Teaching collaborative skills with a group leader computer tutor

This paper discusses how a group leader computer tutor may aid students in learning collaborative skills in a co-operative learning environment. However, students need to learn collaborative skills and practice using them. The group leader computer tutor discussed in this paper is designed on the principles of co-operative learning, intelligent tutoring systems and computer-supported collaborative work within an intelligent collaborative learning system (ICLS). The group leader aims to facilitate group work on the task level and to teach students how to use collaborative skills in the discussion level as students work on networked computers in the Jigsaw method of co-operative learning. The ICLS and its group leader were used by two classes at a liberal arts university. Qualitative research shows that the students' co-operative attitudes changed and academic achievement improved from pre- to post-treatment. Students, especially, used the communication skill of openness in comment type discussions. The students enjoyed working collaboratively through the ICLS and their teachers thought that the experience was valuable for them.     

Factors affecting perceived learning of engineering students in problem based learning supported by business simulation

Although literature about problem based learning (PBL) is not scarce, there is little research on experiences about learning methodologies that combine PBL and the use of simulation tools. This lack of studies is even more notable in the case of engineering courses. The motivation for this study is to show how such a combination of PBL and simulation has been designed in a group work course for engineers and to analyze how the underlying factors of this methodology are related to perceived learning. This exploratory study focuses on how perceived enjoyment, interaction, collaborative learning, perceived satisfaction, and time dedicated to the course affect the learning perceived by the students in an engineer's degree course. The outcomes of this pilot study show that only three of these factors (satisfaction, time dedication, and collaborative learning) affect the students' perceived learning. Despite the high ratings obtained for interaction and perceived enjoyment, no significant relation between these factors and perceived learning was found. The reasons behind these findings are discussed.     

CSCL中学习者人际交往对高水平知识建构的影响

本文首先通过内容分析法时首都师大虚拟学习社区中的一门网络课程进行实证研究,了解两个学年不同时期学习者的高水平知识建构情况.然后,研究者利用社会网络分析法计算学习者的人际交往情况,在整体层次判断学习者的交往网络是否影响其高水平知识建构;在个体层次分析学习者的网络个体属性与其高水平知识建构的相关性;在角色分析层次统计网络中不同角色的学习者对高水平知识建构的贡献情况.研究结果表明,互惠性高的网络利于学习者的高水平知识建构;特征向量高的学习者知识建构水平也较高;核心参与者是高水平知识建构的主要贡献者.最后,笔者通过线性回归分析拟合了学习者的人际交往及其高水平知识建构的方程,通过该方程可以看到学习者的人际交往对其高水平知识建构所起的作用,从而为教师实施学习者学习网络课程提供一定的指导作用和借鉴意义.     

Motivation in a computer-supported collaborative learning scenario and its impact on learning activities and knowledge acquisition

Addressing a drawback in current research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), this study investigated the influence of motivation on learning activities and knowledge acquisition during CSCL. Participants’ (N = 200 university students) task was to develop a handout for which they had first an individual preparing phase followed by a computer-supported collaborative learning phase immediately afterwards. It was hypothesized that in both phases current motivation (in terms of expectancy and value components) influences both learning activities and knowledge acquisition in a positive way. According to main results, only goal orientations (before learning) were associated with knowledge acquisition respectively observed learning activities during the collaborative phase. Expectancy and value components of current motivation related neither to observed learning activities nor to knowledge acquisition during collaborative learning but were in part associated with learning activities and knowledge acquisition during individual learning. The discussion addresses several possible explanations for these unexpected results.     

CAMELOT: collaborative and multimedia environment for learners on teams

In the business-systems-design learning environment, there may be more than one solution to any given problem. For instance, the data model will be different depending on each learner’s perspective. Accordingly, group learning systems are very effective in this domain. We have developed a collaborative and multimedia environment for learners on teams (CAMELOT) using the ‘nominal group technique’ for group problem solving. In this paper, the basic framework of the collaborative learning system and the effectiveness of collaborative learning in designing the data model are described. By using CAMELOT, each learner learns how to analyse through case studies and how to collaborate with his or her group in problem solving. Learners come to a deeper understanding from using CAMELOT than from studying independently because they can reach better solutions through discussion, tips from other learners and examination of one another’s individual works.     

