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Collaboration scripts to facilitate knowledge co-construction and knowledge convergence in computer-mediated learning environments
... Knowledge of collaboration processes makes it possible to design new ways of promoting collaboration in computer-supported settings, which may in turn lead to better understanding and learning. Nowadays, research in CSCL has started to focus more on how to support collaboration and how to make collaboration more frequent and effective (e.g. Weinberger, Fischer, & Mandl, 2003). Moreover, studies have indicated that members of online communities benefit from support and structure in learning activities (De Laat & Lally, 2004; King, 1999; Lehtinen, 2003; Lipponen, 2000). ...
... One way to structure interactions is to design predefined collaboration scripts for CSCL environments (Dillen bourg, 1999; Kollar, Fischer, & Hesse, 2003). Recently, researchers have adopted scripts as an instructional approach to support collaborative learning (Dillenbourg & Jerman 2006; Kollar, Fischer, & Hesse, 2006; Schellens, Van Keer, De Wever, & Valcke, 2007; Weinberger, Fischer, & Mandl, 2003). Target of the scripts is to evoke interactions that have emerged from research findings for example in cognitive and educational psychology being strongly related to learning (e.g., Cohen, 1994; King, 2006; Webb & Palincsar, 1996 ). ...
... Firstly, scripts may aim to facilitate learners in helping them to work on a specific learning task in a virtual environment (epistemic collaboration scripts). Secondly, scripts may instruct learners how to interact with each other and discuss their individual contributions in the virtual environment (social scripts) (Kollar, Fischer, & Hesse, 2003; O'Donnell, 1999; Weinberger, 2003; Weinberger, Fischer, & Mandl, 2003 ). Therefore, one needs to take into account not only the cognitive aspects of collaborative learning, but also the social dimensions of this form of student activity. ...
... Van der Pol et al. (2003) studied the use of a structured discussion system ('anchored discussion') in facilitating 'grounding'. Another example of a highly structured approach that was implemented in an obligatory and directive way is the study by Weinberger, Fischer, and Mandl (2003), who studied the use of collaboration scripts in order to facilitate 'knowledge convergence'. OVERVIEW AND REFLECTION Although studies from the educational field have tried to promote reflective behaviour in a less intuitive and natural way, their results are also not straightforward (e.g., Veerman, 2000;Van der Pol et al., 2003;Weinberger et al., 2003). ...
... Another example of a highly structured approach that was implemented in an obligatory and directive way is the study by Weinberger, Fischer, and Mandl (2003), who studied the use of collaboration scripts in order to facilitate 'knowledge convergence'. OVERVIEW AND REFLECTION Although studies from the educational field have tried to promote reflective behaviour in a less intuitive and natural way, their results are also not straightforward (e.g., Veerman, 2000;Van der Pol et al., 2003;Weinberger et al., 2003). It can be concluded that whether support should be intuitive and natural still remains a subtle question. ...
Like tango dancers who cannot start their dance without a certain amount of shared understanding, design teams cannot begin their work. The combination of distance and a strong reliance on technology makes understanding between dispersed team members less than obvious. This book reports on distributed teams that collaborate on complex design tasks and communicate by means of videoconferencing. The goal is to enhance the potential of distributed teams by providing proper support. For this, a collaborative design approach is advocated. The underlying assumption is that proper support invites team members to learn and work together – similar to the right tango music that evokes the right mood and right tempo for a certain moment. The research concentrated on the assessment of collaborative learning and shared understanding in video-based communication and how it can be supported. It is concluded that not technology is the most obtrusive factor for the success of virtual teams. The most interfering factor is the perceived distance that seems to hamper many distributed team members. However, just as tango couples, distributed team members have the potential to engage in the spirit of collaboration. When support is directed to trigger this spirit, barriers for collaborative learning and shared understanding can easily be removed.
... Van der Pol et al. (2003) studied the use of a structured discussion system ('anchored discussion') in facilitating 'grounding'. Another example of a highly structured approach that was implemented in an obligatory and directive way is the study by Weinberger, Fischer, and Mandl (2003), who studied the use of collaboration scripts in order to facilitate 'knowledge convergence'. OVERVIEW AND REFLECTION Although studies from the educational field have tried to promote reflective behaviour in a less intuitive and natural way, their results are also not straightforward (e.g., Veerman, 2000;Van der Pol et al., 2003;Weinberger et al., 2003). ...
... Another example of a highly structured approach that was implemented in an obligatory and directive way is the study by Weinberger, Fischer, and Mandl (2003), who studied the use of collaboration scripts in order to facilitate 'knowledge convergence'. OVERVIEW AND REFLECTION Although studies from the educational field have tried to promote reflective behaviour in a less intuitive and natural way, their results are also not straightforward (e.g., Veerman, 2000;Van der Pol et al., 2003;Weinberger et al., 2003). It can be concluded that whether support should be intuitive and natural still remains a subtle question. ...
