The third metaphor of learning

Sfard (1999) distinguished two different metaphors for learning. The metaphor of acquisition implies that learning is an individual process, gaining possession over some commodity (knowledge, concepts), by transfer and internalization. The metaphor of participation implies that learning is the process of initiation and enculturation of newcomers in a community of practice. Paavola, Lipponen and Hakkarainen (2004) claim that neither metaphor captures the processes of knowledge creation and advancement, which occur when new ideas are developed during some forms of collaborative activities. To overcome this omission, they proposed a third metaphor: knowledge creation. In this preconference event we address the question what is specific about CSCL within a knowledge creation metaphor.