Is it Relevant? The Role of Off-task Talk in Collaborative Learning

Abstract

We adopt a sociocultural approach to examine the characteristics and roles of the off-task talk (OTT) of three graduate students engaged in a collaborative learning task. Our focus is on three OTT episodes during three out-of-classroom meetings to discuss an academic article in preparation for a graded classroom presentation. In order to obtain an insider perspective on these episodes, each of the three students independently analyzed each OTT episode in terms of its characteristics, roles, and effects on the participants’ contributions and relationships. The results showed that the OTT episodes were short and infrequent; had an academic flavor to them; weaved smoothly on and off task; and played various social, affective, and cognitive roles in collaborative learning. We argue that definitions that emphasize the content, rather than the functions, of OTT are misleading and that a sociocultural theory perspective allows a more positive view of OTT as a socio-affective action within a larger cognitive activity. We close by outlining some of the limitations of the study and a call for further research on OTT in collaborative learning.