WORK AND A REAL

CUSTOMER26
Context
Where did it take place?
This scenario was implemented in the University of Helsinki and Aalto University, School of
Economics in Finland.
Who was involved?

This scenario involved 30 fourth year students from several programmes including
Educational Science, Economics, Information and Service Management, Cognitive Science
and Psychology. All of them had signed-up for the optional course “Advanced Themes on
Project Management”.
This scenario demonstrates

How to create a networked course environment that allows students to organise their
work in multidisciplinary teams
How to enhance communication and coordination between those teams with the help
of a virtual environment
How to increase students reflection on the on-going activities
How to produce models and input for subsequent students of the same course
Learning Objectives
The objectives of this scenario were all linked to advanced skills and competences in project
management. The scenario aimed specifically to
Effective coordination of joint work and time management in interdisciplinary teams
Resolve complex real-world problems
Enhance performance in customer-oriented projects
26
K. Kosonen, University of Helsinki, Finland “Multidisciplinary teams simulating professional settings” . Available at:
http://www.knowledgepractices.info/module-casestudies.html
Page 44 of 62
Activities
The task for participating students was to set-up projects for the Finnish Tax Authority that
would enhance tax-payers’ behaviour in responding to the requirements of the Tax
Authority. The pedagogical scenario involved a mix of weekly face-to-face meetings between
students and instructors that were organised during and after lectures. Asynchronous work
was carried out by the students individually or in teams online.
Specific Teacher Interventions
Course introduction
The students were introduced to a) the roles of the
different teams involved in the course b) the roles
and responsibilities within student teams the c)
character of the assignment and the customer and
Lectures on project management, organizational psychology and technology
Defining d) the basic phases of the working processes that

Phase were to be followed during the course
March
Collaborative Project Activities Tool training
Students
Group Forming
explored the KPE
Students from 8 virtual teams with 3 to 5 tools, and
individuals each received hands-
on training on
the use of the
6 teams with own customer projects
tool
2 coordination teams of more advanced

students
1 research team to study and reflect on the

groups’ working activities and experiences
during the course
Creating team flyers: character of the team and the students competencies
Making working rules explicit: interactions, organisation and management
of meetings
Brainstorming about different themes that could be addressed
Agreement with the customer by the coordination team as to which
themes best met their current needs
Selection of themes by the student teams
Page 45 of 62
Collaborative Project Activities Specific

Teacher
Project Plan Interventions
Students created an adequate
Planning project plan for their work
Phase
Month XXXX
Report writing
Lectures on project management, organizational psychology and technology
Students composed a report

including project objectives, study
scope, definitions, task list with
responsibilities, an estimation of
Support with the Knowledge Practices Environment

time required and a description of
expected risks
Project Diaries and

“Scrum Follow-ups”
Execution Team members were asked 3
Phase questions regarding the tasks that
had been done, the tasks that were
to be done and the perceived
obstacles. Each group’s project
manager created a weekly diary
based on that information.
Peer reviews
Month XXXX
The coordination team arranged a

peer review to study the preliminary
reports.
Final Outcomes
.. were delivered to the Tax
Delivery
Administration intended for re-use.
Phase
Page 46 of 62
Tools
At the beginning of the course, a presentation with introductory information was uploaded
to the virtual shared working space by the teacher for students use.
During the course, students deployed many features of the Knowledge Practice
Environment:
They made notes, assigned and followed up with tasks with the help of ‘to do’ lists,
they negotiated and reflected on activities that had been undertaken and in
collaboration amongst team members.
They accessed and used a shared workspace by uploading content items and
elaborating on them specifically for the report document and scrum-follow up, but also
to draft ideas and upload other resources (e.g. papers, templates).
Students also chatted on the produced outcomes (object bound chatting).
Additionally, they used external email and the IRQ-gallery chatting tool.
Figure r): The main shared working space of the course
Page 47 of 62
TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN OTHER PEDAGOGICAL SETTING

