Collaboration Scripts Research Articles

Improving revision in wiki-based writing: Coordination pays off

Wiki-based writing possesses a great deal of educational potential, yet students face difficulties while writing a shared document. Revising a shared document, in particular, seems to be a demanding activity for students. This study investigated whether collaboration scripts can help to improve students' revision activities and overall text quality. We compared scripted (script+) with unscripted (script-) collaboration in a wiki-based writing setting that was adapted for educational purposes. Students from two university courses participated in a one-week collaborative writing activity. Results showed that students in the scripted condition outperformed students in the unscripted condition with respect to revision behavior and text coherence. Furthermore, we found that students' revision behavior correlated positively with text coherence. Results from analyzing students' discussions during the writing activity revealed more frequent coordination with respect to task division and increased communication frequency for students in the scripted condition. Results also indicate that collaboration scripts can foster coordination. Our findings suggest that collaboration scripts are promising means of structuring collaboration during wiki-based writing. Highlights? University students hesitate to engage in revision during wiki-based writing, that is, students working on a shared document. ? Students' hesitation might be due to increased coordination demands. ? A collaboration script adjacent to the discussion board helps students to engage in more coordination activities. ? A collaboration script yields positive effects concerning revision activities and the quality of the wiki-text. ??Collaboration scripts are promising means of structuring collaboration during wiki-based writing.

Methodological reflections: designing and understanding computer-supported collaborative learning

Learning involves more than just a small group of participants, which makes designing and managing collaborative learning processes in higher education a challenging task. As a result, emerging concerns in current research have pointed increasingly to teacher orchestrated learning processes in naturalistic learning settings. In line with this trend, collaboration scripts for instructional support have been presented as a potential trigger for collaboration. This article presents a qualitative methodology designed to understand collaboration in macro-scripted conditions. The study aimed to highlight the differences and similarities in how the ‘ideal’ script (the particular learning activities that the script is expected to produce) and the ‘actual, realized’ script (i.e. what really happens in the scripted learning setting) were reached by different groups. In practice, this kind of an analytic method will help teachers to support the knowledge construction of different groups.

Scripted collaborative learning with the cognitive tutor algebra

With the aim to promote students’ mathematics learning, we extended the Cognitive Tutor Algebra (CTA), a computer-based tutoring system for high school mathematics, to a collaborative setting. Furthermore we developed a collaboration script to support students’ interactions. In an experimental classroom study, we compared three conditions: scripted collaborative learning, unscripted collaborative learning, and individual learning. After a 2-day learning phase, posttests assessed individual and collaborative reproduction of knowledge and skills, and future learning. First, with the collaboration script we aimed to improve students’ interaction. Second, we assumed that due to an improved interaction students would benefit more from the learning opportunities during collaboration and, in consequence, their learning would increase as compared with the other conditions. To investigate the first assumption, we compared the interaction of a scripted dyad and an unscripted dyad. The in-depth process analyses revealed a positive impact of the script on student collaboration and problem solving during scripted interaction and in subsequent unscripted interaction. While this effect was mirrored in the learning gains of the two dyads, we could not establish a general learning effect in the quantitative between-condition comparison of student performance. Particularly for students with low prior knowledge, the removal of the script in the test phase initially entailed a decline in reproduction performance as students had to get used to the unscripted problem-solving situation. A notable finding was, however, that the collaborative conditions yielded the same outcomes as the individual condition in the individual reproduction test even though students had solved fewer problems during the learning phase and had only solved them collaboratively.

Structuring CSCL Through Collaborative Techniques and Scripts

This paper is rooted in the research field of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL), where the debate is lively around whether and to what extent structuring the interactions among students enhances the effectiveness of the collaborative process. The paper discusses two different design approaches to structuring collaboration: the former approach, adopted in the context of an Italian online course, is based on the use of a set of collaborative techniques, while in the latter, proposed in a German context, collaboration scripts are used to guide students step-by-step. The study describes and then compares the strengths and weaknesses of the two approaches. What can be learned from the two experiences? Is there any possibility – and with what advantages – of integrating the two approaches, so as to gain from both?

Principles of Transactive Computer-Supported Collaboration Scripts

Armin Weinberger Professor, Saarland University, Germany. a.weinberger@mx.uni-saarland.de English abstract Parts of the classroom of the future may be built online allowing for computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). A central challenge in CSCL is a lack of transactivity, i.e., learners have problems building on the reasoning of their peers. A means of fostering CSCL are scripts that specify, sequence, and distribute roles and activities among a group of (online) learners. This article identifies five instructional design principles that explain script effects and inform script design: 1) regulation of learning activities; 2) complementary procedural knowledge; 3) process-oriented instruction; 4) substitution of coordination efforts; and 5) awareness induction.

