Computer-supported Learning Environment Research Articles

Learning to notice collaboration: examining the impact of professional development on mathematics teachers’ enhanced awareness in CSCL settings

AbstractAcknowledging the pivotal role of noticing in teachers’ professional work, it is noteworthy that its application in dialogic activities remains an area that has yet to be studied. In this study, we examine mathematics teachers’ noticing of dialogue among peers working together on problem-solving tasks and investigate the impact of a professional development intervention focused on dialogue on teachers’ noticing practices. Through think-aloud interviews, 14 teachers provided insights into their noticing practices by attending to and responding to video excerpts of dyads engaged in collaborative problem-solving in computer-supported learning environments. Their noticing practices were analyzed using a Bakhtinian-informed dialogic framework. Subsequently, the teachers participated in a professional development intervention centered around dialogue and were interviewed again using the same video excerpts. The second round of interviews was also analyzed using the same dialogic framework. The findings shed light on the initial state of teachers’ noticing and indicate a discernible improvement in their ability to notice specific dialogic attributes. These findings offer valuable insights into how collaboration and dialogue between students can be effectively supported. Additionally, the study discusses how teachers envision dialogue and considers the capacity and limitations of incorporating a dialogic vision into the noticing paradigm.

Concept mapping in computer-supported learning environments: a bibliometric analysis

ABSTRACT Concept mapping (CM) is widely used in educational settings as a teaching/learning or assessment tool. We conducted a bibliometric analysis and systematic review to provide an updated review on CM research in computer-supported learning environments. A total of 356 selected studies published from 1990 to 2020 were analyzed from the Web of Science database. The findings revealed an increasing and continuous focus on CM research. The leading journal for publishing CM research was Computers & Education, and the United States was the country with the most published studies. The most frequently used keywords were categorized into four clusters to represent the four main themes of CM research. Subsequent analysis showed that the most applied learning subject was environmental science or natural science; traditional computers/devices were the most used devices/hardware; higher education students were the most used samples; quantitative methods were the most used research methods; computers as mindtools were the most adopted learning strategy; and concept mapping assessment was the most used measurement tool in the CM research. These findings reveal the trends of CM research and provide future research directions and applications of practical education for researchers and educators.

Organizing for collaboration in simulation-based environments: An affordance perspective

Extant research has identified the significance of technological affordances in computer-supported learning environments. However, until recently, there is scarcely empirical research on affordances for organizing collaboration in these learning environments. To address this gap, this study empirically examines affordances for organizing collaboration in a simulation-based learning environment. We focus, in particular on understanding how the organizing affordances of the learning environment are perceived and employed by the learners during a simulation-based learning task. The study was executed among 177 undergraduate higher education (HE) business students from 10 universities in Belgium, China, Estonia, New Zealand, the USA, Austria, and Finland. The data were obtained from the students’ reflective essays, and analyzed with a qualitative content analytical approach. The results of our analyses yield in four types of organizing affordances: (1) organizing the division of work, (2) managing information and resources, (3) managing tasks, and (4) strategizing. Each type of organizing affordance was required in the joint learning task. The study offers an advanced understanding of affordances for organizing and of their use/nonuse in simulation-based learning environments. The findings of this study have theoretical and empirical implications and can contribute to both the development of pedagogic and educational practices as well as the design of learning tasks and environments.

Improving Reading Comprehension in Spanish Using iSTART-E

iSTART-E is a web-based intelligent tutor developed for Spanish-speaking students to improve their reading comprehension through self-explanation strategy training. This study examined the effects of a blended comprehension strategy intervention on students' reading comprehension skill. Chilean high school students (N = 22) completed nine iSTART-E sessions and a face-to-face classroom lesson that included integrative video and additional examples of self-explanation. Survey data indicated that students thought that iSTART-E was useful and that they had improved their reading skills. Critically, this was supported by objective assessment—students' standardized reading comprehension test (Lectum) performance improved from pre-training to post-training. These findings demonstrate promise for the use of iSTART-E as a computer-supported learning environment for Spanish readers.

