Exploring College Students' Perceptions of Learning and Online Performance in a Knowledge Building Environment

This study examined students' perceptions of learning and online performance in a learning environment. The participants were 93 college students in a teacher-education program in a university. The online learning environment was designed based on knowledge building pedagogy and was utilized to help engage students in collaborative learning and knowledge work. A questionnaire on the perceptions of learning was employed to assess how students' viewed their online learning. The findings indicated that the students involved in a knowledge-building environment (as compared with non-knowledge-building environment) perceived their online learning as relatively more student-centered. Moreover, they were able to progressively provide one another with more elaborated feedback during discussion. Some implications regarding design of effective learning environments are discussed.