Knowledge Creation in Constructivist Learning

In today's competitive global economy characterized by knowledge acquisition, the concept of knowledge management has become increasingly prevalent in academic and business practices. Knowledge creation is an important factor and remains a source of competitive advantage over knowledge management. Constructivism holds that learners learn actively and construct new knowledge based on their prior knowledge. Therefore, there needs to be a shift in locus of constructing knowledge from the individual to collective construction. The concept of knowledge building communities has emerged recently as a foundation for re-examining pedagogical approaches in education. To understand the true nature of knowledge, it is necessary to recognize that tacit and explicit knowledge are essential to knowledge creation. Knowledge can be created through conversion between tacit and explicit knowledge by four different modes. The four modes of knowledge conversion are created when tacit and explicit knowledge interacts with each other. It is in this very act of conversion from tacit to explicit knowledge that learning is created. Educators must understand the dynamic nature of knowledge itself in order to practice effective knowledge management in multi-disciplinary contexts. It is also crucial for educators to focus on effective methods of delivering content, the media used, and the overall quality of the instruction materials. Information technology facilitates knowledge management practices by disseminating knowledge and making codified knowledge retrievable. The study therefore tries to find out the effectiveness of e- learning in developing the knowledge creation ability of student in the four modes suggested by Nonaka and Takeuchi .