Monitoring collaborative activities in computer supported collaborative learning

Monitoring the learning process in computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments is a key element for supporting the efficacy of tutor actions. This article proposes an approach for analysing learning processes in a CSCL environment to support tutors in their monitoring tasks. The approach entails tracking the interactions within the communication platform to identify cues of the participative, social, cognitive, and teaching dimensions of the learning process. Both quantitative and qualitative indicators are employed to achieve a complete and thorough picture of the learning dynamics. A set of methodological and technological tools based on this approach has been tried out in the context of the online component of a blended course in educational technology addressing trainee teachers. The results of the study support the applicability of the proposed approach to content domains where discussion and reflective practice are the most effective learning strategy.     

The roles of collective task value and collaborative behaviors in collaborative performance through collaborative creation in CSCL

Research has suggested that self or co-regulated learning is very helpful for the development of students’ autonomy, and is particularly important in online learning environments, because such non-linear environments tend to lack focus and teachers’ monitoring. The social cognitive research suggests that highly self-regulated learners have higher motivation and more control of their learning behaviors, and thus generate better outcomes on an individual basis rather on a group basis. This study thus attempts to extend the social cognitive perspective of self-regulated learning to collective regulated learning, and to investigate the relationships among collective beliefs (i.e., collective task value, a newly developed group motivation), collaborative behaviors (i.e., group cohesion, cognitive quality of collaborative interactions), and collaborative performance through collaborative creation in the CSCL environment. A total of 96 college students participated in this study. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were applied. The results indicate that collective task value is a reliable and valid construct. The results also show that collective task value significantly predicts students’ group cohesion and collaborative performance, although it does not predict students’ cognitive quality of collaborative interactions. Students’ group cohesion and higher level of cognitive quality in collaborative interactions also both significantly predict their collaborative performance through collaborative creation in the CSCL environment.     

When collaborative is not collaborative: Supporting student learning through self-surveillance

Collaborative learning has been widely endorsed in education. This qualitative research examines instances of collaborative learning during mathematics that were seen to be predominantly non-collaborative despite the pedagogical efforts and intentions of the teacher and the task. In an effort to disrupt the non-collaborative learning, small groups of eighth grade students engaged in self-surveillance where they viewed video data of their group's collaborations and then reflected collectively on their observations. A key finding from this research is that self-surveillance disrupted students’ normalized patterns of collaborative learning creating greater opportunities for individual student learning and participation. Implications for student learning and pedagogy will be discussed.     

Solidarity through collaborative research

While numerous publications signal the merits of collaborative research, few studies provide interpretive analyses of collaborative‐research practices or collaborative relationships. Through this multiple case study design of collaborative‐research teams, the authors attempt to provide such an analysis by focusing on the collaborative‐research experiences of seven qualitative researchers from two contrasting research teams in Australia and North America. They highlight how solidarity emerged from successful interactions between interdependent members, and how these were both professionally and personally rewarding for individuals and the teams. As well, they identify the opportunities for solidarity afforded to researchers from vertical collaborations (i.e. collaborations involving differential status between team members) that featured evolving and transforming mentoring relationships through the history of the research projects. They propose that solidarity can be stratified within large research teams through sub‐units like dyads. Finally, they suggest that collaborating researchers might benefit from reviewing case studies of collaborative relationships, and engaging in mutual interrogation and subsequent individual reflections of their articulated collaborative practices and relationships.     

Learning through collaborative writing

This article looks again at the dynamics of reading, writing and telling stories. It argues that working collaboratively can motivate writers in ways which encourage them to redraft their work purposefully and explicitly in pursuit of particular creative effects. It exemplifies ways in which knowledge about language at word, sentence and whole text level can effectively be brought to bear as part of a holistic approach to writing.     

Designing electronic collaborative learning environments

Electronic collaborative learning environments for learning and working are in vogue. Designers design them according to their own constructivist interpretations of what collaborative learning is and what it should achieve. Educators employ them with different educational approaches and in diverse situations to achieve different ends. Students use them, sometimes very enthusiastically, but often in a perfunctory way. Finally, researchers study them and—as is usually the case when apples and oranges are compared—find no conclusive evidence as to whether or not they work, where they do or do not work, when they do or do not work and, most importantly, why, they do or do not work. This contribution presents an affordance framework for such collaborative learning environments; an interaction design procedure for designing, developing, and implementing them; and an educational affordance approach to the use of tasks in those environments. It also presents the results of three projects dealing with these three issues.     