In this dissertation the tango metaphor is used to understand distributed ad hoc teams working together on complex tasks. A single person cannot solve these complex tasks. It is the (potential) added value of a whole team that makes a team more suitable to perform such tasks. What applies to tango dancers also concerns team members who work and learn together in order to complete a complex task. This study concentrates on collaborative tasks for which it truly takes ¿ at least ¿ two to tango!
... As previously proposed, a certain degree of activities organisation is defined by the script aiming at supporting and facilitating knowledge construction and convergence. For Weinberger (2004) ...
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) activities aim to promote collaborative knowledge construction and convergence. During the CSCL activity, the students should regulate their learning activity, at the individual and collective level. This implies an organisation cost related to the coordination of the activity with the team-mates and the internal and external regulation of this activity. Therefore, we consider a knowledge perspective and an organisation load perspective in the execution of the CSCL activities. We assume the time and efforts spent in the organisation are not spent in the knowledge construction and convergence process. Nevetheless, we assume that in CSCL activities a certain level of organisation is a requirement for the knowledge construction and convergence process. The students' organisation load depends on the level of the scripting of the CSCL activities. A highly scripted activity implies a high level of external organisation and a lower level of self and co-organisation. When the CSCL activity has a low level of external regulation, the students' requires a higher level of self and group organisation. CSCL approaches could then imply a high transactive cost in terms of organization that could reduce the time and efforts the students could devote to the knowledge construction and convergence process. In this paper, we analyse the impact of the organisation in the knowledge construction and convergence through a critical revision of the CSCL literature.
... As previously proposed, a certain degree of activities organisation is defined by the script aiming at supporting and facilitating knowledge construction and convergence. For Weinberger (2004) ...
Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) activities aim to promote collaborative knowledge construction and convergence. During the CSCL activity, the students should regulate their learning activity, at the individual and collective level. This implies an organisation cost related to the coordination of the activity with the team-mates and the internal and external regulation of this activity. Therefore, we consider a knowledge perspective and an organisation load perspective in the execution of the CSCL activities. We assume the time and efforts spent in the organisation are not spent in the knowledge construction and convergence process. Nevetheless, we assume that in CSCL activities a certain level of organisation is a requirement for the knowledge construction and convergence process. The students' organisation load depends on the level of the scripting of the CSCL activities. A highly scripted activity implies a high level of external organisation and a lower level of self and co-organisation. When the CSCL activity has a low level of external regulation, the students' requires a higher level of self and group organisation. CSCL approaches could then imply a high transactive cost in terms of organization that could reduce the time and efforts the students could devote to the knowledge construction and convergence process. In this paper, we analyse the impact of the organisation in the knowledge construction and convergence through a critical revision of the CSCL literature.
... Firstly, scripts may instruct learners in how to deal with their task (epistemic collaboration scripts) in the virtual environment. Secondly, scripts may tell the participants how they should interact with the other group members (social scripts) in the virtual environment (Kollar et al., in press; O'Donnell, 1999; Weinberger, 2003; Weinberger, Fischer, & Mandl, 2003). According to latest studies, social scripts (intending to enhance team cohesion and collaboration) are an effective way to give instructional support for group activities (Hämäläinen, Häkkinen, Järvelä, & Manninen, 2005b; Stegmann, Weinberger, Fischer, & Mandl, 2005 ). ...
Especially in vocational education, attention should be paid not only to the use of new technological solutions but also to collaborative learning and cooperative working methods in order to develop students’ skills for their future jobs. This study involves a design experiment including the design process of a new game environment, description of the script developed for this game, as well as the empirical study with multiple data collection methods, data analysis, results and conclusions for further work. The aim of the study was twofold. Firstly, we aimed to develop a game environment to simulate the work context of a vocational design process, and secondly, to investigate how effective the game environment is in vocational learning and how scripting affected students’ group processes during the game. It seems that, at their best, such “edugames” may enrich learning and the pedagogical use of technology. Although integrating learning and games provides tempting possibilities, it also contains many challenges, such as different group-specific learning processes despite the scripted environment.
A computer representation of teaching-learning processes in collaborative learning settings consists of modelling not only the sequence of learning activities and educational resources as existing learning design languages propose, but also modelling both the sequence of invocations of tools needed to carry out the learning activities and the flow of data among those tools. Existing data flow approaches only model data with activities but not data with tools. In this paper, we present LeadFlow4LD, a learning design and workflow-based method to achieve such a computational representation of collaborative learning processes in an interoperable and standard way. The proposed method has been assessed through the specification and enactment of a variety of non-trivial collaborative learning situations. The experimental results indicate that the level of expressiveness of the proposal is adequate in order to represent the flow of tools invocations and data which was missing in other existing research approaches.
