Abstract: Evaluating promisingness of ideas is an important but underdeveloped aspect of knowledge building. The goal of this research was to examine the extent to which Grade 3 students could make promisingness judgments to facilitate knowledge-building discourse. A Promising Ideas Tool was added to Knowledge Forum software to better support knowledge‐building discourse. The tool helped students select promising ideas from their group’s written online discourse and then aggregate and display selections to support collective decision making regarding most promising directions for subsequent work. Students knew in advance that their selections would influence the direction of group work, and through iterations of procedures came to better understand how individually selected ideas would become the focus of class discussions and next knowledge‐building efforts. The basic design was repeated over two cycles of promising-idea selections, discussions, and follow-up activity to refine ideas. Qualitative and quantitative results indicated that students as young as 8 years of age could make promisingness judgments benefiting their community. Through use of the Promising Ideas Tool and discussion based on results from its use, Grade 3 students achieved significantly greater knowledge advances than students not engaged in promisingness judgments and discussions.

Abstract: As Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) gains a broader usage, the need for automated tools capable of supporting tutors in the time-consuming process of analyzing conversations becomes more pressing. Moreover, collaboration, which presumes the intertwining of ideas or points of view among participants, is a central element of dialogue performed in CSCL environments. Therefore, starting from dialogism and a cohesion-based model of discourse, we propose and validate two computational models for assessing collaboration. The first model is based on a cohesion graph and can be perceived as a longitudinal analysis of the ongoing conversation, thus accounting for collaboration from a social knowledge-building perspective. In the second approach, collaboration is regarded from a dialogical perspective as the intertwining or synergy of voices pertaining to different speakers, therefore enabling a transversal analysis of subsequent discussion slices. Abstract As Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) gains a broader usage, the need for automated tools capable of supporting tutors in the time-consuming process of analyzing conversations becomes more pressing. Moreover, collaboration, which presumes the intertwining of ideas or points of view among participants, is a central element of dialogue performed in CSCL environments. Therefore, starting from dialogism and a cohesion-based model of discourse, we propose and validate two computational models for assessing collaboration. The first model is based on a cohesion graph and can be perceived as a longitudinal analysis of the ongoing conversation, thus accounting for collaboration from a social knowledge-building perspective. In the second approach, collaboration is regarded from a dialogical perspective as the intertwining or synergy of voices pertaining to different speakers, therefore enabling a transversal analysis of subsequent discussion slices.

Abstract: This study investigated synchronous discourses involving student collaboration in fixed groups during an introductory research methods course’s first 8-week phase, and opportunistic collaboration during its second 8-week phase. Twenty-seven Chinese undergraduates participated in online discourse on Knowledge Forum as part of the course. A multi-faceted analysis was performed to examine different aspects of collaboration – interaction patterns, knowledge characteristics distributed over inquiry, discourse patterns, and knowledge advances that emerged from discourse threads. The results show little variation in social interactions, but substantial differences in knowledge distribution between fixed groups. Groups that were productive in constructive discourse tended to generate higher-level questions and ideas. When engaged in opportunistic collaboration, the students were capable of engaging in a large range of interactions and of contributing higher-level questions and ideas; however, they were constrained by making little use of metacognition and having scattered interactions. Additionally, this study tested the relationship between online discourse and individual performance in the end-of-course assessment tasks. The results indicate that actively participating and contributing high-level ideas were positively correlated with students’ domain knowledge. The study’s implications for understanding online discourse dynamics within and across fixed groups and opportunistic collaboration in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment are discussed.

Abstract: We report the results from an eye-tracking study to show the differences in gaze patterns across the MOOC learners, while they watch a lecture individually as well as when they collaborate on an add-on activity. 98 university students took part in a study where they watched the MOOC video individually and later they collaboratively constructed a concept map. In both phases the gaze data was recorded. We compute two gaze measures: (1) with-me-ness, to quantify how much students follow the teacher during the video lecture, (2) gaze similarity, to quantify how much the pair looks at the same set of objects while collaborating. The analysis shows that both of the measures correlate significantly with the learning outcome. We argue that these results, conforming to our previous findings, indicate that the proposed gaze measures give a fairly accurate proxy to learners’ engagement and performance.

