Laboratory Experiments in CSCL Activities

Author(s):  
César A. Collazos ◽  
Luis A. Guerrero ◽  
Jose A. Pino ◽  
Flavia M. Santoro ◽  
Marcos Borges ◽  
...  

Several groupware tools have been implemented within Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) research groups in order to test ideas and concepts currently being studied. It is very important to perform pilot-evaluations with these systems. The CSCW Lab is an environment for evaluating groupware within research groups. Four dimensions in assessing groupware were identified: context, collaboration, usability, and cultural impacts. In this chapter, the authors present a proposal to detail the collaboration level, specifically for CSCL domain applications. Understanding and analyzing the collaborative learning process requires a fine-grained sequential analysis of the group interaction in the context of learning goals. Several researchers in the area of cooperative work take as success criterion the quality of the group outcome. Nevertheless, recent findings are giving more importance to the quality of the “cooperation process” itself. The proposed model includes a set of guidelines to evaluate the usage of CSCL tools within a collaboration process defined along with the learning objectives. The authors have defined an experiment with a software tool instrumented to gather information that allowed them to verify the presence of a set of cooperation indicators, which in turn helped to determine the quality of the work process.

2017 ◽  
pp. 474-494
Author(s):  
Ke Zhao

Drawing on knowledge building and social cognitive perspectives on academic literacy, this chapter argues for a design framework of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environment featured by Knowledge Forum for Chinese tertiary business English students. An initial design study was reported to evaluate the design effect of CSCL environment on collaboration and academic literacy and to further investigate factors facilitating academic literacy development. Four intact classes with 102 Year One students participated in a 12-week project learning in two different learning environments, namely Computer-Supported Collaborative Inquiry Learning (CSCIL) and Regular Project-Based Learning environment (RPBL). Data was obtained from exam results, survey, essay writing quality, and focus group interviews. Four dimensions of academic literacy were identified and rated. MANOVA analyses showed significant main effects of environment indicating that CSCIL groups have significant higher gains in conceptual understanding and argumentative construction. Contrastive analyses of focus group interview data identify the interplay of social, cognitive, and technological dynamics that facilitate collaborative conceptual understanding and argumentative construction. Implications and further design issues are also discussed.


Author(s):  
Bernhard Ertl ◽  
Heinz Mandl

Many distance learning scenarios, for example, virtual seminars, use collaborative arrangements for learning. By applying them, they offer learners the chance to construct knowledge collaboratively. However, learners often do not possess the skills necessary for a beneficial collaboration. It is therefore important that learners are offered support in these learning scenarios. Scripts for collaborative learning can provide support. They can guide learners through their collaboration process (Ertl, Kopp, & Mandl, 2007b) and help them to acquire collaboration skills (Rummel & Spada, 2005). Scripts for collaboration were originally developed in order to support text comprehension. They facilitate two or more learners—who are similar as far as their existing knowledge and learning strategies are concerned— in their efforts to understand contents provided by theory texts. Collaboration scripts split this process into a sequence of smaller steps, assign each learner to a particular role, and offer a number of comprehension strategies, such as questions, feedback, and elaboration. Each one of these learners has a defined role to play, which in turn is associated with certain strategies and varies within the different phases.


10.28945/3298 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Wai Wing MA

The scarcity of readily usable instruments to research learning in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environments has posed a great challenge to devise appropriate analytical tools to investigate how individuals change their understanding or create a new personal construction of knowledge as a result of social interaction and negotiation within the group. Given this scenario, the Activity System Model (Engestrom, 1987), based on a socio-cultural perspective, was adopted as a framework for analysing the quality of a CSCL community in this research project. Data were analysed to examine how interactivity had contributed to the fostering of higher order thinking skills in the CSCL community. Findings of this study confirmed that there was a positive correlation between the quality of collaborative process engaged by groups and the quality of cognitive skills fostered. High levels of social interaction and collaboration contributed to the establishment of a community of learning, nurturing a space for fostering higher order thinking through co-creation of knowledge processes. Lessons learnt and limitations of the investigation in this study in light of the methodological issues relating to coding reliability and difficulties in translating Chinese text involved in the CSCL for computerized coding process were discussed as well.