Students\u2019 Conceptual Sense-making of Animations and Static Visualizations of Protein Synthesis: a Sociocultural Hypothesis Explaining why Animations May Be Beneficial for Student Learning

This paper analyses students’ conceptual sense-making of two representations of protein synthesis: animations and static visualizations. Even though several studies have focused on the effect of animations versus static visualizations or support aspects that enable students to effectively benefit from animations, existing research has not yet analysed the activity of students’ shared conceptual sense-making of these two modes of representation. Grounded in sociocultural perspectives, this study addresses this gap by investigating two classes of 10th graders working in the computer-supported Viten learning environment. One class worked on a unit containing animations, and the other on a unit where animations were replaced by static visualizations. Pre- and post-tests were administered to measure possible differences between the classes in their knowledge acquisition. Aiming to explain the quantitative findings, we performed an interaction analysis to scrutinize the interaction trajectory of two dyads, one from each condition, while working on an animation and static visualization of protein synthesis both in class and in conceptual interviews.Our pre- and post-test findings demonstrate that students in the animated condition outperformed students in the static condition. The analysis of a dyad’s interaction indicates that students’ conceptual understanding develops at the juncture of segmentation of animation and text and students’ collaborative conceptual sense-making. We argue that interacting with animations and static visualizations are two different interactional processes, and based on our theoretical grounding, we hypothesise that this difference explains the different learning outcomes in the two conditions.By taking a sociocultural approach, the study provides a deeper understanding of the very activity in settings in which students are introduced to the scientific concepts embedded in animations versus static visualizations. Cognitive theories explaining students’ learning from these two modes of representations dominate the research field. The current study contributes to the field by launching a hypothesis of why animations may be superior to static visualizations in supporting students’ development of conceptual understanding in science. We introduce the collaborative link-making hypothesis, which builds on the conceptualisation of pedagogical link-making introduced by well-known researchers in the field of science education.

The Role of Achievement Goals and Self-regulated Learning Behaviors in Clinical Reasoning

Achievement goals are motivational antecedents which play an important role in students’ self-regulated learning (SRL). Achievement goals are also found to have an influence on students’ learning outcomes. However, how achievement goals and SRL jointly affect learning performance is still an underexplored area of research, especially in computer-supported learning environments. This research added new evidence on the relationship between achievement goals, SRL behaviors and students’ performance outcomes in a task of students diagnosing virtual patients in BioWorld, a technology-rich environment to help medical students practice their clinical reasoning skills. Multidimensional data (e.g. trace data, self-reports) were collected from 50 participants. Findings from this research demonstrated that performance avoidance goals positively predicted the SRL behavior of link evidence. Performance and mastery approach goals had a marginal negative effect on the SRL behavior of link evidence. Among the SRL behaviors traced, order lab test and check evidence positively predicted students’ efficacy, while link evidence negatively predicted their efficacy. The SRL behavior of check evidence positively predicted students’ confidence in making a correct diagnosis. Furthermore, performance approach goals negatively predicted the diagnostic confidence of learners. The instructional implications and the broader impacts for future research are discussed.

Development of Remote Instrumentation and Control for Laboratory Experiments using Handheld Devices

<p class="0abstractCxSpFirst">The unprecedented growth in Internet technologies has created revolutionary changes in the use of collaborative learning tools with remote experimentation. These tools enhance the experiential learning aspects of engineering education. Laboratory experiments are integral part of science and engineering education. Automation is changing the nature of these laboratories, and the focus of the system designer is on the availability of various interfacing tools to access the laboratory hardware remotely with the integration of computer supported learning environment.</p><p class="0abstractCxSpMiddle">Work on laboratory experiments and project works requires access to expensive hardware equipments. The high cost of these instruments along with time consuming development process of experimentation in the educational process creates a significant bottleneck. There is a need for the development of remote laboratory using which the users can access the laboratory instruments and the programmable devices remotely on their smart phones/tablets to perform the laboratory experiments. This implementation avails laboratory facility for complete twenty four hours a day and will increase the productivity of the laboratory hardware and measuring instruments.</p><p class="0abstractCxSpLast">This paper presents the detailed architecture and the implementation details of remote laboratory by which user can perform laboratory experiments remotely. Develop mobile based remote laboratory where user can access remote laboratory on his smart phone or tablet to perform the experiments. Software application is developed on Android platform for the implementation.</p>

Predicting Students’ Academic Procrastination in Blended Learning Course Using Homework Submission Data