Children's views of collaborative learning

Collaborative learning is a widely used and popular strategy in many primary schools. In this article, the authors review the nature and purpose of collaborative learning and present a summary of how one small group of Year 5/6 children view its effectiveness.     

Teacher response to collaborative consultation

Investigated teacher responses to a consultant's efforts to foster either a collaborative or an expert consultation relationship via a quasi-experimental study. Eight teachers were exposed to a collaborative approach, and seven to an expert. Teacher satisfaction with the consultation and the extent of their implementation of the recommendations were the dependent variables examined. Teachers exposed to the collaborative approach were significantly more satisfied (p <.05, Mann-Whitney U Test, one-tailed). There was no significant difference in the extent of recommendation implementation of the two groups of teachers, but a consultant approach-teacher experience interaction was suggested. The generalizability of these results and recommendations for design modification for further research are discussed.     

Designing collaborative multiplayer serious games

The idea of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is being investigated for more than twenty years. Since a few years, game-based approaches like video games for learning (Serious Games) offer new fields of application. The combination of game-based learning concepts and collaborative learning may enable new, game-based application areas of CSCL, like collaborative multiplayer Serious Games. Designing such games, however, is very challenging as it requires to take into account traditional single player game design concepts, concepts for multiplayer game design, and concepts for Serious Game design simultaneously. Only very few examples of such games exist today. In this paper we describe an approach for the design of game-based collaborative learning scenarios using multiplayer Serious Games. Our approach aims at combining design concepts from the fields of collaborative learning and (multiplayer) game design. Our approach takes into account the requirements of traditional single player games (fun, narration, immersion, graphics, sound), challenges of multiplayer games (concurrent gaming, interaction) and Serious Game design (seamless inclusion of learning content, adaptation and personalization). Furthermore, requirements of collaborative learning are considered, like group goals, positive interdependence, and individual accountability. Our design concept was used to create a collaborative 3D multiplayer game fostering collaborative behavior as a foundation for game-based collaborative learning in small teams. We performed a user study with eight gaming sessions and a total of 23 participants. Results showed that the game enables a collaborative gameplay and fosters collaborative behavior. This may allow us to use a game-based CSCL approach to combine the advantages of game-based learning with those of collaborative learning in future.     

Team-skills training enhances collaborative learning

This study investigated the effects of team-skills training on collaborative learning in a university setting. Groups worked under one of three conditions: (1) groups received team-skill training as a group and remained in that group (Trained-Together), (2) groups received team-skills training, but were then reassigned into new groups (Trained-Reassigned), and (3) groups received no training (Untrained). Each group completed a collaborative task and then group members were tested on the material learned. Scores were highest in the Trained-Together and lowest in the Untrained condition. Results are explained in terms of levels of planning, time management, distribution of effort and strategies adopted.     

Knowledge convergence and collaborative learning

This paper operationalized the notion of knowledge convergence and assessed quantitatively how much knowledge convergence occurred during collaborative learning. Knowledge convergence was defined as an increase in common knowledge where common knowledge referred to the knowledge that all collaborating partners had. Twenty pairs of college students collaborated to learn a science text about the human circulatory system. Comparisons of individual pre-test and post-test performance revealed that students shared more knowledge pieces and mental models after collaboration. Although the amount of convergence was modest, analyses showed that collaborative interaction was responsible for the increase in common knowledge. The increase in common knowledge was observed in knowledge that was never stated in the learning text as well as in knowledge that was explicitly presented in the text. The amount of convergence was related to interaction such that real pairs shared more knowledge than nominal pairs, and more interactive pairs shared more inferred knowledge than less interactive pairs. Collaborative dialogues and learning artifacts (e.g., drawings) also indicated that common knowledge was constructed during collaboration. Possible reasons for the discrepancy between the impression of strong convergence assumed in the literature and the results of this study are discussed along with the need to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the notion that includes its process, outcome, and sources of convergence.     

