An exploration of individual student perceptions of mastery of knowledge in an online collaborative context

Technology-supported learning environments no longer need to conform to the traditional classroom environment where information is uniformly disseminated. Instead, the application of technologies means that learners can participate actively in their own knowledge acquisition process. Over the years teaching and learning practices have moved from instructor-centric to student-centric. As the focus moves from instructor-centric to studentcentric, the knowledge to be collected has grown hyper exponentially. Individual mastery of knowledge has been shown to be effective in a variety of learning situations, particularly in face-to-face collaborative learning environments. This qualitative study explores individual perceptions of mastery of knowledge acquired in a technology-supported online collaboration context. Results from the study indicate individual student mastery of knowledge was strongly supported in online collaboration via engagement in online discussion forums. By using mastery of knowledge to enhance the learning process, there would be a commensurate enhancement of the likelihood of the transfer of knowledge. The enhancement of this learning process can assist Web course designers and educators to create online learning programs that best utilize the students' capacity for knowledge management, processing of information and information sharing.