Abstract: This issue of ijCSCL completes a decade of publication of CSCL research. When the field of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning emerged about a decade prior to the launching of the journal, there was a pervasive sense of a paradigm revolution in learning research (Koschmann 1996). It was time to transcend cognitive science’s critique of behaviorism, extending the unit of cognition beyond the boundaries of the individual mind (Stahl 2015c). For instance, new directions in theory surfaced around the influential Institute for Learning Research (Brown et al., 1989; Lave & Wenger 1991; Orr 1990; Suchman 1987; Teasley & Roschelle 1993; Winograd & Flores 1986), as well as in distributed cognition (Hutchins 1996), activity theory (Engestrom 1987) and conversation analysis (Goodwin D Damsa 2014; Jones et al., 2006; Overdijk et al., 2014; Stahl 2012; 2013a). Cognitive science argued that human behavior could not be modeled without hypothesizing cognitive structures like mental representations and computations, which mediated responses to the environment, particularly linguistic responses (Chomsky 1959). However, the cognitive approach did not consider structures of interaction at the dialogical, small-group and community level, where language is primarily learned and practiced. Artificial intelligence—which exerted an important influence on CSCL—had already conceptualized cognition as taking place outside the human mind, in software computations and digital representations. The new post-cognitive theories began to postulate structures and practices at the group level, although they did not always clearly distinguish small groups from larger social institutions. Dialogical, interactional and practice-oriented approaches in CSCL have elaborated these conceptions within the context of collaborative learning (Cress & Kimmerle 2008; Ligorio et al., 2013; Oner 2013; Stahl et al., 2014). While the post-cognitive paradigm dominates CSCL theory and seems particularly appropriate to a field focused on group collaboration, it has perhaps been less influential in the areas of technology design and analysis methodology. CSCL research often relies upon technologies designed on a model of individual learning and knowledge transfer, rather than on an Intern. J. Comput.-Support. Collab. Learn (2015) 10:337–344 DOI 10.1007/s11412-015-9222-2

Abstract: The four articles presented in this issue cover a broad spectrum of topics: the hierarchy of learners, different forms of awareness, group composition and classroom orchestration. The learning contexts also differ significantly, considering collaborative learning in university courses, in organizational e-learning and in vocational training. Accordingly, the student actions and interactions that the different settings aim to induce vary strongly (but return to themes in previous articles): sending and answering requests (Wise et al. 2014), building knowledge using Knowledge Forum (Zhao and Chan 2014) or creating tangible artifacts (Damsa 2014). Even though the surface structures of the four articles are quite different, they all contribute to understanding core underlying topics of CSCL: the influence of social aspects of the collaboration scenario, the type of learning that takes place in collaborative groups and the design of collaborative learning processes.

Abstract: Assessing collaborative problem solving (CPS) is an integrated part of the computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). We present some preliminary results from a project developed for assessing the CPS using web-based simulation. In the simulation, two participants collaborate via a chat box to complete a task on volcano science. By comparing the responses from 486 individuals and 278 teams (dyads) recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, we found the performance from the teams (dyads) is significantly higher than that from individuals. We also find that the item difficulty in the simulation affects both the processes and outcomes of the collaboration.

Abstract: Despite many years of research in CSCL, computers are still scarcely used in classrooms today. One reason for this is that the constraints of the classroom environment are neglected by designers. In this contribution, we present a CSCL environment designed for a classroom usage from the start. The system, called TapaCarp, is based on a tangible user interface (TUI) and was designed to help train carpenter apprentices. A previous study (Cuendet and Dillenbourg 2013) showed that the tangible nature of TapaCarp helped integrate it in the classroom environment, but that this did not guarantee a meaningful learning activity. In this article, we describe the process that led us to design a new learning classroom activity for the particular context of dual carpentry apprenticeships. One innovative aspect of the activity is that TapaCarp is used only for a small part of it. This contrasts with the mainstream CSCL approach that assumes that the system must be used from beginning to end of the activity. This new activity was used in a classroom study with 3 classes of carpenter apprentices over two days for each class. Despite its many steps, the activity proved usable and fostered many connections to the workplace, which was one of its main purposes. The teacher and the students were positive and showed high engagement in the activity. The learning gain results were mixed: the performance of the students improved from day 1 to day 2, but the learning gain measured with a pre-test/post-test mechanism did not show any significant difference compared to that of a control group.