Academic procrastination has been reported affecting students' performance in computer-supported learning environments. Studies have shown that students who demonstrate higher procrastination tendencies achieve less than the students with lower procrastination tendencies. It is important for a teacher to be aware of the students' behaviors especially their procrastination trends. EDM techniques can be used to analyze data collected through computer-supported learning environments and to predict students' behaviors. In this paper, we present an algorithm called students' academic performance enhancement through homework late/non-submission detection (SAPE) for predicting students' academic performance. This algorithm is designed to predict students with learning difficulties through their homework submission behaviors. First, students are labeled as procrastinators or non-procrastinators using k-means clustering algorithm. Then, different classification methods are used to classify students using homework submission feature vectors. We use ten classification methods, i.e., ZeroR, OneR, ID3, J48, random forest, decision stump, JRip, PART, NBTree, and Prism. A detailed analysis is presented regarding performance of different classification methods for different number of classes. The analysis reveals that in general the prediction accuracy of all methods decreases with increase in the number of classes. However, different methods perform best or worst for different number of classes.

Effect of multitasking, physical environment and electroencephalography use on cognitive load and retention

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the role of multitasking, physical setting and electroencephalography use on retention and cognitive load among undergraduate students in a computer supported learning environment. In the first experiment 129 subjects were assigned randomly to three multitasking scenarios while studying a biology video: Concurrent multitasking (n = 42), sequential multitasking (n = 44) and control/no multitasking (n = 43). While some subjects studied the material in a library room (n = 63) others (n = 66) studied in a cafeteria. Working memory, retention, subjective cognitive load, perceived mental effort and objective cognitive load (i.e., EEG) were measured. Findings revealed significant retention loss among concurrent multitaskers, whose perceived mental effort increased in cafeteria. Perceived mental effort correlated with the beta frequency (F7) of the frontal lobe. In the second experiment the influence of using EEG headsets was checked. Therefore, 60 new subjects were exposed to same interventions in a computer laboratory without EEG headsets. Retention and cognitive load measures were similar to Experiment 1. Retention of the content during online messaging was significantly worse. Working memory components and perceived mental effort correlated with retention in both experiments, whereas subjective cognitive load did not.

Examination of the dynamic software-supported learning environment in data analysis

ABSTRACTThe Fatih Project in Turkey has improved software in mathematics teaching such as data analysis software. As a result, the need to inquire into the efficiency of computer-supported learning environments has emerged. This study aims to examine the effect of dynamic data analysis software-supported learning environments on secondary school students’ achievement and attitude. The research method employs a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test, post-test control group. Basic topics related to data analysis were introduced through dynamic statistics software in the experimental group while the students were taught with the help of smart boards, course books and exercises in the control group. Data were collected with an achievement test, attitude scale and semi-structured interviews. Also, interviews were conducted with four students from the experimental group in order to get more detailed information from students. The data gained in the study were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed that statistics teaching through statistics software is more efficient than the one with the traditional method on achievement and attitudes. In accordance with this result, it is suggested that computer-supported statistics software should be used in statistics teaching.

Examining the role of self-regulation and emotion in clinical reasoning: Implications for developing expertise

This paper explores the role that self-regulation and emotions play in establishing a clinical diagnosis in the context of solving a clinical case in BioWorld, a computer supported learning environment designed for medical students to practice clinical reasoning. Group differences between high and low performers were explored. The results revealed no group differences in overall measures of SRL but high performers spend more time than lows in a subcategory of the reflection phase (reflecting on prioritized evidence and results). A reciprocal role of emotions was demonstrated for clinical reasoning and predicted students’ diagnostic performance. High performers showed less negative activating emotions than low performers.

Effects of explicit and implicit prompts on students’ inquiry practices in computer-supported learning environments in high school earth science

ABSTRACTThe study explored how to best use scaffolds for supporting students’ inquiry practices in computer-supported learning environments. We designed a series of inquiry units assisted with three versions of written inquiry prompts (generic and context-specific); that is, three scaffold-fading conditions: implicit, explicit, and fading. We then examined how the three scaffold-fading conditions influenced students’ conceptual understanding, understanding of scientific inquiry, and inquiry abilities. Three grade-10 classes (N = 105) participated in this study; they were randomly assigned to and taught in the three conditions. Data-collection procedures included a pretest–posttest approach and in-depth observations of the target students. The findings showed that after these inquiry units, all of the students exhibited significant learning gains in conceptual knowledge and performed better inquiry abilities regardless of which condition was used. The explicit and fading conditions were more effective in enhancing students’ understanding of scientific inquiry. The fading condition tended to better support the students’ development of inquiry abilities and help transfer these abilities to a new setting involving an independent socioscientific task about where to build a dam. The results suggest that fading plays an essential role in enhancing the effectiveness of scaffolds.

