Shared epistemic agency framework for analyzing knowledge creation in collaborative design¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 6 claims (6 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 6 claims rest on one study

Description¶

This framework conceptualizes how members of a community engage in creating shared knowledge objects as productive participants, extending individual epistemic agency. It comprises seven behaviours across two dimensions: epistemic (creating awareness, alleviating lack of knowledge, creating shared understanding, generative collaborative actions) and regulative (projective, regulative, relational). The article states "Shared epistemic agency goes beyond individual epistemic agency and describes how members engage in a community for the purpose of creating shared knowledge objects as productive participants." GCA is positioned as the most advanced epistemic stage.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Discourse data transcribed and segmented by turns of talk
• Coding via social moderation process with two independent raters

Constraints¶

• Framework was applied to design-mode prototyping contexts; originally developed for university student group activities

Target Learners¶

• collaborative design teams
• higher education students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• knowledge creation
• collaborative problem-solving
• shared epistemic agency

Claims¶

• Disciplinary Kc Focus Differences Prototyping [+M]
• Engineering, product design, and service design teams differ significantly in shared epistemic agency during collaborative prototyping [+W]
• All teams showed divergent-then-convergent idea improvement patterns across prototyping sessions [+W]
• Engineering team converged earlier than other teams, concluding prototyping two minutes before the time limit [+W]
• Differences in shared epistemic agency between design teams change across prototyping phases [+W]
• Each team showed statistically significant changes in shared epistemic agency across prototyping phases [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Knowledge Objects and Knowledge Practices
• Trialogical learning: a distinct form of learning through collaborative work on shared knowledge artefacts

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Ohsaki, A., Tan, Y., Eagan, B., Shaffer, D. W., & Swiecki, Z. (2026). Temporal Network Analysis of Collaborative Prototyping from a Knowledge Creation Perspective. Journal of Learning Analytics, 13(1), 190–207. https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2026.8959