Learning through collaborative computer simulations

The author argues that computer-based simulations can help students to enhance their conceptual and intuitive understanding of theoretical concepts. Intuitive understanding of scientific concepts goes beyond conceptual understanding; attaining a sense of familiarity with ideas that cannot be directly experienced requires opportunities for student-directed activities and feedback on those activities in an environment that simulates the theory concerned. Computer-based simulations can offer these characteristics, but they still do not always achieve the intended enhancement in intuitive understanding. The author discusses evaluation studies of particular science simulations in order to draw conclusions about the design and implementation characteristics that contribute to the success of an educational simulation.     

Developing reading comprehension through collaborative learning

The present study explores the development and promotion of reading comprehension in primary school students, in the context of the implementation of an educational programme called ‘Learning Together’ (LT). The programme, which centred on collaborative learning activities, was designed to promote oral and written communication in primary school Mexican children. Analyses revealed that children who participated in the LT programme, in comparison with students in a control condition, produced higher‐quality written summaries of texts they had read, both when working in teams and when working individually. This suggests that the LT participants appropriated and transferred the text comprehension strategies promoted, so that they could apply these strategies effectively not only in collaborative contexts but also independently, that is, in a self‐regulated and autonomous fashion. The theoretical and practical implications of the work are discussed in relation to understanding and promoting oracy and literacy processes in primary school students.     

Promoting technology integration through collaborative apprenticeship

Teachers often learn technology skills and integration strategies in intensive seminars, ineffective means for professional learning because experiences are seldom transferred to instructional practices. Thus, effective technology integration requires teachers to obtain learning experiences within the context of their teaching so they can practice, reflect, and modify their practices. Learning in a teaching community is a social process that involves ongoing, on-site, and just-in-time support. Teachers need avenues to continually interact to provide such support across all members of the community. Collaborative Apprenticeship, a professional development model featuring reciprocal interactions, is one such approach to promoting technology integration. Teachers experienced in technology use serve as mentors of peer-teachers' technology applications aimed at improving instruction. Technology is progressively infused as peer-teachers learn to design technology-rich lessons from their technology-savvy peers through modeling, collaboration, and coaching.     

加强产学研协同创新探析

实现创新驱动发展的关键是要进一步深化科技体制改革,加快构建产学研相结合的技术创新体系。本文通过分析当前我国产学研合作发展现状和加强产学研协同创新的必要性,尝试从促进企业主导产业技术研发创新、提升高校、科研院所科技服务能力、营造产学研协同创新政策环境等方面,对加强产学研协同创新提出一些对策思路。     

Forming a collaborative action research partnership

This article describes the complex nature of collaborative relationships, the difficulties of conducting research with others, and the complications of partnerships in educational research. To create and sustain a communicative space in which participants can collaborate to innovate education and curriculum, time and opportunity to develop trust in the group are needed. We report on a collaborative action research project in the Netherlands in which 14 teachers, three facilitators and an academic researcher formed a partnership, and together designed Language 1 education. We find contextual and the communicative conditions are important in the collaborative action research partnership. We use metaphors of facilitative actions – map, magnifying glass, mirror and compass – formulated by Wadsworth to analyze and describe the collaboration. We show that the participants had to come to terms with their roles and responsibilities and, through dialogue and reflection, evolved and learned to contribute to the collaborative action research partnership by sustaining dialogue and utilizing their unique expertise.     

论高校教师合作文化的构建

社会变革、教师专业发展和高等教育教学改革都在呼唤构建以平等、民主、对话为特征的合作性教师文化。构建高校教师合作文化有助于促进教师发展,推动高校组织文化建设,推进高等教育改革。其实现途径包括：教师应转变观念、学会学习;努力营造合作氛围;建立发展性教师评价机制和建设互助合作的教师团队。     

Methodological challenges for collaborative learning research

Research on collaborative learning, both face-to-face and computer-supported, has thrived in the past 10 years. The studies range from outcome-oriented (individual and group learning) to process-oriented (impact of interaction on learning processes, motivation and organisation of collaboration) to mixed studies. Collaborative learning research is multidisciplinary. This introduces a multitude of theoretical accounts for collaborative learning, accompanied by a broad spectrum of methods to study processes and outcomes of collaboration. This special issue will provide an overview of methods that are at the core of current research effort, but also identifies opportunities and problems to sensibly combine methods into mixed method approaches.