Author(s):  
Omid Noroozi

This paper investigates the role of instructional supports for argumentation-based computer supported collaborative learning (ABCSCL), a teaching approach that improves the quality of learning processes and outcomes. Relevant literature has been reviewed to identify the instructional supports in ABCSCL environments. A range of instructional supports in ABCSCL is proposed including scaffolding, scripting, and representational tools. Each of these instructional supports are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the extent to which and the way in which such instructional supports can be applied in ABCSCL environments are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future work and implications for the design of ABCSCL environments are provided.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0610/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavithra Panir Selvam ◽  
Aini Marina Ma’rof

The prominent role of reasoning skills in predicting academic outcomes is clearly evident over the years in that its inculcation in various face-to-face learning contexts has become progressively dominant, including in the collaborative learning (CL) settings. The pandemic crisis, however, challenged traditional learning approaches to shift to an online mode overnight resulting in dramatic changes of learning delivery whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. Though impact of CL-based approaches in promoting reasoning skills have been well-documented over the years, a systematic analysis of learners’ behavioural patterns of argumentation and reasoning in a virtual collaborative learning environment is yet to be concretely established. The current study therefore sought to investigate the development of reasoned argumentation skills among pre- university students with mixed language abilities, using open-ending short stories via a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. Adopting the case study research design by applying a mixed-methods approach through both descriptive and sequential analyses, 12 pre-university students from a public research university served as participants of this study. The results show that language ability has a strong predictive factor on reasoned argumentation skills and there is an established tendency of the participants to produce constructive arguments over defensive or challenging viewpoints to alternative ideas. This calls for future studies to further investigate predictive factors of this tendency and to further ascertain the predictive role of language-rich discussions in facilitating various higher order thinking skills among learners.


Author(s):  
Maarit Arvaja ◽  
Raija Hämäläinen ◽  
Helena Rasku-Puttonen

This chapter discusses challenges related to teachers’ pedagogical activities in facilitating productive discussions among students in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) contexts. In the light of two different cases from secondary-level and higher education contexts, the authors examine how teachers’ pedagogical choices influenced the quality of students’ activity, namely Web-based discussion. The results of our studies indicated that rich moments of collaboration were rare and distributed unequally among the students. The obvious weakness from the perspective of teachers’ pedagogical activities was that in neither of the studies was the students’ interaction in the discussion forum supported in any way. A future challenge is, therefore, to develop both pedagogical and technological tools to support the monitoring and enhancement of students’ learning process during online learning. Furthermore, we discuss how teachers’ professional development (TPD) is challenged by new technological tools in formal learning environments.


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Anna Fauziah ◽  
Ratu Ilma Indra Putri ◽  
Zulkardi Zulkardi

Collaborative learning through lesson study has become one of the promising methods for improving the quality of education and improving teachers' quality, likewise with the PMRI approach. The combination of the two in the training for primary school pre-service teachers, specifically in the second simulation session, was observed and reported. This article aims to describe the collaboration process in the second session of the simulations about polygon learning at PMRI training for primary school pre-service teachers. A design research method of the development type was used in this study, only at the preliminary and development or prototyping phase. The research subjects are students of Primary School Pre-service Teachers of Sriwijaya University that consisted of eight students for the small group and 32 students for the field test. Data was collected through documentation, observation, and field notes. The result showed that there were good collaboration occurs between researcher-lecturer, lecturer-student, and between students at the plan-do-see-redesign stage of the lesson study.