Now that you have seen two examples of the Trialogical Learning Approach as applied in
practice, we hope that we have awakened your interest to explore further real-life cases. On
the http://www.knowledgepractices.info/module-casestudies.html website you will be able
to find exactly that, well presented cases of trialogical learning in action in various contexts.
When viewed collectively, it becomes clear that trialogical learning is particularly well suited
for contexts that involve collaborative knowledge creation and utilising knowledge artefacts
such as the following:
Supporting globally distributed design work in company settings where project teams
are working synchronously and asynchronously on the creation of common projects
which are manifested in blueprints, plans, reports and other types of concrete output.
Typically, this is the case for project teams where participants need to jointly
represent, discuss, comment, revise and organise knowledge (ideas, solutions,
suggestions, reports) in order to provide a solution to a problem or challenge they
face.
Enhancing coaching skills amongst teacher trainers charged with supporting groups of
trainee teachers in the creation and use of knowledge objects and instruments such as
guidelines, best practice toolkits, resource banks, etc. The Trialogical Learning
Approach facilitates the various steps required in such a context including the
collaborative identification and investigation of the challenges that are faced;
negotiation on possible solutions; modelling of solutions; operationalising or making
concrete solutions; implementing instruments in practice; monitoring and determining
the effect(s) of such instruments and reflection on the outputs.
Facilitating multidisciplinary project work as demonstrated by the second scenario
above at Helsinki University and Aalto School of Economics. This approach is
particularly suitable for third level students working on real-life customer oriented
open-ended assignments in which they need to develop and enhance multidisciplinary,
distributed project work practices. In this scenario, the Trialogical Learning approach
facilitates students who wish to set up a context with complex problems; to take part
in questioning and problematizing activities; to construct working hypotheses and
solutions; to deepen their analysis; to create knowledge artefacts for subsequent use;
to carry out critical user evaluation of artefacts and solutions and finally to reflect on
the extent to which their knowledge practices have been transformed.
Page 48 of 62
CHAPTER 5
DESIGN YOUR OWN TRIALOGICAL LEARNING
SYSTEM
After having understood the Trialogical Learning Approach, having learned about tools to
support learning and explored two scenarios, now it is time for you to start to plan your own
implementation of trialogical learning. This chapter is focussed on supporting you in
designing your own trialogical learning within your professional context.
As a consequence this chapter differs from the previous chapters due to its operational and
practical nature. It will guide you through the process of planning also by providing a number
of activities to aid your preparation. After completing those activities you should be in a
suitable position to apply different key principles of the Trialogical Learning Approach and
put the Trialogical Learning Approach with your students into practice.
We hope you enjoy going through the process suggested in this chapter as well as the final
results.
BEFORE STARTING: WHAT IS YOUR ROLE AS A TEACHER?

A central aim of present-day higher education is to promote learners’ various knowledge
creation competences in diverse working and learning settings by means of pedagogical
practices, rather than mastery of content in some subject domains. Pedagogical practices
that are regarded to improve these competences include such features as student
ownership and active involvement; collaboration between participants; activities of
searching, sharing and elaborating knowledge; working with authentic, ill-defined problems;
critical reflection on one’s own activity; and the teacher’s changed role from delivering
knowledge to organizing, guiding and assessing students.
To foster learners’ knowledge creation competences in diverse working and learning

settings, successful teachers changed their role from delivering knowledge to organizing,
guiding and assessing students27. Following the Trialogical Learning Approach you - as a
teacher - try to capture and explicate learners’ tacit knowledge, manage and facilitate their
knowledge creation processes and foster boundary crossing collaboration. You also want to
make sure that their knowledge artefacts are created for re-use.
27
Ilomäki, L., Lakkala, M., & Paavola, S. (2006). Case studies of learning objects used in school settings. Learning, Media,
and Technology, 31(3), 249-267.
Kozma, R. B. (2003). Technology and classroom practices: An international study. Journal of Research on Technology in
Education, 36(1), 1–14.
Scardamalia, M. & Bereiter, C. (2003). Knowledge building. In Encyclopedia of Education (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan
Reference, 1370–1373.
Page 49 of 62
Those are challenging tasks, but this chapter presents principles and recommendations that
will aid you to make this kind of learning possible.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING

The KP-Lab project developed six “general design principles for enhancing trialogical learning
practices in educational settings through pedagogical arrangements and supporting
technology”28. These principles mediate generalizations of research findings and unique
examples that emerged in practice, and they are meant for informing your innovative
educational practice. The principles are quite general and abstract characteristics of
trialogical learning and related knowledge practices:
Box 9) Design Principles

DP1. Organize activities around shared objects
DP2. Support integration of personal and collective agency and work (through
developing shared objects)
DP3. Emphasize development and creativity on shared objects through
transformations and reflection
DP4. Foster long-term processes of knowledge advancement with shared objects
(artefacts and practices)
DP5. Promote cross-fertilization of various knowledge practices and artefacts across
communities and institutions
DP6. Provide flexible tools for developing artefacts and practices
The principles do not need to be followed strictly. There can be different focuses for
trialogical learning in different settings. However, the first principle is the overarching
principle central to the Trialogical Learning Approach, which relates to all the others.
28
Minna Lakkala, Liisa Ilomäki, Kari Kosonen, Sami Paavola & Hanni Muukkonen (2009). Exploring the Applicability of
Trialogical Design Principles for Examining Knowledge Practices in Education. In: Moen, A. Mørch, A.I., and Paavola, S.,
(Eds.). Collaborative Knowledge Creation: Practices, Tools, and Concepts
http://www.knowledgepractices.info/wiki/index.php?title=Handbook_on_Trialogical_Learning
Page 50 of 62
RECOMMENDATION AND ACTIVITIES TO PLAN YOUR

TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO
One of the main purposes of this handbook is to give you more specific guidelines on how to
implement the new learning approach into your teaching practice. We will therefore turn to
the generic model again, that was introduced in chapter 2. Following the phases of the
model, we present different concrete recommendation based on the research on case
studies that were conducted by the KP-Lab project.
You should keep in mind some the following while you are progressing:
1) The activities have been chosen to support you in the process of designing your own
trialogical learning system. Exemplars of choices and reflections. Try to perform all the
activities, since they were chosen to build the basis for your scenario design and
implementation.
2) There is no single approach or unique path to be followed. We have structured the

chapter on the basis of the 6 design principles (see below) and the generic process
model as introduced in chapter 2. The model does not determine a sequential series of
steps, but for your planning we consider it helpful to work through different phases.
However, you might decide to follow a different sequence in designing your system or
after completing an activity you might decide to go back and change what you have
previously prepared.
3) This chapter builds on the contents of previous chapters. Please take time to go back
to these chapters to refresh your understanding of core concepts and ideas where
necessary.
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Explicating real purpose and need for creating new knowledge / for transforming
A practices
Start out your scenario with a broad theme as for example the topic of the course. You
should not decide on concrete products of the course activity. Instead stimulate your
learners to think themselves of products that encompass the theme-related knowledge.
Take the background of students into account and let them find out what is relevant to them
and their (future or current) professional context.
Relate the brainstorming to the workplace of learners, the place of an internship or training
or a real-life customer.
Let your learners brainstorm and create an open atmosphere for creative ideas. In order to
support students in that starting phase, you can show samples of objects from previous
courses.
Your role in this process is to cluster ideas of learners and allow for discussing each cluster in
more detail. You can start to set-up groups around those clusters according to the interest of
the learners. These should ideally consist of 3 to 4 members as with more than this the
collaboration can become rather loose and not very effective.
Activity 1
How are you going to relate learners’ activities to a “real” purpose?
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Activity 2
Please outline the major work phases that you will communicate to learners. Note that you
do not need to plan in five phases.
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Here is an example of the phases for the scenario described in chapter 4.
1 KPE tool training