Learning with collaborative inquiry: a science learning environment for secondary students

When inquiry-based learning is designed for a collaborative context, the interactions that arise in the learning environment can become fairly complex. While the learning effectiveness of such learning environments has been reported in the literature, there have been fewer studies on the students’ learning processes. To address this, the article presents a study of science learning in a computer-supported learning environment called Collaborative Science Inquiry (CSI), which integrates guided inquiry principles for activity design, employs modelling and visualisation tools for promoting conceptual understanding and incorporates key computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) elements for enabling students’ collaboration. With the aim of understanding the process of students’ conceptual changes supported by the CSI learning environment as used in a secondary school, data on students’ test achievements, responses to learning tasks and peer discussions in collaboration were collected, analysed and discussed. The results of the qualitative and quantitative data analysis indicated that guided inquiry coupled with CSCL elements facilitated by the CSI system can engage students in inquiry activities and promote their conceptual understanding in a progressive way.

Differential impact of learning path based versus conventional instruction in science education

Learning paths have the potential to change the teaching and learning interaction between teachers and students in a computer-supported learning environment. However, empirical research about learning paths is scarce. Previous studies showed that the low adoption of learning paths can be linked to the lack of knowledge on the part of teachers about learning path design and its implementation. In the present study, which was undertaken in the context of a biology course in secondary education, 496 14- to 15-years old secondary school students in Flanders were assigned to either learning path based or conventional instruction during classroom activities. The aim was to analyze the differential impact of the instructional formats on learning outcomes, considering variations in group setting and group composition. Given the focus on science learning, gender was also considered. Multilevel analysis was applied, and the results show empirical evidence for superior performance for both boys and girls in the learning path condition as compared with that in the conventional condition. In addition, when girls collaborate, they perform best within same-sex groups, whereas boys achieve better results in mixed-gender groups. The implications of the findings are important for tackling the gender gap in science learning. The findings can lead to guidelines for teachers who want to implement learning paths within an optimal learning environment design.

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Learning paths have the potential to change the teaching and learning interaction between teachers and students in a computer-supported learning environment. However, empirical research about learning paths is scarce. Previous studies showed that the low adoption of learning paths can be linked to the lack of knowledge on the part of teachers about learning path design and its implementation. In the present study, which was undertaken in the context of a biology course in secondary education, 496 14- to 15-years old secondary school students in Flanders were assigned to either learning path based or conventional instruction during classroom activities. The aim was to analyze the differential impact of the instructional formats on learning outcomes, considering variations in group setting and group composition. Given the focus on science learning, gender was also considered. Multilevel analysis was applied, and the results show empirical evidence for superior performance for both boys and girls in the learning path condition as compared with that in the conventional condition. In addition, when girls collaborate, they perform best within same-sex groups, whereas boys achieve better results in mixed-gender groups. The implications of the findings are important for tackling the gender gap in science learning. The findings can lead to guidelines for teachers who want to implement learning paths within an optimal learning environment design.

Enhancing diagnostic competence with self-explanation prompts and adaptable feedback.

The fostering of diagnostic competence is an important goal of medical education. Worked-example cases with integrated errors represent a promising method of doing so. This study investigates whether the provision of self-explanation prompts and adaptable feedback fosters diagnostic competence in a computer-supported learning environment based on worked-example cases with integrated errors. A total of 103 medical students participated in the study. After a test of prior diagnostic competence, learners studied worked examples with integrated errors for cases of heart failure of different causes in a computer-based learning environment. The worked examples started with the description of a clinical situation in which a student apprentice diagnoses a patient and commits errors in the conclusions he draws from the information presented. Participants were randomly assigned to four learning conditions that varied in two factors: self-explanation prompts and adaptable feedback. In the self-explanation prompts condition, students were prompted to reflect on the errors. Independently of the condition, the student apprentice in the worked example receives feedback on his diagnosis. In the adaptable feedback condition, students were able to adjust the level of elaboration of the feedback. A post-test of diagnostic competence was administered. Adaptable feedback had a positive effect on important aspects of diagnostic competence (strategic knowledge: F(1,93) =4.15, p<0.05, partial η(2) =0.04; decision-oriented practical knowledge: F(1,93) =4.41, p<0.05, partial η(2) =0.05), whereas self-explanation prompts did not further improve the effectiveness of the learning environment. In the use of worked examples with integrated errors, the provision of adaptable feedback whereby learners have control over the amount of feedback they receive seems to be advantageous to the development of important decision-oriented aspects of diagnostic competence. Additional help to stimulate reflection about the error by self-explanation prompts does not seem to be critical.

