The ENCORE lab was established in 2006 at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto as a research group interested in collaborative and collective forms of inquiry learning where teachers and students engage as a knowledge community. We investigate a pedagogical model called Knowledge Community and Inquiry (KCI), where students and teacher work collectively to advance their understandings of complex science topics. Our designs emphasize the role of technology for scaffolding knowledge construction and inquiry processes, integrating a variety of tools and platforms, as well as data mining, and the use of intelligent agents to support the orchestration of our complex inquiry designs. Current research includes the use of tangible and embodied interactions, user-contributed materials, and immersive environments to support inquiry learning.
