Computer-supported Collaborative Inquiry Learning Research Articles

The implementation of peer assessment as a scaffold during computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning in secondary STEM education

BackgroundComputer-supported collaborative inquiry learning (CSCiL) has been proposed as a successful learning method to foster scientific literacy. This research aims to bridge the knowledge gap surrounding the role of peers as scaffolding sources in CSCiL environments. The primary objective is to explicitly implement peer assessment as a scaffolding tool to enhance students' inquiry output in terms of research question, data, and conclusion. Additionally, students’ perceptions of peer assessment within CSCiL are explored.ResultsThe study involved 9th and 10th-grade students from 12 schools (N = 382), exploring the effects of peer assessment with and without peer dialogue. The results highlight that while adjustments were more frequently made to the research question and data, adjustments to the conclusion showed significantly greater improvement. Furthermore, students’ perceptions of peer assessment during CSCiL were examined, revealing that students generally perceive peer assessment as fair and useful, and they accept it while being willing to make improvements based on the feedback. While students did not report experiencing negative feelings, they also did not report positive emotions from the process. Additionally, the study found that including a peer dialogue in the peer assessment process did not significantly impact the abovementioned findings.ConclusionsThis study enriches our understanding of peer assessment as a scaffolding tool in CSCiL, highlighting its potential to improve inquiry outputs and providing valuable insights for instructional design and implementation.

Guidance in computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning: Capturing aspects of affect and teacher support in science classrooms

Technology-enhanced collaborative inquiry learning has gained a firm position in curricula across disciplines and educational settings and has become particularly pervasive in science classrooms. However, understanding of the teacher’s role in this context is limited. This study addresses the real-time shifts in focus and distribution of teachers’ guidance and support of different student groups during in-person computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning in science classrooms. Teachers’ self-perceptions of their guidance and affect were supplemented with students’ self-reported affect. A mixed-methods approach using video analyses and questionnaire data revealed differences between teacher guidance and support associated with teacher perceptions and group outcomes. Groups’ prior science competence was not found to have an effect on teacher guidance and support, rather the teachers guided the groups they perceived as motivated and willing to collaborate. Teacher affect was compounded by student affect, suggesting that consideration of the reciprocal perceptions of teachers and students is necessary in order to understand the teachers’ role in collaborative learning.

The effects of transformative and non-transformative discourse on individual performance in collaborative-inquiry learning

The effectiveness of computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning in STEM education is well-documented in the literature. At the same time, research indicates that some students struggle to articulate relevant concepts, to make their reasoning explicit, and to regulate their learning—all of which are necessary for effective collaboration. In this study, 106 college students completed tasks related to Ohm's Law in a simulation-based, collaborative-inquiry learning environment. Using qualitative analysis, multilevel modelling, and data-mining techniques, we investigated the relationship between student engagement in transformative and non-transformative learning processes and learning outcomes. The results revealed that by using the appropriate feature engineering and algorithms, we could build accurate machine-learning models that could automatically identify transformative and non-transformative discussions on a large scale. Additional qualitative and quantitative analyses indicated that when groups engaged in additional interpretation and sustained mutual understanding, their members tended to have statistically better individual-learning outcomes. These analyses also indicated that when groups engaged in additional orientation and proposition generation, their learning outcomes were statistically lower. Approximately two-thirds of the students considered their group work helpful in completing inquiry tasks. Explanations of these results and research recommendations are provided.

Uncovering the sequential patterns in transformative and non-transformative discourse during collaborative inquiry learning