The impact of the university context on European students' learning approaches and learning environment preferences

This article describesexperiences of 610 Dutch students and 241students from other European countries whostudied at least three months abroad within theframework of an international exchange program.The Dutch students went to a university inanother European country and the foreignstudents went to a Dutch university. By meansof a questionnaire students' perceptions ofthree main characteristics of the universitylearning environment were measured concerningthe home university, the host university andthe ideal learning environment. The studentswere also asked about their way of learning atthe home university and at the host university,in particular about the extent of constructivelearning and reproductive learning. Evidencewas found for the influence of aspects of thelearning environment on the two learningapproaches; e.g., a learning environmentcharacterized as student-oriented discouragesreproductive learning and promotes constructivelearning, especially when conceptual andepistemological relations within the learningdomain are stressed. The learning environmentpreferences of the students were partly relatedto their learning orientations at the homeuniversity, but they were strikingly similarfor students from different countries. Therewas a strong preference for those learningenvironment aspects that promote constructivelearning.     

Wiki和QQ在网络协作学习中的作用

网络协作学习中人际交互畅便与否影响成员间的协作深度,也在很大程度上决定了网络协作学习的效果.本文首先分析了wiki和QQ的功能,然后探讨了二者对促进网络协作学习中人际交互的作用.     

The perceptions of knowledge and learning of Amazonian indigenous teacher education students

This study focuses on the perceptions of knowledge and learning by indigenous students in an intercultural bilingual teacher education programme in Amazonian Ecuador. The study framed within postcolonial and critical theory attempts to create a space for the indigenous students to speak about their own views through the use of photography and researcher-respondent discussions. We found that the students conceptualised knowledge and learning primarily through their everyday domestic life rather than through their experiences of schooling which appears to play a secondary role.     

Contextualizing learning in the World Wide Web: accounting for the impact of culture

There is a developing urgency about how Australian universities should best make use of the World Wide Web (WWW) to meet the needs of culturally diverse students, especially those of Asian origin. This urgency is the result of both global and internal pressures, some political, (consider the imminence of the 'Hanson movement' against a multicultural Australia), some economic, some social. Moreover, to miss the current opportunity to exploit WWW technologies to design, implement and market effective instructional courses will only work to disadvantage Australia in a growing but globally competitive educational market. One of the most pressing problems in this context is how to provide instructional materials in a model of teaching and learning that is cost-effective, makes extensive use of WWW technologies to provide for flexibility in learning, and that is culturally appropriate. This paper outlines an approach and model for investigating and developing culturally appropriate instructional materials. It is hoped that through publication, we might obtain feedback on the validity of this model and also widen the potential of its scope beyond its immediate application to the Australian context. The following hypotheses are central to our work: (1) Existing cultural influences in instructional materials designed and delivered on the WWW by Australian universities, and intended for use by culturally diverse students, are minimal and ineffective. (2) The efficacy of learning based in the use of the WWW for instructional purposes can be improved by the adoption of a culturally appropriate model of instructional design. (3) Culture is a significant factor in determining the effectiveness of learning materials created in the WWW and intended for use by culturally diverse students. In testing these hypotheses, we intend to provide the empirical research to help determine the most appropriate ways of using the WWW to stimulate effective learning at tertiary level for all learners, whatever their cultural heritage or perspectives     

The paradox of trust in online collaborative groups

Open and sustained discussions in heterogeneous collaborative online groups should provide opportunities for adults to reshape their thinking, deeply understand the subject content, and have their voices heard and respected. These opportunities turn on trust. The ability to trust thoughts that are different from their own is influenced by the learners’ ability to be open about their beliefs and to develop healthy self–other relationships within their small groups. These issues are examined through a qualitative phenomenographic perspective of the stories of the students enrolled in two online adult learning classes utilizing a problem‐based and collaborative pedagogy. The findings indicate that group members import trust issues into the group, which then become issues for the group‐as‐a‐whole. To resolve these issues, the groups engage in several evading behaviors to avoid the types of discussion necessary to fully deal with the difference and resolve the trust issues.     