Students get acquainted with specific KPE functionalities
2 Defining phase
Organising teams, Creation of a coordinating team
Team flyer specifying the character of the team and the competences of its members
Agree on a list of explicit rules for describing the way the team will work
3 Planning phase
Each team creates a suitable project plan
4 Executing phase
Get the project work done
Follow-up and control progress, weekly manager’s diary, conduct “scrum follow up
5 Delivery phase
Delivery and final presentation of the group reports
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B Framing questions and epistemic challenges / common process organization
This step is intended to challenge traditional thinking patterns. What knowledge and object
should be created collaboratively? Keep in mind that you want students to take agency
about their learning process! For this stage it is important, that learners feel responsible for
what they know and what they don’t know, or in other words, they understand that
individual and group knowledge arises from choices they take themselves. Avoid a
prescribed and fixed scheme of activities for groups work at the beginning; instead the
teams can be scaffolded by different assignments or by outlining the phases of the group
work.
Make the tacit knowledge of your learners explicit by asking questions: What are the
different aspects of the dilemma/real-life problem? What factors are influencing it? How can
it be addressed in the form of solutions?
Feel free to foster confusion by asking unexpected questions. This way you will stimulate
students to discuss different possibilities with one another. Let students search for
opposites, for opponents of the particular idea or use of a work method that allows them
space to consider other perspectives. Use practices like discussions, debating contests, forum
discussions, or even invite experts who have contrary opinions to those prevailing.
Questions such as: What would happen if this was not true? In which situations does this not
apply?
Pose questions that make students imagine and explore possibilities in their widest context:
Imagine your school (workplace) has room for your plan, what would you do? Imagine you
wake up and the problem/constraint does not exist anymore, what would you do? Imagine if
you would make a movie about ideal situations, a soap, a thriller or a comedy?
These activities should already produce some concrete outcomes with which the group can
work later on: e.g. notes, sketches, idea lists, outlines etc.
You can make students work with mind maps to enable them seeing the big picture and
guarantee communication on their initial understanding of the real-life problem they
decided to work on. Especially in multidisciplinary teams, your learners won't share a
common language. To foster a common understanding, let them work on simple model
making explicit the most important concepts and tasks.
Try to raise students’ awareness of participation and contribution to collaboration itself.

Consider a short discussion to find out about their culture of collaboration, because learners
are not always eager to collaborate. Some might well think that working alone is faster and
easier.
Be explicit about the number and duration meetings, you can meet once a week for example.
Page 55 of 62
Activity 3
How will support members of the group/s to use and develop previous knowledge? Which
resources/materials could learners share with the whole group, thus building on previous
knowledge?
Activity 4
How will you support students to elaborate a common language, a common understanding
of the real-life problem at hand?
Activity 5
Plan which activities will be conducted during Face-to-face meetings, which will be carried
out at the distance, which activities will be conducted at the level of a plenary as opposed to
an individual group levels. On a separate sheet you should prepare a draft schedule of the
meetings (frequency, duration, etc.).
Page 56 of 62
Drafting and versioning knowledge artefacts and solutions / process plans and
C models
It is a complex process to let students elaborate and materialise ideas into objects, thus it
requires your support. Promote early drafting, joint versioning and targeted commenting of
knowledge objects.
In this phase learners should draft and elaborate process plans (process models, task
definitions, responsibilities, timetables, milestones, etc.). These should raise awareness of
the complexity of collaboration around shared knowledge objects as well as the complexity
of the knowledge object itself. You can ask team members to create team flyers specifying
the character of the team and the competencies of its members. Or let students formulate
explicit rules to describe the way the team will work.
Your challenge as a teacher is it to keep track of the distribution of roles and various
members’ contributions and to encourage teams to divide responsibility more equally when
needed.
Try to keep students from focusing too much on the end product. Students are often being
overly product-oriented and focus far too heavily on the end product in their knowledge
creation activities rather than the process itself. You can encourage students to create and
share prototypes and by doing so maintaining close collaboration during the whole learning
process.
Let teams agree on quality criteria for the shared knowledge object(s) they are going to
develop. Discuss the needs of possible end-users of the group work outcomes.
Do not forget that you want to foster contributions of all group members. There are a
number of problems that might arise: First, immediate group discussions following on
simulations will influence perceptions of the preceding activity and thereby hinder creation
of personal analyses by each individual. Second, the team might not be able utilize its
potential capacity of learning from each of its members. Some students may be quiet while
others dominate and not get the chance to speak their voice. Third, there could be uncritical
agreement among team members. Members may not be aware of other members’ views. To
prevent those problems first let students work on a task individually for each iteration and
only later encourage to share, discuss and negotiate these collaboratively.
One important note for the creation of process plans: Traditionally, the distinction made
between the role of learner and teacher is closely connected to profession, education and
stage of career. In trialogical learning the idea is to break up such traditional ties, and to
regard these roles as occasional to the particular activity, people possibly playing dynamically
with the roles even within the same activity. Roles can be assigned and reassigned from
subactivity to subactivity, and one Actor may play different roles at the same time in
concurrent activities, e.g. observer, supervisor or chair. 29
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Activity 6
What kind of outcomes do you expect students to produce at this stage of the process?
Activity 7
How will you follow-up with the work of the different groups?
Page 58 of 62
D Examining and reflecting on produced knowledge artefacts / enacted practices
To create a successful trialogical learning experience, it is important to let students reflect