Abstract: We report results from a dual eye-tracking study around a Tangible User Interface (TUI). Participants (N=54) worked in groups of two and solved optimization problems on the TinkerTable, a TUI designed for students in logistics. The TinkerTable features tangible shelves that students can manipulate to build and optimize the layout of a warehouse while the system provides feedback with a projector above the table. Using mobile eye-trackers, we examined participants’ visual coordination when solving those problems. We describe two contributions to the CSCL community: first, we propose a methodology for synchronizing two eye-tracking goggles and computing measures of joint visual attention (JVA) in a co-located setting. Second, we report preliminary findings suggesting that participants were more likely to have moments of joint attention when looking at 3D, realistic objects compared to 2D, abstract ones. JVA was also found to be a significant predictor of students’ learning gains and performance during the optimization tasks. We discuss implications of these findings for supporting interactions around a TUI.

Abstract: Teacher facilitation of CSCL activities is widely recognized as one of the main factors affecting student learning outcomes in formal face-to-face settings. However, the orchestration load that such facilitation represents for the teacher, within the constraints of an authentic classroom, remains under-researched. This paper presents a novel method to estimate the cognitive load of teachers during facilitation of CSCL sessions, using mobile eye-tracking techniques. Throughout three studies of increasing authenticity, we demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, and extract insights about classroom usability challenges in CSCL practice: the increased load of class-level facilitation, or the real-time monitoring of students’ progress. This new instrument in the CSCL researcher’s toolkit can help focus our attention in critical, fine-grained classroom usability episodes, to make more informed design decisions.

Abstract: In this paper, we identify Learning to Learn Together (L2L2) as a new and important educational goal. Our view of L2L2 is a substantial extension of Learning to Learn (L2L): L2L2 consists of learning to collaborate to successfully face L2L challenges. It is inseparable from L2L, as it emerges when individuals face problems that are too difficult for them. The togetherness becomes a necessity then. We describe the first cycle of a design-based research study aimed at promoting L2L2. We rely on previous research to identify collective reflection, mutual engagement and peer assessment as possible directions for desirable L2L2 practices. We describe a CSCL tool: the Metafora system that we designed to provide affordances for L2L2. Through three cases in which Metafora was used in classrooms, we describe the practices and mini-culture that actually developed. In all contexts, groups of students engaged either in mathematical problem solving or in scientific inquiry and argumentation. These cases show that L2L2 is a tangible educational goal, and that it was partially attained. We show how the experiments we undertook refined our view of L2L2 and may help in improving further educational practice.

Abstract: This paper presents data from one cycle of a design based research process in which we grapple with challenges in engaging students in more intensive discussion based interactions in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). We compare across three communication media provided to students in that context in terms of relative popularity and overlap in student sub-populations. We also compare the communication between these contexts in terms of their content focus, concentration of reasoning articulation, and the interaction between the two. This comparison allows investigating the specific contribution of synchronous collaboration in a MOOC, which is relatively novel. The analysis suggests that there is value in providing a diverse set of discussion contexts in that they may lend themselves to differently natured interactions, but that it creates a need for greater efforts towards effective bridging between media and channeling of students to pockets of interaction that are potentially of personal benefit.

Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of task-level versus process-level prompts on levels of perceived and objective consensus, perceived efficacy, and argumentation style in the context of a computer-supported collaborative learning session using Interactive Management (IM), a computer facilitated thought and action mapping methodology. Four groups of undergraduate psychology students (N = 75) came together to discuss the negative consequences of online social media usage. Participants in the task-level group received simple, task-level prompts in relation to the task at hand, whereas the process-level group received both task-level prompts and more specific, and directed, process-level prompts. Perceived and objective consensus were measured before the IM session, and were measured again, along with perceived efficacy of the collaborative learning methodology, after the IM session. Results indicated that those in the process-level prompt groups scored significantly higher on perceived consensus and perceived efficacy of the IM methodology after the session. Analysis of the group dialogue using the Conversational Argument Coding Scheme revealed significant differences between experimental conditions in the style of argumentation used, with those in the process-level prompt groups exhibiting a greater range of argumentation codes. Results are discussed in light of theory and research on instructional support and facilitation in computer-supported collaborative learning.