小组探究学习模式初探

为拓宽武术教学研究思路．针对小组探究学习的特征、组织方法与效果进行阐述与探讨．小组探究学习模式有助于发展学生的个性．培养学生的合作创新意识,促进学生身心的全面发展．     

The collaborative language learning attributes of cyber face-to-face interaction: the perspectives of the learner

This article examines the degrees of collaborative language learning that were supported in cyber face-to-face interaction. The concept of “cyber face-to-face” is used here to encapsulate the kind of environment in which a combination of real-time oral/aural, visual, and text-based interaction happens simultaneously via the various features in an advanced Synchronous Learning Management System (SLMS). The study discusses the results of an evaluation of the five features, namely, the interactive whiteboard, the text chat, the group cyber face-to-face classrooms, the audio, and the video, in an SLMS called 3C. Thirty-three students from an online Chinese/English interpreting course participated in this study. Survey data indicate that collaborative learning can be effectively facilitated in a cyber face-to-face environment, although the degrees of collaboration vary among the five features evaluated. Recommendations for maximizing the collaborative learning potentials of a cyber face-to-face environment are also put forward.     

Similar goals,different results: differences in group learning goals and their impact on academic achievements

Research has indicated significant disparities in the academic achievement of minority and majority groups in most Western countries. In light of the role of academic achievement as the main component of social mobility, it is important to understand the source of these differences between the majority and minority groups. The present research focused on learning goals as a possible basis for the disparity in academic achievement. It examined the learning goals of matched groups of students of Jewish and Arab Israelis who were enrolled in the same academic institution, and followed their academic achievement for two years. The findings indicate a gap between the groups in terms of achievement in favour of the students from the Jewish majority group. No difference was found between the groups in learning goals, but the level of intrinsic goal orientation was associated with achievement differently in the two groups. Possible explanations and implications of the findings are discussed.     

Characterising the different blogging behaviours of students on an online distance learning course

Since the early years of the twenty‐first century there has been an increasing interest in using Web 2.0 technologies to support learning in Higher Education. However, previous research suggests that the integration of blogging into courses can be difficult and cites problems with issues such as student compliance. We adopt a learner‐centred perspective and explore students’ (rather than their educators’) understanding of how blogs and blogging can support distance learning in Higher Education. We report on a study of UK Open University (OU) students on an online distance learning Masters course, that has enabled us to determine the issues that are important to these bloggers, and we describe five ways in which they appropriated blogging to suit their individual needs. We discuss the importance of making blogging activities flexible so that students can blog to meet their own needs whilst still attending to the requirements of their course.     

Differential effects of problem-solving demands on individual and collaborative learning outcomes

The effectiveness and efficiency of individual versus collaborative learning was investigated as a function of instructional format among 140 high school students in the domain of biology. The instructional format either emphasized worked examples, which needed to be studied or the equivalent problems, which needed to be solved. Because problem solving imposes a higher cognitive load for novices than does studying worked examples it was hypothesized that learning by solving problems would lead to better learning outcomes (effectiveness) and be more efficient for collaborative learners, whereas learning by studying worked examples would lead to better learning outcomes and be more efficient for individual learners. The results supported these crossover interaction hypothesis. Consequences of the findings for the design of individual and collaborative learning environments are discussed.     

基于行动导向的协同学习在高职公共英语合班教学中的应用

高职英语课程旨在培养学生实际运用语言的能力,增强学生人际沟通和解决问题的能力。在英语教学中采用行动导向教学法并通过协同学习的教学组织形式满足该课程的要求。本文旨在将行动导向和协同学习理念引入到英语合班教学中,以解决公共英语教学中课堂互动的困境,促进师生的共同提高。