on the activities that they have undertaken. You need to encourage students to continuously
articulate their ideas and understanding of the knowledge and artifacts at stake for example
with a scrum-follow up. Ensure to receive the feedback and progress update of the teams, let
them be explicit about yet unresolved questions and link information resources. Let learners
regularly summarise their intellectual achievements. For a real trialogical approach you need
to analyse and score learners’ performance continuously.
Your role here is also to highlight the essentials for further work of learners.
Remind the teams to examine the effectiveness of implementing the interventions based on
collaboratively agreed upon criteria and standards.
Encourage learners also to let go of produced artifacts, if they do not fulfil previously agreed
criteria.
Keep in mind that knowledge creation and development always take time.
Activity 8
What methods will you use to encourage students to constantly reflect on
a. group work results? b. And their practices?
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Finalising and specifying produced knowledge artefacts / process models and

E practices
Make sure that the final outcomes are easy to reuse. They should meet the criteria and
standards and possible checked with external experts.
F Reusing knowledge artefacts / practices
The participants’ knowledge creation and development work needs to have a real meaning
for other people in the future.
All these activities can and should be supported by suitable technology. After the above
activities you are now in a good position to select the technological tools which will allow
you to implement your scenario. The way tools allow members of the groups to create,
retrieve, manipulate, organise, visualize, update, modify knowledge artifacts and the
knowledge development processes/links/relations /views/flows which take place during
trialogical learning are central to the approach. Therefore you should plan the tool selection
very carefully.
If you decide to use the KPE it is important to take the time and effort into account that is
required for users to get used to the environment. Keep in mind how much effort it had cost
to start working with a word processing tool for the first time. Learners need to have time
and prepared examples to be at ease with the KPE. Have a training session at the beginning,
some materials and tutorials can be found at www.knowledgepractices.org. It is best to
provide some pre-structure content for the common workspace. You could also make the
workspace of a previous learner group accessible or create an example with material that
your learners are familiar with.
However, the use of technological tools should be flexible. Communication amongst group
members can take place via normal and familiar means like email or other tools also
following the preference of the learners.
For your tasks during the implementation of the activity it is important to see a sort of log,
i.e. you need to be able to access information on: who produced different elements; when
where these created? It is important to use tools that preserve the outcomes and the
development of the knowledge-production. The KPE is a good tool to analyse and score
performance continuously.
Page 60 of 62
Activity 9
What technological tools will be used to enable learners to
a. plan, organise and b. manage communication c. create, share and further

coordinate processes? around the shared objects elaborate these objects?
under development?
Page 61 of 62
A CHECKLIST FOR YOUR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO

After these recommendations you can use checklists to determine how much your scenario
is set up to be a real implementation of the Trialogical Learning Approach into your
educational setting. The checklist is also intended to summarise some of the previous
planning in the column on methods/activities.
Design Principle Integrated? What methods/activities will to use?