Abstract: Intersubjectivity may be considered the defining characteristic of CSCL. Intersubjectivity is a concept that indicates shared understanding among people. This “sharing” is not a matter of individuals having similar understandings, but of them participating productively in a joint meaning-making discourse within a communal world. A group has achieved intersubjectivity if the members of the group interact well enough to pursue the group’s aims. Intersubjectivity must be built up gradually through interaction and repaired frequently. CSCL research explores the conditions and processes that are conducive to the establishment and maintenance of intersubjectivity among groups of learners. CSCL pedagogies promote the intersubjectively shared understanding that makes collaborative learning possible. CSCL technologies support intersubjectivity by providing media of communication and scaffolds for meaning making within a specific domain of learning. When CSCL theories discuss “groups,” they are not referring to arbitrary gatherings of multiple learners, but to functional groups that have achieved a degree of intersubjectivity. The concept of collaborative learning in CSCL does not refer to a sum of individual learning that takes place among a group’s members, but to the increase in intersubjective understanding or knowledge building within the group that results from joint meaning making in a shared context. It involves the understanding expressed in the group discourse and the knowledge encapsulated in group products, texts or artifacts. The group’s understanding may differ from what any individual member might say, write or think when not interacting within the group. This focus on the intersubjective group differentiates CSCL from other approaches to the study of human learning and educational instruction. It implies a research paradigm that prioritizes the group unit of analysis and studies groups that have achieved intersubjectivity. Analyzing an utterance (or chat posting) as part of a group interaction involves seeing how its meaning is constructed sequentially through its response to previous actions and elicitation of future behavior by other group members. The meaning of the utterance is inherent in the working of that utterance within the shared world of the group, not to be explained in terms of some purported individual mental thoughts accompanying the utterance. As in Ryle’s (1968) Intern. J. Comput.-Support. Collab. Learn (2015) 10:209–217 DOI 10.1007/s11412-015-9220-4

Abstract: There is an increasing interest in student-centered teaching methods with small group learning as an important ingredient. In this paper, we present a study in which the performance of heterogeneous and homogeneous learning groups has been compared in a technology-enhanced classroom setting in the area of STEM learning. The group formation was based on learning analytics results that were considered in a semi-automatic formation process. The analytic methods used incorporated different artefact-related characteristics, but also motivational features as input. We observed that the heterogeneous groups outperformed the homogeneous ones in different ways. The results of the study are analysed using quantitative and qualitative approaches on both the individual and the group level.

Abstract: Over the past 15 years, courses that mix face-to-face and online instructional methods, such as blended, hybrid, and flipped courses, have gained both supporters and skeptics in higher education. Studies that compare mixed courses to face-to-face or online courses have conflicting results: some find improved learning outcomes and some find no significant differences. We contend that these conflicting results are due to inconsistent or vague definitions of hybrid, blended, and flipped. To address this problem, we use the definitions from a recently proposed taxonomy to reclassify studies in the literature. After reclassification, analysis of this literature reveals two main themes that illuminate how mixed instructional methods affect learning outcomes. Courses that use mixed methods can either reduce time in class and maintain learning outcomes or maintain time in class and improve learning outcomes.

Abstract: As Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) gains a broader usage in multiple educational scenarios facilitated by the use of technology, the need for automated tools capable of detecting and stimulating collaboration increases. We propose a computational model using ReaderBench that assesses collaboration from a dialogical perspective. Accordingly, collaboration emerges from the intertwining of different points of view or, more specifically, from the inter-animation of voices pertaining to different speakers. Collaboration is determined from the intertwining or overlap of voices emitted by different participants throughout the ongoing conversation. This study presents a validation of this model consisting of a comparison between the output of our system and human evaluations of 10 chat conversations, selected from a corpus of more than 100 chats, in which Computer Science students debated on the advantages and disadvantages of CSCL technologies (e.g., chat, blog, wiki, forum, or Google Wave). The human evaluations of the degree of collaboration between the participants and the automated scores showed good overlap as measured by precision, recall, and F1 scores. Our overarching conclusion is that dialogism derived from the overlapping of voices can be perceived as a signature for collaboration.