Carrot and stick 2.0: The benefits of natural and motivational prosody in computer-assisted learning

For acquiring new skills or knowledge, contemporary learners frequently rely on the help of educational technologies supplementing human teachers as a learning aid. In the interaction with such systems, speech-based communication between the human user and the technical system has increasingly gained importance. Since spoken computer output can take on a variety of forms depending on the method of speech generation and the employment of prosodic modulations, the effects of such auditory variations on the user’s learning achievement require systematic investigation. The experiment reported here examined the specific effects of speech generation method and prosody of spoken system feedback in a computer-supported learning environment, and may serve as validational tool for future investigations of spoken computer feedback effects on learning. Learning performance in a basic cognitive task was compared between users receiving pre-recorded, naturally spoken system feedback with neutral prosody, pre-recorded feedback with motivating (praising or blaming) prosody, or computer-synthesized feedback. The observed results provide empirical evidence that users of technical tutoring systems benefit from pre-recorded, naturally spoken feedback, and do even more so from feedback with motivational prosodic modulations matching their performance success. Theoretical implications and considerations for future implementations of spoken feedback in computer-based educational systems are discussed.

Teaching the Talk, Not the Text

Teaching the Talk, Not the Text

Learning from the folly of others: Learning to self-correct by monitoring the reasoning of virtual characters in a computer-supported mathematics learning environment

Two studies examined the social basis of self-assessment for learning through the application of creative computer tools that can help students assess and self-correct their own learning. Students are not usually inclined to check their own answers, but they find it relatively motivating to catch other people's mistakes. A total of 62 students, ranging in age from nine to 11, participated in two studies that tested the hypothesis that monitoring “someone” else (i.e., computer character) can help students learn to self-assess their own learning. Two computer-supported learning environments, i.e., “Doodle Math” and “Puzzle Math,” were developed as training environments for monitoring. The environments also allowed a direct comparison between self training and self-other training. In the training environment, a computer character, “ProJo,” openly displayed its reasoning when solving math problems and allowed children to “look for mistakes.” The students in self training solved all the problems on their own, while the students in self-other training worked with the computer character, ProJo, taking turns to solve problems and monitor for any mistakes. The measures on calculation time and accuracy showed that self-other training might be an effective way to help students develop metacognitive skills to self-correct and improve performance in elementary mathematics. The log file tracked the students' progress in various data forms and displayed evidence that self-other training students monitored and self-corrected more than students who experienced self training.

Can Collaborative Knowledge Building Promote Both Scientific Processes and Science Achievement?

This study investigated the role of collective knowledge building in promoting scientific inquiry and achievements among Hong Kong high-school chemistry students. The participants included 34 Grade 10 (15-16 years old) students who engaged in collective inquiry and progressive discourse, using Knowledge Forum@, a computer-supported learning environment. A comparison class of 35 students also participated in the study. The instructional design, premised on knowledge-building principles including epistemic agency, improvable ideas and community knowledge, consisted of several components: developing a collaborative classroom culture, engaging in problem-centered inquiry, deepening the knowledge-building discourse, and aligning assessment with collective learning. Quantitative findings show that the students in the knowledge-building classroom outperformed the comparison students in scientific understanding with sustained effects in public examination. Analyses of knowledge-building dynamics indicate that the students showed deeper engagement and inquiry over time. Students’ collaboration and inquiry on Knowledge Forum significantly predicted their scientific understanding, over and above the effects of their prior science achievement. Qualitative analyses suggest how student’s knowledge-creation discourse, involving explanatory inquiry, constructive use of information and theory revision,can scaffold scientific understanding.