Please check.
Organize activities around shared

objects
Support integration of personal

and collective agency and work
(through developing shared
objects)
Emphasize development and

creativity on shared objects
through transformations and
reflection
Foster long-term processes of

knowledge advancement with
shared objects (artefacts and
practices)
Promote cross-fertilization of
various knowledge practices and
artefacts across communities and
institutions
Provide flexible tools for

developing artefacts and practices
Page 62 of 62

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TRIALOGICAL LEARNING

A HANDBOOK FOR TEACHERS

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................5

CHAPTER 2 THINK TRIALOGICAL OR THE GENERIC PROCESS MODEL FOR TRIALOGICAL

CHAPTER 3 TOOLS FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING..............................................................19

CREATING, TRANSFORMING AND ELABORATING KNOWLEDGE ARTEFACTS ......................................... 22

PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING PROCESSES............................................................. 28

MANAGING SOCIAL RELATIONS AROUND SHARED OBJECTS ............................................................ 34

CHAPTER 4 TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN ACTION OR A PROCESS MODEL FOR TEACHERS ....38

MULTIDISCIPLINARY STUDENT TEAM WORK AND A REAL CUSTOMER............................................... 44

TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN OTHER PEDAGOGICAL SETTING ............................................................. 48

CHAPTER 5 DESIGN YOUR OWN TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SYSTEM ....................................49

PURPOSE OF THIS HANDBOOK

“[…] various changes in modern society form [are characterised by]

This handbook is a concrete outcome of this long-term commitment. Another output is an

Chapter 3 provides an introduction to technological tools that support trialogical learning

Let’s get started.

HOW TRIALOGICAL LEARNING EVOLVED - BACKGROUND

Secondly, a different concept of learning is

Figure b): Three metaphors of learning

“Speaking very generally, the acquisition

Ideas and concepts originating in the field of Computer-supported collaborative learning

TRIALOGICAL LEARNING PROCESSES – VISUALISED AND

Let us now turn to the Trialogical Learning itself.

knowledge and add the value of conceptual artefacts.”11

Let us go through each one of the processes.

Framing questions and epistemic challenges / common process organization

Very early on participants are encouraged to start drafting concrete knowledge

D Examining and reflecting on produced knowledge artefacts / enacted practices

Both knowledge artefacts developed and enacted practices are constantly

Finalising and specifying produced knowledge artefacts / process models and

F Reusing knowledge artefacts / practices

SO WHAT IS INNOVATIVE ABOUT TRIALOGICAL LEARNING? –

TRIALOGICAL LEARNING IN A NUTSHELL – 8 BASIC IDEAS

Box 5) Learning is trialogical if:

TOOLS FOR TRIALOGICAL LEARNING

THE KNOWLEDGE PRACTICES ENVIRONMENT (KPE)

Different “views” for different purposes

Figure d): Main tools and features of KPE

CREATING, TRANSFORMING AND ELABORATING KNOWLEDGE

Content View in KPE

Figure e): Wiki page inside KPE Wiki

Comment and Semantic Tagging

Visual Modelling (Language) Editor

Figure k): Visual Model Example

Creating concept supports learners to develop shared meanings of tasks, concepts,

Box 6) The best use of Concept Mapping Tools is when:

PLANNING, ORGANIZING AND COORDINATING PROCESSES

Process View in KPE

Add, edit or delete new ToDo item into the list

Box 5): The best use of ToDoList is when:

Box 6): The best use of Calendar is

Chat – One-to-one and context-bound

Figure l): Context based chat window

Box 7) The best use of private chat is when:

Map-IT and Meeting Management Tool (M2T)

Figure m): Map-It visualised

MANAGING SOCIAL RELATIONS AROUND SHARED OBJECTS

Community View in KPE

Figure n): Group created in KPE

Figure o): Forum in KPE

TRIALOGICAL LEARNING SCENARIO IN TEACHER

Who took part:

This scenario demonstrates