Abstract: Twenty pairs of 5 th grade children used a tangible tabletop sustainability game to create a world they would want to live in to share with the rest of the class. Half of the pairs were assigned particular roles with associated game controls (positive interdependence condition) while the other half were not (control condition). Results showed that pairs in the assigned roles/controls condition gave more in-depth explanations to their partners about what they wanted to do in the game, but did not negotiate with each other more frequently than control pairs. They also had fewer but longer instances of jointly resolved conflict. Contrary to some previous findings, all pairs in both conditions were found to work together (rather than in parallel / competitively) the entire time. The general finding is a somewhat limited, but consistent, positive effect of the assigned roles/tools manipulation on collaborative processes.

Abstract: Little is known about the collaborative learning processes of interdisciplinary teams designing technology -enabled immersive learning systems. In this conceptual paper, we reflect on the role of digitally captured embodied performances as boundary objects within our heterogeneous two-team collective of learning scientists and computer scientists as we design an embodied, animated virtual tutor embedded in a physically immersive mathematics learning system. Beyond just a communicative resource, we demonstrate how these digitized, embodied performances constitute a powerful mode for both inter- and intra-team learning and innovation. Our work illustrates the utility of mobilizing the material conditions of learning.

Abstract: From investigations in online learning and virtual communities, peripheral observation or “lurking” has been framed as an active process in which learners align themselves with the practices and discourses of a community. In this paper, we further develop the notion of lurking in informal computer-mediated contexts, focusing on competitive gaming communities, where games are marked for the steep learning curves and players demonstrate an extended commitment toward mastery. In this descriptive case study, we leverage new perspectives on routes to participation in order illustrate participatory spectatorship as integral in not only the act of becoming a player but also in learning the discourses and practices of a larger gaming enterprise.

Abstract: We investigate the effect of using a tangible user interface (TUI) for discoverybased learning. For this purpose, we built EarExplorer, an interactive tangible system where students can manipulate and connect parts of the auditory system to rebuild a functional structure. An augmented reality layer displays sound waves and shows how they are transformed at various stages of the process. Our previous work suggests that TUIs are particularly good at preparing students for future learning; that is, students learn more when they can explore a novel domain with a TUI before compared to after receiving a traditional (e.g. lecture or text based) instruction. In this study, we isolated the impact of structured guidance versus no guidance during a hands-on TUI activity on learning. In one condition, students rebuilt the hearing system by self-driven discovery; in another condition they rebuilt it by following the step-by-step instructions of a video-teacher. We found that the first group (“discover”) significantly outperformed the second group (“listen”) by ~27% on the final learning test. To explain those results, we analyzed the TUI logs and explored how this effect unfolded with participants of different ability (i.e., low versus high GPA students).

Abstract: This study was conducted in two Grade 5/6 classrooms that studied electricity over a three-month period using Knowledge Forum. Classroom A used Idea Thread Mapper (ITM)—a timeline-based collective discourse mapping tool—to engage in ongoing metadiscourse to review collective advances and gaps. Classroom B did not engage in this reflective practice until near the end of the inquiry. The results show that members of class A had more comprehensive and coherent awareness of the various inquiry themes discussed by their community focusing on deep conceptualization of electricity. Informed by the reflective awareness, classroom A also engaged in more active and connected online discourse to address deepening issues and develop coherent explanations across different lines of inquiry.

Abstract: We report a longitudinal study on the development of 22 students’ productive vocabulary in knowledge building from Grade 1 to 6. Vocabulary growth was assessed based on the student discourse in Knowledge Forum, an online community space designed to support Knowledge Building. Analysis of lexical proficiency based on Lexical Frequency Profile and P_Lex indicated significant growth in productive written vocabulary, especially for words beyond the first two 1,000 word lists. By tracing the growth of vocabulary extracted from specific word lists, we found that the growth rate for different types of words varied across each year but correlated with each other. Correlation analyses between these lexical measures and Knowledge Building behavioral indicators revealed that note revisions are the strongest predictor of vocabulary growth rate, whereas note reading is related with lexical proficiency measures.

