SOCIAL INTERACTION AND GROUP DYNAMICS IN COLLABORATIVE

LEARNING

Essi VuopalaLearning and educational technology research unit

Outline

Lecture part I: Reminder: defining collaborative learning– Group task I

Lecture part II: Educational dimension of collaborative learning– Group task II

Lecture part III: Social psychological dimension of CL– Group task III

Conclusions + discussion

Learning of expertise (How to develpe one’s own expertise in order to solve complex problems?)

Adaptive expertise

Self-regulated learning (How does individual learner plan, monitor and evaluate one’s own learning?)

Co-regulation

Socially shared regulation

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY/ EDUCATIONAL USE OF ICT

How technology can enhance social interaction and group work?

Collaborative learning (How can the group promote individual’s learning?)

Team learning

CSCL

What is collaborative learning

• one specific theory• single pedagogical method or psychological process

(Crook 2000; Dillenbourg 2002)

Collaborative learning refers to studying method where group members have joint task and they are committed to construct a joint understanding through socail interaction.

(Baker 2002)

Collaborative learning can be seen as a space where the group members create new knowledge together.

And what it is not…

(Lave & Wenger 1991)

Collaborative learning refers to the culture of knowledge building and learning is considered equal to learners’ growing ability to participate in learning communities’ actions.

Collaborative learning

Joint aims, shared goals

Commitment to joint activities

Knowledge construction

Shared expertice

Co-operative learning

Vertical division of tasks

Individual studying

Flexibility in roles

Static roles

Social interaction

Joint product

Horizontal division of tasks

Common elements (collaborative – co-operative)

• Learning is active• Teacher as a facilitator• Learning as shared

experiece• Small group activities• Learners responsibility• Social and team skills

Kirschner, 2001

GROUP TASK I

List factors which affect to the success of collaborative learning .

Which of these factors are related to social interaction?

Social interaction

Group learning

Social psychological processes

Individual learning

Group performance

Educational dimension

Socialpsychological dimension

= affecting=outcome=reinforcing

Based on Kreijns, Kirschner & Jochems 2002

Collaborative learning

Collaboration as a special type of interaction

• Paradigms in research of collaborative learning (Dillenbourg, Baker, Blaye & O’Malley, 1996):

– Effect –paradigm

– Conditions –paradigm

– Interaction –paradigm• From conditions into interaction• From interaction to learning outcomes

Is collaborative learning more effective than individual learning?

How different factors affect to collaborative learning?

What kinds of interactional processes occur in collaborative learning situations?

Interactional processes in CL

• Negotiations• Presenting new

knowledge based on one’s own experience and theory

• Analyzing the problems

• Joint dicision making

• Presenting questions

High level

Low level

Developing level

Järvelä & Häkkinen, 2002

Interaction in successful collaborative learning (Vuopala, 2013)

- Group-related discussions

- Organization, coordination and evaluation of group work

- Sosio-emotional units in discussions

- Personal issues

- Task-related discussions- Comments (with

arguments)

- Questions (information seeking, clarifying)

- Theory-based knowledge

• In CSCL situations…

Since online learning requires a higher level of student interdependence (Palloff & Pratt, 1999) and students must navigate time and space displacements (Bannan-Ritland, 2003), maintaining online interaction is a challenging task.

• Asynchronous interaction+ time to think and process ideas and thoughts+ communication is stored- lack of immediate feedback (Hou & Wu, 2011)

- ’one-way’ discussions (Card & Horton, 2000)

- broken threads (Hewitt, 2005)

• Synchronous interaction+ Instant information sharing, comparing and feedback (Branon & Essex, 2001)

+ spontanious and dynamic nature of interaction (Duemer, & al., 2002)

+ audio-based communication multiple channels for input (Vonderwell, 2003)

- No time to reflect collaborative processes (Branon & Essex, 2001)

- Limitations in controlling the discussions (Thirunarayanan, 2000)

+/- More off-topic discussions (Hou & Wu, 2011; Vuopala, 2012)

• Synchronous interaction (Park & Bonk, 2007)– University students’ experiences1. Benefits• Immediate support and diverse perspectives• Social presence and sense of connectivity• Structural supports from the instructor

2. Disadvantages• Time constrains and lack of reflection time• Network connection problems• Problems related to technical tools

Both:

Lack of nonverbal communicationLack of emotional connectionLack of sense of community

Asynchronous vs. synchronous interaction

Moodle SecondLife

Technology-related discussions

Planning up-coming groupwork

Decreasing tension

Accompanying

Task-related

Group-related

Task-related

Group-related

Organizing ongoinig groupwork

Expressing cohesion

Short statements

Comments

New knowledge

Theory-based knowledge

GROUP TASK II

Think about teacher’s or educator’s work: Why is it important to understand the basic mechanisms of collaborative learning?

GROUP DYNAMICS IN COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

SITUATIONS

A collection of individuals who have frequent interaction, mutual influence, common feeling of belonging, and who work together to achieve a common task. (Arrow, McGrath & Berdahl, 2000)

‘Collaborative learning is a coordinated, synchronous activity that is the result of a continued attempt to construct and maintain a shared conception of a problem’ (Roschelle & Teasley, 1995)

Project groups

Free-time groups

1. FORMING

2. STORMING

3. NORMING

4. PEFORMING

(5. ENDING)

Tuckman, 1965

Individual in a group

Role

Intrests

Status

Familiarity

Group-related factors

Group size

Cohesion Norms

Interdependence

- Shawn (1981): 3-8 learners

- Pennington (2005): 5 persons

- Solidity- Neediness

(Cohen, 1994)

- Unofficial- Stable- Social in nature

- Positive- Negative

Environment factors

Physical distance

Tools

Learning tasks

Challenges in group work

Sucker effectSocial loafing

Free rider effect

(Jerman, 2004; Kerr, 1983; Pennington, 2005)

GROUP TASK III

How you can improve your groupwork in order to avoid freeriding/ social loafing and enhance positive group processes?

Conclusions

• There can’t be collaborative learning without social interaction!

• Collaborative learning is about – flexible and reciprocal

groupwork where– individual learning is

affected by the group in– supportive

environment.

THANK YOU!