Resumen Este trabajo presenta la revisión de diversos tipos de instrumentos de análisis creados para investigar los pro-cesos de construcción colaborativa de conocimiento en las RCAE. Para ello, seleccionamos cinco líneas de investi-gación sobre el tema, que denominamos: la construcción social de conocimiento, las habilidades de pensamiento crítico, la convergencia de conocimiento, la construcción de conocimiento mediante la argumentación, y la reci-procidad y el conocimiento compartido. De cada línea de investigación identificamos los modelos analíticos uti-lizados, y nos detenemos en definir los conceptos clave del marco teórico, resumir las dimensiones y categorías que utilizan, y examinar sus posibilidades y limitaciones. En la parte final planteamos algunos retos futuros sobre los instrumentos analíticos usados en la investigación en este ámbito de conocimiento. Palabras clave: Aprendizaje colaborativo mediado por ordenador, redes de comunicación asincróni-ca y escrita, construcción colaborativa de conocimiento, marcos analíticos, educación superior. Abstract This paper aims to review the coding schemes designed to study the collaborative knowledge construction process in text-based Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). To this end, we selected five lines of research on this topic, which we called: social construction of knowledge, critical thinking skills, knowledge convergence, argumentation-based knowledge construction, and reciprocal understanding and shared knowledge. For each line of research, we identified the underlying analytical models and we focused on: defining the key concepts of the theoretical framework, summarising the dimensions and categories considered, and examining their possibilities and limitations. In the final section, we raise some future challenges on the design and implementation of the coding schemes employed in this knowledge field.
Resumen Este trabajo presenta la revisión de diversos tipos de instrumentos de análisis creados para investigar los pro-cesos de construcción colaborativa de conocimiento en las RCAE. Para ello, seleccionamos cinco líneas de investi-gación sobre el tema, que denominamos: la construcción social de conocimiento, las habilidades de pensamiento crítico, la convergencia de conocimiento, la construcción de conocimiento mediante la argumentación, y la reci-procidad y el conocimiento compartido. De cada línea de investigación identificamos los modelos analíticos uti-lizados, y nos detenemos en definir los conceptos clave del marco teórico, resumir las dimensiones y categorías que utilizan, y examinar sus posibilidades y limitaciones. En la parte final planteamos algunos retos futuros sobre los instrumentos analíticos usados en la investigación en este ámbito de conocimiento. Palabras clave: Aprendizaje colaborativo mediado por ordenador, redes de comunicación asincróni-ca y escrita, construcción colaborativa de conocimiento, marcos analíticos, educación superior. Abstract This paper aims to review the coding schemes designed to study the collaborative knowledge construction process in text-based Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN). To this end, we selected five lines of research on this topic, which we called: social construction of knowledge, critical thinking skills, knowledge convergence, argumentation-based knowledge construction, and reciprocal understanding and shared knowledge. For each line of research, we identified the underlying analytical models and we focused on: defining the key concepts of the theoretical framework, summarising the dimensions and categories considered, and examining their possibilities and limitations. In the final section, we raise some future challenges on the design and implementation of the coding schemes employed in this knowledge field.
Scripting student activities is one way to make Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning more efficient. This case study examines how scripting guided student group activities and also how different groups interpreted the script; what kinds of roles students adopted and what kinds of differences there were between the groups in terms of their activities. Seven small groups of higher education students participated in the study. According to the findings, scripting enhanced collaboration and ensured that all groups were able to complete the task, but despite the script the groups' activities varied during the task and the script could not guarantee any "high-level" participation by all students so that there were some "free riders" and "ghosts" within some of the groups.
Data flow between tools cannot be specified using the current IMS Learning Design specification (LD). Nevertheless by specifying this data flow between tools, several degrees of activity automation may augment the system intervention opportunities for data flow management. Service automation, data flow automation and data flow validation may enhance the continuity of the learning design realization, reduce the student's cognitive load and obtain system-support for error prone situations. In this paper a novel approach based on the composition of LD and a standard workflow technology is proposed. Unlike other current approaches, our approach maintains interoperability with both LD and workflow standards. Then an architectural solution based on the composition approach is presented.
Students often have difficulties achieving conceptual change in both individual learning and collaborative learning environments. Although research in the fields of both conceptual change and collaborative learning are well documented, few studies examine the relations between computer support and collaborative conceptual change. This review addresses this issue and considers the potential of CSCL for promoting conceptual change. We first review the major findings in the fields of conceptual change and collaborative learning. We then review literature on CSCL and discuss why CSCL environments may help in overcoming barriers to collaborative conceptual change. Finally, implications are provided for future CSCL design.
Process analyses are becoming more and more standard in research on computer-supported collaborative learning. This paper presents the rational as well as results of an evaluation of a tool called TagHelper, designed for streamlining the process of multi-dimensional analysis of the collaborative learning process. In comparison with a hand-coded corpus coded with a 7 dimensional coding scheme, TagHelper is able to achieve an acceptable level of agreement (Cohen's Kappa of .7 or more) along 6 out of 7 of the dimensions when we commit only to the portion of the corpus where the predictor has the highest certainty. In 5 of those cases, the percentage of the corpus where the predictor is confident enough to commit a code is at least 88% of the corpus. Consequences for theory-building with respect to automatic corpus analysis are formulated. Potential applications as a support tool for process analyses, as real-time support for facilitators of on-line discussions, and for the development of more adaptive instructional support for computer-supported collaboration are discussed.
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