Characterising knowledge construction through a process analysis of dialogues

We present an analysis of discourse in case-centred learning. The analysis answers questions about how an abstract representation of a case is constructed through discourse, and about what cognitive products result from that construction. The analysis relies on a generic learning model that supports the coding and quantification of learning discourse. This analysis is demonstrated through its application to a set of dialogues taken from 2 groups of medical students who, as part of their professional training, were asked to explain the medical ethics engendered by two patient cases. The analysis shows that the learners strengthen their existing conceptual knowledge, rather than acquire new conceptual knowledge, and specifically that they make valuable new connections between structurally similar episodes, and between concepts and specific facts of the case. We assess the value of an analysis of cognitive processes for characterising collaborative case-centred discussions, and its use in showing differences of processing of information in different learning environments.