Many universities are using computer-supported collaborative-inquiry-learning (CSCiL) environments to develop their students' skills in collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking. Diverse states of discourse during CSCiL occur in sequences, but we do not yet fully understand which patterns are beneficial to learning and when exactly to foster them. This study used transition-rate analysis, entropy-analysis, and sequential pattern mining to analyze the chat message of 144 students of two-year colleges. The participants worked on tasks related to Ohm's Law in a simulation-based collaborative-inquiry-learning environment. The results revealed that students in groups who completed tasks successfully tended to ensure that everyone in their group had a shared understanding of the relationship between the variables before they moved on to the next step. In contrast, students in groups who did not complete tasks successfully were more likely to regulate the process without reaching a shared understanding.Gaoxia Zhu is a PhD candidate and research assistant in the Institute for Knowledge Innovation & Technology, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto with background in Educational Technology and Curriculum Studies. Her research interests include Knowledge Building, learning analytics, and CSCL.Wanli Xing is an Assistant Professor in Instructional Technology at Texas Tech University, USA with background in learning sciences, statistics, computer science and mathematical modelling. His research interests are educational data mining, learning analytics, and CSCL.Vitaliy Popov is a research associate in Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education at University of San Diego. Dr. Popov areas of interest include: computer supported collaborative learning, mobile learning, learning sciences, learning analytics, and technology-enhanced learning across cultures.

Enhancing Metacognitive Language Learning Strategy Use and Business Language Proficiency in Technology-Enhanced Collaborative Learning Environment

This study addresses the key issues in CALL literature concerning how to design, evaluate and examine a technology-enhanced collaborative inquiry learning environment for EFL students to enhance language learning processes and language proficiency. Participants were four intact business English classes at a Chinese university with 102 Year 1 students in a 12-week project learning in English for International Business in two different learning environments, namely computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning (CSCIL) and regular project-based learning environment (PBL). Data from multiple sources were obtained including learning strategy surveys, pre-and post- business language proficiency tests, and online interactions. Pre- and post-questionnaire surveys were administered to measure effect of the design on language learning strategy use. Positive design effect was observed on metacognitive strategy use and language proficiency development. Quantitative online discourse analyses were conducted to examine relations among online Knowledge Forum participation and language strategy use as well as business language proficiency. Theoretical and practical implications of this study were also discussed in particular relation to a theory-informed and technology-enhanced EFL business English pedagogy.

USING POSTING TEMPLATES FOR ENHANCING STUDENTS' ARGUMENTATIVE ELABORATIONS IN COMPUTER-SUPPORTED COLLABORATIVE INQUIRY LEARNING

Learning Villages (LV) is a computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning (CSCIL) platform, which facilitates students' issue-based discussion in a massively multiplayer online role-play gaming (MMORPG) environment to attain the goal of argumentative knowledge construction. Regarding argumentative knowledge construction, it can be achieved only if students are able to make argumentative elaborations properly in the discussion process. This paper discusses a study of using posting templates to enhance students' argumentative elaborations in LV. Seventy-four fifth-grade students and two of their teachers from two Hong Kong elementary schools participated in this study. The results showed that the posting templates proposed in the study, to a certain extent, could empower the students to construct arguments containing reasons and grounds to rationalize and warrant their arguments. In addition to the provision of the posting templates, it was also found the students' face-to-face peer-sharing (facilitated by the teachers) could help them reach and retain a relatively higher level of attainment of argumentative elaborations in CSCIL.

Computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning and classroom scripts: Effects on help-seeking processes and learning outcomes

This study examined the influence of classroom-script structure (high vs. low) during computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning on help-seeking processes and learning gains in 54 student pairs in secondary science education. Screen- and audio-capturing videos were analysed according to a model of the help-seeking process. The results showed that the structure of the classroom script substantially affects patterns of student help-seeking and learning gain in the classroom. Overall, students in the high-structured classroom-script condition sought less help but learnt more than those in the low-structured classroom-script condition.

Internal and external scripts in computer-supported collaborative inquiry learning

We investigated how differently structured external scripts interact with learners' internal scripts with respect to individual knowledge acquisition in a Web-based collaborative inquiry learning environment. Ninety students from two secondary schools participated. Two versions of an external collaboration script (high vs. low structured) supporting collaborative argumentation were embedded within a Web-based collaborative inquiry learning environment. Students' internal scripts were classified as either high or low structured, establishing a 2 × 2-factorial design. Results suggest that the high structured external collaboration script supported the acquisition of domain-general knowledge of all learners regardless of their internal scripts. Learners' internal scripts influenced the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge. Results are discussed concerning their theoretical relevance and practical implications for Web-based inquiry learning with collaboration scripts.