Author(s):  
Ke Zhao

Drawing on knowledge building and social cognitive perspectives on academic literacy, this chapter argues for a design framework of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environment featured by Knowledge Forum for Chinese tertiary business English students. An initial design study was reported to evaluate the design effect of CSCL environment on collaboration and academic literacy and to further investigate factors facilitating academic literacy development. Four intact classes with 102 Year One students participated in a 12-week project learning in two different learning environments, namely Computer-Supported Collaborative Inquiry Learning (CSCIL) and Regular Project-Based Learning environment (RPBL). Data was obtained from exam results, survey, essay writing quality, and focus group interviews. Four dimensions of academic literacy were identified and rated. MANOVA analyses showed significant main effects of environment indicating that CSCIL groups have significant higher gains in conceptual understanding and argumentative construction. Contrastive analyses of focus group interview data identify the interplay of social, cognitive, and technological dynamics that facilitate collaborative conceptual understanding and argumentative construction. Implications and further design issues are also discussed.


Comunicar ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (42) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nuria Hernández-Sellés ◽  
Mercedes González-Sanmamed ◽  
Pablo-César Muñoz-Carril

Collaborative learning has a strong presence in technology-supported education and, as a result, practices being developed in the form of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) are more and more common. Planning seems to be one of the critical issues when elaborating CSCL proposals, which necessarily take into account technological resources, methodology and group configuration as a means to boost exchange and learning in the community. The purpose of this study is to analyze the relevance of the CSCL planning phase and weigh up the significance of its key design components as well as examining group agreement typology and its usefulness in team building and performance. To do so, research was carried out using a non-experimental quantitative methodology consisting of a questionnaire answered by 106 undergraduate students from 5 different CSCL-based subjects. Results prove the usefulness of the planning components and the drafting of group agreements and their influence on group building and interaction. In order to ensure the quality of learning, it is essential to plan CSCL initiatives properly and understand that organizational, pedagogical and technological decisions should converge around a single goal which is to sustain the cognitive and social aspects that configure individual and group learning. El trabajo colaborativo es una de las presencias dominantes en la formación apoyada en tecnologías, de ahí la importancia de las prácticas que se están desarrollando bajo las siglas CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning). Entre los aspectos que parecen ser determinantes para elaborar propuestas de CSCL se encuentra la planificación, que debe contemplar tanto los recursos tecnológicos como la metodología y la propia configuración de los grupos de trabajo con el fin de favorecer los intercambios y el aprendizaje en comunidad. El propósito de este estudio es analizar la importancia de la fase de planificación del CSCL, estimando el alcance de los componentes clave de su diseño, y examinando la tipología y utilidad de los acuerdos grupales en la creación y funcionamiento de los equipos. Para ello se llevó a cabo una investigación con una metodología cuantitativa de carácter no experimental de tipo encuesta en la que participaron 106 estudiantes de grado de cinco asignaturas que implementaron CSCL. Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la utilidad de los componentes de la planificación, así como la importancia de la redacción de acuerdos grupales y su incidencia en la creación y funcionamiento del grupo. Resulta esencial planificar adecuadamente el CSCL para garantizar el aprendizaje y entender que las decisiones organizativas, pedagógicas y tecnológicas deberían confluir en el objetivo de sustentar tanto los aspectos cognitivos como sociales que configuran el aprendizaje individual y grupal.


Author(s):  
Neus Capdeferro ◽  
Margarida Romero

<p>Online education increasingly puts emphasis on collaborative learning methods. Despite the pedagogical advantages of collaborative learning, online learners can perceive collaborative learning activities as frustrating experiences. The purpose of this study was to characterize the feelings of frustration as a negative emotion among online learners engaged in online computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) experiences and, moreover, to identify the sources to which the learners attribute their frustration. With this aim, a questionnaire was designed to obtain data from a sample of online learners participating in the Master of ICT and Education program of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Results revealed that frustration is a common feeling among students involved in online collaborative learning experiences. The perception of an asymmetric collaboration among the teammates was identified by the students as the most important source of frustration. Online learners also identified difficulties related to group organization, the lack of shared goals among the team members, the imbalance in the level of commitment and quality of the individual contributions, the excess time spent on the online CSCL tasks, the imbalance between the individual and collective grades, and difficulties in communication, among other factors leading to frustration. The analysis of the students’ sources of frustration in online CSCL is followed by a list of recommendations to the distance education stakeholders, aiming to reduce students’ frustration and improve the quality of their experiences in online CSCL contexts such as the UOC.</p>


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