Collaborative argumentation and cognitive elaboration in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment

This study explores the relation between argumentation in online discussions, cognitive elaboration, and individual knowledge acquisition. In a one-factorial experimental design with 48 participants we investigated the effect of an argumentative computer-supported collaboration script (with vs. without) on the formal quality of argumentation, cognitive elaboration, and individual knowledge acquisition in online discussions. Furthermore, we examined the relation between the formal quality of argumentation, cognitive elaboration, and individual knowledge acquisition. Empirical evidence was found that a computer-supported collaboration script can foster formal quality of argumentation as well as corresponding cognitive elaboration. Construction of formally sound arguments is positively related to both deep cognitive elaboration and individual acquisition of knowledge on argumentation.

Fostering argument justification using collaboration scripts and content schemes

This study examines the manner in which learners’ justifications for arguments are supported during collaborative task-solving in a virtual learning setting. In particular, it investigates the effects of a collaboration script and a content scheme on the learners’ ability to provide adequate justifications for arguments pertaining to collaborative and individual task solutions. Learners were asked to individually study a theory before working collaboratively on a task in triads via a videoconferencing system. Argument justification was measured with theoretical and task-specific information provided to justify task solutions. Results were the same for collaborative and individual task solutions: The collaboration script had a small effect on justifications with task-specific information while the content scheme had a larger effect on argument justification with theoretical and task-specific information. Thus, according to the specifics of the respective support method, learners applied a strategy for justifying their task solutions in collaboration and individually acquired this strategy.

Web-enhanced learning scenarios

There are various perspectives on how to blend face to face with on line experiences as well as on the rationale for blending face-to-face learning with technology. In this paper we focus on how collaborative scripts may inform the design of blended learning with specific cognitive and meta-cognitive objectives. To this end, we present several web-enhanced learning scenarios that combine individual and collaborative activities, involve various e-learning tools aiming to provide a supporting blended learning context at higher education. The description of the scenarios includes activity sequencing, type of activities, role distribution, objectives, and available tools/resources.

Enhancing collaborative learning through dynamic forms of support: the impact of an adaptive domain‐specific support strategy

AbstractResearch on computer‐supported collaborative learning (CSCL) has strongly emphasized the value of providing student support of either fixed (e.g. collaboration scripts) or dynamic form (e.g. adaptive supportive interventions). Currently, however, there is not sufficient evidence corroborating the potential of adaptive support methods to improve domain‐knowledge acquisition in collaborative activities. Furthermore, available adaptive CSCL systems are difficult to integrate in everyday instruction because most of them are research prototypes. This study investigates the capacity of an adaptive support strategy [implemented in the open source Learning Activity Management System (LAMS) environment] to further improve learning outcomes in the context of a scripted collaborative activity. Thirty‐six students collaborated remotely in dyads on a task structured by a collaboration script. Control group dyads worked without any additional support. Treatment dyads were supported by a domain‐specific adaptive intervention in the form of reminding prompts. Treatment students outperformed those in the control group in domain knowledge acquisition. Overall, this study provides evidence that (1) adaptive forms of domain‐specific support can substantially improve learning in the context of a scripted collaborative activity; and (2) implementing simple forms of adaptive support is feasible and can be easily implemented by instructors in a freely available collaboration support system (such as LAMS).

Promoting Collaboration in a Project-Based E-Learning Context

In this paper we investigate the value of collaboration scripts for promoting metacognitive knowledge in a project-based e-learning context. In an empirical study, 82 students worked individually and in groups on a project using the e-learning environment MyProject, in which the life cycle of a project is inherent. Students followed a particular collaboration script that combines individual and collaborative activities, aiming to promote individual and socially shared reflective thinking during the planning and evaluation phases of the project. We analysed group discussions and evaluation questionnaires, and the results provide evidence about the importance of the design variables considered in the collaboration script for cultivating metacognitive knowledge, such as project phase, roles undertaken by students, degree and type of interaction, type of activities and products, and activity sequencing.

