Allison Goodfellow
Manuscript 2
CSCL WS 14/15
As beneficial as collaborative learning is to the individual, very few students
enjoy the process. Many students have had negative experiences in the past with “group
work” and are often reluctant to endorse the process. Still most educators agree that
well constructed collaborative learning experiences are some of the most cognitively
rewarding. The key is of course to construct an effective learning environment. CSCL
offers several unique opportunities that allow for improved collaboration.
At first glance it would seem that asynchronous distributed groups are not
conductive to collaboration. Indeed there are many unique challenges associated with
this type of learning environments including a lack of visual queues, uncertainty with
the learning software or portal, and a lack of personal relationship between the
participants. However, CSCL also provides increased convenience for participants,
reduction of human resources and flexibility that is not present in a traditional
collaboration setting. One method of overcoming the challenges of CSCL while still
taking advantage of its best features is introducing scripts into the learning
environment.
Scripts provide scaffolding and support for learners in a variety of ways. In there
most basic form they allow learners to focus on learning instead of logistics. Scripts are
being used in e-learning environments to distribute roles and tasks, coordinate meeting
procedures and provide increase awareness.. Even more importantly scripts can and are
being used to increase learning gains. Weinberger found that peer-review scripts
drastically increased the quality of transaktiv discussion in online learning
environments. Weinberger discovered that left on their own student feedback was often
unproductive and led to a false consensus. By providing learners with guidance in the
form of a script students were able to alter their behavior to meet expectations and the
quality of feedback increased dramatically. Similarly, Ben Betts explains in a Tedtalk on
Gamification that simply requiring participation led to large numbers of responses, but
nearly 80% of these responses were without purpose. By providing clarity as to what
responses should contain the quality of responses became nearly as high as those
moderated by a teacher.
Still despite the growing research in support of scripts there are issues of
concern. The primary issue is under or over scripting. In other words providing too little
or too much of a framework for learners. In both cases this reduces motivation and can
negatively impact long-term retention of content. A student who is experiencing under
scripting will likely be frustrated with the process and give up in the face of challenges. A
student, who experiences over scripting will feel restricted, stifled and bored also
leading to withdrawal from the learning process. An ideal script is adaptive to the needs
of the students and allows itself to be gradually faded out, reducing student dependence
on the script and increasing self-regulation.
When scripts are used effectively it reduces confusion as to expectations,
provides a framework for unfamiliar learning environments and increases student
performance. Current research suggests that scripts have the potential to greatly
improve the e-learning environment by making collaboration easier and more efficient
for students to participate in. Since e-learning is new to many students scripts provides
them with the framework they need to be successful in this new form of collaborative
learning.
Betts, Ben. The 2-Sigma Problem: TEDxWarwickED.(Video File). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqLiLH6Sjnw
Weinberger, A. (2011). Principles of transactive computer-supported collaboration
scripts. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 6 (3), 189-202.
Weinberger, A. (2014, October 8). CSCL and me. Some background; Cooperative
and Collaborative Learning; CSCL Processes; CSCL Scripts; A CSCL Script Example Study.
Epistemic and Peer-Review-Scripts [Video files]. Retrieved from
https://wiki.oulu.fi/display/LETs/Learning+Materials.