Can People Learn Computer-Mediated Collaboration by Following A Script?

Abstract

Our central hypothesis is that partners who jointly work on a task in a computer-mediated setting following a collaboration script, can acquire collaborative skills that will help to improve the collaboration in subsequent tasks as well as their outcome. In an experimental study, a collaboration script was provided for a first computer-mediated collaboration in one experimental condition. Meantime, in a different experimental condition, the collaborators observed a model-collaboration. Learning effects of script and model were expected to become evident in the process and outcome of a second, unscripted computer-mediated collaboration. Compared to two control conditions (a condition with unsupported collaboration during the learning phase and a condition without a learning phase) both the script condition and the model condition showed positive effects on process and outcome during the application phase. This leads to the conclusion that collaboration scripts can indeed constitute a promising instructional method to promote collaborative competences and to improve subsequent computer-mediated collaboration.