Supporting remote collaborative problem-solving

We propose a framework of individual problem-solving and communicative demands (IproCo) that bridges the gap between models from cognitive psychology and communication pragmatics. Furthermore, we present two experiments conducted to identify factors influencing the demands and to test possibilities for support. The experiments employed a remote collaborative picture-sorting task with concrete and abstract pictures and applied non-interactive conditions compared to interactive conditions. In a first experiment, the influence of the postulated demands on collaboration process and outcome was analysed, and the impact of shared applications was tested. In a second experiment, we evaluated instructional support measures consisting of model collaboration and a collaboration script. The collaboration process showed benefits of the support but the outcome did not. However, the support measures fostered the collaboration process even in the particularly difficult conditions with non-interactive communication. We discuss the impact of the IproCo framework and apply it to other tasks. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

FACILITATING LEARNING FROM COMPUTER-SUPPORTED COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY: THE CHALLENGE OF DIRECTING LEARNERS' INTERACTIONS TO USEFUL ENDS

Chemistry problems can be tough nuts to crack for students, particularly when the problems are of a mathematical type. Collaborative inquiry activities that are embedded in computer-supported learning environments can provide students with opportunities to construct the kind of knowledge required to solve complex chemistry problems. Yet, directing learners' collaborative inquiry in computer-supported learning environments to such useful ends remains a challenge. In this article, we introduce a new approach to facilitating learning from computer-supported collaborative inquiry. The approach we present is a collaboration script that guides pairs of learners through a sequence of inquiry activities and prompts effective interactions in an adaptive fashion. We developed an initial version of a learning environment that included the collaboration script, a simulated chemistry laboratory and a note-taking and mind-mapping tool. In an experimental study involving two conditions (scripted collaboration, unscripted collaboration), we had pairs of students work on a stoichiometry problem using the learning environment. We compared the learning outcomes and learning experiences of the two conditions, and explored learner-learner and learner-system interactions employing a case study methodology. Based on the quantitative and qualitative results, we derived a set of design recommendations for the next development cycle. Our main recommendations are to (a) inform learners about the value of the script support, (b) add algebra practice items and some general chemistry instruction to the learning environment as well as support for interrelating the multiple external representations in the simulated chemistry laboratory, (c) develop tools for assessing learners' prior knowledge and skills in collaborative inquiry learning, general chemistry and basic algebra, (d) increase the degree to which the learning environment can adapt to different learner needs, and (e) improve the interface and interaction design of the simulated chemistry laboratory.

S-COL: A Copernican turn for the development of flexibly reusable collaboration scripts

Collaboration scripts are usually implemented as parts of a particular collaborative-learning platform. Therefore, scripts of demonstrated effectiveness are hardly used with learning platforms at other sites, and replication studies are rare. The approach of a platform-independent description language for scripts that allows for easy implementation of the same script on different platforms has not succeeded yet in making the transfer of scripts feasible. We present an alternative solution that treats the problem as a special case of providing support on top of diverse Web pages: In this case, the challenge is to trigger support based on the recognition of a Web page as belonging to a specific type of functionally equivalent pages such as the search query form or the results page of a search engine. The solution suggested has been implemented by means of a tool called S-COL (Scripting for Collaborative Online Learning) and allows for the sustainable development of scripts and scaffolds that can be used with a broad variety of content and platforms. The tool’s functions are described. In order to demonstrate the feasibility and ease of script reuse with S-COL, we describe the flexible re-implementation of a collaboration script for argumentation in S-COL and its adaptation to different learning platforms. To demonstrate that a collaboration script implemented in S-COL can actually foster learning, an empirical study about the effects of a specific script for collaborative online search on learning activities is presented. The further potentials and the limitations of the S-COL approach are discussed.

Scripting a distance-learning university course: Do students benefit from net-based scripted collaboration?

This study reports findings from an experimental field study of scripted collaboration for net-based learning in the context of a one-semester university course on operating systems. In scripted collaboration, activities of learners are coordinated and guided according to particular rules, implemented via respective tools in the learning environment. Forty-two distributed groups of three students collaborated on five successive assignments employing the virtual learning environment CURE. Three collaborative tasks—brainstorming, clustering, and essay writing—were implemented as scripts with dedicated tools guiding the net-based collaborative process. Half of the groups collaborated via scripted task versions, and, as a control, half of the groups performed the tasks in a non-scripted manner. No general advantage of scripting was found concerning acquisition of knowledge; nor was overscripting observed. Collaborative scripting appears to be neither generally advantageous nor disadvantageous, but highly contingent on the particular content and task under consideration. Results suggest that scripting might be slightly more supportive in more complex tasks such as essay writing, in contrast to undemanding tasks such as brainstorming.

Extending a virtual chemistry laboratory with a collaboration script to promote conceptual learning

We developed collaborative extensions to 'Vlab', a web-based laboratory that supports students in conducting virtual chemistry experiments. While results from a recent study indicated that VLab promotes chemistry learning, they also revealed that there is room for improvement. We embedded VLab into a collaborative environment that implements a computer-supported collaboration script for guiding students through the stages of scientific experimentation. We describe our pedagogical approach, our collaboration script, and the collaborative learning environment which implements it. We present results from two small-scale studies and a contrasting-case analysis of how adaptive prompts, in addition to the fixed script, affected student behaviour.