Abstract: This paper fuses research on CSCL and collaborative design for learning. It reports a study located in a novel multi-surface environment, configured to support small teams who are designing for other people’s learning. Despite growing awareness in the CSCL community of the importance of design in teachers’ work, there has been very little empirical research on how such design is carried out, or how design for CSCL can be supported and improved through the provision of better design tools and design methods. The paper offers an analysis of the work of four pairs of designers in our Multi-Surface Design Studio. These four dyads were completing a design task we set them, while simultaneously learning how to make good use of the various personal and shared digital tools, display surfaces and other resources in the studio. From observational and interview data, we show how collaborative design for learning needs to be understood as a complex, multiply-situated activity, in which design problem-solving, tools and space usage depend on the fluent deployment of intuitive knowledge about mutual awareness, shared perception, information persistence and movement.

Abstract: Productive Failure (PF) – comprising initial problem solving and delayed instruction – has been proven effective for learning when compared to Direct Instruction (DI) in multiple studies with high school and university students. Although the problem-solving phase is usually implemented in a collaborative setting, the role of collaboration for the effectiveness of PF remains unclear. In two quasi-experimental studies we investigated whether collaborative as compared to individual learning in PF leads to more learning. We also tested whether the beneficial PF effect could be replicated with much younger students, namely 4 and 5 graders, than previous studies. Only our first study replicated the PF effect. While the first study did not reveal differences between collaborative and individual learning, in the second study individual learners even outperformed their collaborative counterparts in both PF and DI conditions. Against these findings, we discuss possible prerequisites for PF and propose an agenda for follow-up CSCL research.

Abstract: In this paper we assess the utility of an activity design model and different reflective activities for improving the quality of collaborative processes. Thirty-seven online students, belonging to one of 13 teams, formed the participants of the study. Teams completed five discussion sessions as part of required course activity, using one of two reflective conditions. Each team also received feedback on their performance. We assessed the quality of processes between groups using content analysis techniques. Team process measures at the first time point were used to identify groups’ initial strengths and weaknesses. To assess the utility of the model and reflective assessment designs, we used a 2x5 mixed factorial design, with Condition (two levels) as a between subjects factor and Time (5 levels) as a within subjects factor. We found that students were weakest at presenting and discussing claims and both Condition and Time are significant predictors of collaborative process quality.

Abstract: To learn in our knowledge-oriented society often involves a deep engagement with knowledge artifacts—objects that combine material and semiotic aspects. This is particularly true in CSCL contexts. Knowledge can be formed and shared in different ways and within different formats. Through advances in computer-supported collaborative learning technologies and pedagogies, we can create, shape and present knowledge in new ways. Intersubjective meanings can be developed and shared as virtual and/or physical artifacts. The nature of the collaboratively formed knowledge artifacts create specific opportunities for students or community participants to engage in certain types of interaction, both with the artifacts themselves and through them in collaborative efforts with peers, teachers and other actors. One way to express how knowing can be materially mediated is to state how the relationship between a conceptual structure and its material anchors creates special conditions for participant interaction and learning (Hutchins 2005). Focus on the interpenetration of semantics and materiality is at the heart of the CSCL community’s mission. We need to understand and explain how participants can become deeply engaged with mixes of conceptual and physical structures in their activities. In this issue of ijCSCL, these matters are addressed from the perspectives of several different theoretical frameworks. We introduce these articles by raising some overall themes about the formation of new knowledge artifacts in collaborative contexts. Artifacts have been conceptualized within the CSCL community from cognitive, sociocognitive and socio-cultural stances. The term artifacts is often substituted with tools or

Abstract: Research has generated deep insights into computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), but the cycle of impact on practice is relatively lengthy and slow. In contrast, work in learning analytics attempts to leverage the collection and analysis of data to improve learning processes and outcomes in-situ. Developing learning analytics to support CSCL thus offers the opportunity to make our research actionable in an immediate way by using data collected on collaborative processes in-progress to inform their future trajectories. Efforts in this direction are specifically promising in support of students’ selfand socially sharedregulation of their learning. Data on collaborative and metacognitive activities can inform collaborating groups and help them to improve future joint efforts. In this symposium we bring together a collection of five papers that are exploring the space of connection between CSCL, learning analytics and self-regulation to advance thinking around these issues.