Exploring students' collaboration in computer-based inquiry settings

Abstract

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in educational settings has received increased attention, and it is a common belief that ICT may enhance students‘ learning and provide productive learning environments. This thesis is framed within the sociocultural perspective on learning, which view learning as an interactive meaning making process, where people learn when interacting with others and the artefacts in their surroundings. The overall focus of my thesis is to explore students‘ collaboration when engaging with a computer-based inquiry environment within the setting of school science. Studying collaboration gives access to a better understanding of the students‘ meaning making process, where they are working together with a variety of technology in the social practice of school. The empirical data was collected during a design experiment as part of the SCY project. The development of the computer-based inquiry environment SCY-Lab is central in the project. The data collection took place in March 2010 at an upper secondary school located just outside Oslo. The students in the trial worked together in groups in order to design a CO2 friendly house. The main data material consists of video recordings of students‘ group activities as they engage with SCY-Lab. The conducted analysis followed the process of the two student groups Power Puff and Thumbs Up. The analytical attention in this thesis is directed towards what characterizes the students‘ collaboration and how the computer environment, other digital resources and the institutional setting are functioning as structuring resources. The analysis of the students‘ interaction trajectory shows that the two groups differed in how they made decisions, what these decisions were based on, and how they discussed scientific concepts and phenomena. The two groups also differed in how they used the computer environment and digital resources. The students‘ orientations became more similar in the second last part of the project, as one of the groups orientation seemed to change towards being procedural. The findings are discussed in relation to the meaning of language in the students‘ collaboration and meaning making process, how the students comprehended and made use of the given technology in their collaboration and the situated and contextual features of the students‘ collaboration. Finally, I suggest some possible implications of my findings and how they can be seen in relation to challenges related to support of students‘ collaboration and design in CSCL.