Catalyzing Collaborative Learning: How Automated Task Distribution May Prompt Students to Collaborate

Collaborative learning must prompt collaborative behavior among students. Once initiated, collaboration then must facilitate awareness between students of each other's activities and knowledge. Collaborative scripts provide explicit framework and guidance for roles and activities within student interactions, and are one method of fulfilling the requisites for collaborative learning. Such explicit framework is intrusive and replicates the one-way flow of knowledge, from instructor to students, that is characteristic of standard learning methods. Parallels between traditional and non-traditional learning environments demonstrate that non-traditional learning environments, such as workplaces or peer-to-peer communities, often utilize equally proactive but less intrusive methods for initiating and guiding collaboration. Open source communities have used automated task distribution systems that will notify users of changes in the status of shared knowledge objects. Theory and research suggest that awareness of shared knowledge prompts individuals to adopt group roles and share their own knowledge. The author suggests that automated task distribution may be equally applicable to traditional learning environments, especially those environments utilizing computer-supported collaborative learning.

Using Intelligent Tutor Technology to Implement Adaptive Support for Student Collaboration

Research on computer-supported collaborative learning has shown that students need support to benefit from collaborative activities. While classical collaboration scripts have been effective in providing such support, they have also been criticized for being coercive and not allowing students to self-regulate their learning. Adaptive collaboration support, which would provide students with assistance when and where they need it, is a possible solution. However, due to limitations of natural language processing, the development of adaptive support based on an analysis of student dialogue is difficult. To facilitate the implementation of adaptive collaboration support, we propose to leverage existing intelligent tutoring technology to provide support based on student problem-solving actions. The present paper gives two examples that demonstrate this approach and reports first experiences from the implementation of the systems in real classrooms. We conclude the paper with a discussion of possible future developments in adaptive collaboration support.

Learning to argue online: Scripted groups surpass individuals (unscripted groups do not)

Students often face process losses when learning together via text-based online environments. Computer-supported collaboration scripts can scaffold collaborative learning processes by distributing roles and activities and thus facilitate acquisition of domain-specific as well as domain-general knowledge, such as knowledge on argumentation. Possibly, individual learners would require less additional support or could equally benefit from computer-supported scripts. In this study with a 2 × 2-factorial design ( N = 36) we investigate the effects of a script (with versus without) and the learning arrangement (individual versus collaborative) on how learners distribute content-based roles to accomplish the task and argumentatively elaborate the learning material within groups to acquire domain-specific and argumentative knowledge, in the context of a case-based online environment in an Educational Psychology higher education course. A large multivariate interaction effect of the two factors on learning outcomes could be found, indicating that collaborative learning outperforms individual learning regarding both of these knowledge types if it is structured by a script. In the unstructured form, however, collaborative learning is not superior to individual learning in relation to either knowledge type. We thus conclude that collaborative online learners can benefit greatly from scripts reducing process losses and specifying roles and activities within online groups.

Initial Structuring of Online Discussions to Improve Learning and Argumentation: Incorporating Students’ Own Explanations as Seed Comments Versus an Augmented-Preset Approach to Seeding Discussions

Collaboration scripts can facilitate argumentation in online settings by grouping students with other students who have expressed differing perspectives on a discussion topic. This general scripting approach is referred to as a “conflict schema.” Prior studies suggest that a specific conflict schema script known as personally-seeded discussion is more productive for students than a standard discussion format in terms of the structural quality of the resulting argumentation and participation within the discussions. The purpose of the current study involves comparing the personally-seeded script with a variant augmented-preset script to determine the relative contributions of components of the scripts in terms of (1) increasing personal engagement of the students versus optimizing of the starting seed-comments and (2) grouping students using the conflict schema approach versus random assignment of students to groups. The results suggest that engaging students in the exploration of a diverse set of preset discussion seed-comments coupled with a conflict schema approach leads to the highest gains in learning.

A Model of Collaborative Learning Scripts Instantiated with Mobile Technologies

Scripts are pedagogical methods for triggering productive interactions during computer-supported collaborative learning. SWISH is a pedagogical design model for constructing scripts: it articulates the nature of expected interactions to the nature of task division enforced by the script. This model is applied to mobile learning: different task divisions are supported by a distributed simulation environment, in which the client runs on mobile phones or PDAs. This contribution maps the computational architecture of the learning environment to a model of collaborative learning.