Anna Engel

Strategies for collaborative writing and phases of knowledge construction in CSCL environments

Within the framework of research that describes the processes of collaborative knowledge construction in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments, the present work has three objectives: (i) the identification of the strategies of six small groups of university students for the elaboration of written products in a CSCL environment; (ii) seek relations between the identified writing strategies and the processes and phases of collaborative knowledge construction in the groups; and (iii) relate these strategies and phases with the learning results obtained by the groups. We carried out a multiple-case study, with the analysis of four different didactic sequences, in two different virtual learning and teaching settings. In each setting, three student groups were studied, where each had to collaboratively develop between four and eight written products. For all the studied groups, the analysis enabled the identification of five types of strategies in the preparation of the elaboration of written products, and four types of phases of collaborative knowledge construction, which are interrelated and also connected with the grades that the groups obtained in each case.

The role of teacher assistance on the effects of a macro-script in collaborative writing tasks

Some recent proposals on CSCL scripts have suggested that one key factor for their effectiveness is the ability of the teacher to adapt the scripts to the students and to the specific teaching and learning situations. In this context, this paper presents a multiple-case study dealing with the relationship between the assistance given by the teacher during the collaborative process and the forms of collaborative work developed by groups of university students in two natural settings, in which two different types of macro-script are used. Specifically, the study sets itself three objectives: (1) to identify patterns of teacher assistance to the collaborative work developed by the groups; (2) to identify the forms of collaborative work developed by the groups; and (3) to explore the relationships between the patterns of teacher assistance, the forms of collaborative work and the level of performance achieved by the groups. The results show two different patterns of teacher assistance in the two settings. These patterns differ on four dimensions: the aspect of the task on which the teacher was offering assistance, the moment in which the assistance was offered, the recipient of the assistance, and whether the assistance offered by the teacher was spontaneous or requested by the students. These patterns are related with the forms of collaborative work developed by the groups (how the group is organized and how the written work is produced) within the structural framework imposed, in each setting, by the macro-script.

Patrones de organización grupal y fases de construcción del conocimiento en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje colaborativo

Resumen El objetivo del trabajo es explorar las posibles relaciones entre las formas de planificación y organización del trabajo que adoptan pequeños grupos de estudiantes en un entorno de aprendizaje colaborativo mediado por ordenador y la calidad del aprendizaje que alcanzan. Para ello, se observaron tres pequeños grupos de estudiantes universitarios a lo largo de dos secuencias didácticas consecutivas, correspondientes a los créditos prácticos de una asignatura obligatoria de la licenciatura en Psicología. El análisis identificó tres formas típicas de coordinación de las tareas en los grupos, denominadas “coordinación en rompecabezas”, “coordinación en estrella” y “coordinación en cadena”. En los resultados obtenidos, la primera se asocia sistemáticamente con fases más iniciales de construcción colaborativa del conocimiento, mientras que las otras dos se asocian en determinadas ocasiones, pero no siempre, con fases más avanzadas de construcción colaborativa. La adopción de determinadas formas de planificación y organización del trabajo se apunta, por tanto, como una condición necesaria pero no suficiente para la calidad del aprendizaje grupal.

Introduction: Personal Learning Environments in the context of formal education / Introducción: los Entornos Personales de Aprendizaje en contextos de educación formal

Abstract This article introduces the monograph on Personal Learning Environments in formal education and presents six papers addressing, both theoretically and empirically, the use of these environments as learning spaces. The six papers contribute to reflection and discussion of the challenges that the new scenario derived from the information society poses to formal education. The common thread of the work is the idea that, to address these challenges, we need new approaches and proposals. In this context, Personal Learning Environments are presented as an innovative approach that can contribute to transforming learning and teaching. All articles focus on the design, construction, appropriation and use of Personal Learning Environments, as well as on the possibilities, limitations and difficulties of implementing this type of learning environment in formal educational settings.

Estrategias discursivas para la construcción colaborativa del conocimiento en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje

Resumen El objetivo del presente trabajo es tratar de identificar algunas estrategias discursivas que puedan asociarse de manera específica a —y al mismo tiempo, configurar—las diversas fases de construcción colaborativa del conocimiento desarrolladas por grupos de estudiantes universitarios que resuelven tareas de elaboración conjunta de productos escritos en un entorno de aprendizaje mediado por ordenador. Para ello, se ha realizado un estudio de casos en situación natural, en dos situaciones o contextos instruccionales distintos, correspondientes a sendas asignaturas del ámbito de la Psicología de la Educación. En cada situación, se han seguido tres pequeños grupos de estudiantes, y se han analizado las tareas correspondientes a dos secuencias didácticas completas y consecutivas. Como resultado, se ha podido identificar un amplio conjunto de estrategias discursivas típicas de cada una de las fases de construcción colaborativa del conocimiento consideradas. Estas estrategias remiten a formas de uso del lenguaje mediante las cuales los miembros del grupo consiguen, en cada caso, alcanzar el nivel de intersubjetividad y el grado de construcción de conocimiento compartido propio de la fase.

Personal learning environments: design and use / Los entornos personales de aprendizaje en la educación superior: del diseño al uso

Abstract This study focuses on the uses that two groups of higher education students make of technological resources offered by an institution to build their own personal learning environments. The main thesis is that these uses depend on the techno-pedagogical design of the teaching and learning process in which the technological resources are framed. In order to explore and illustrate this thesis two instructional sequences have been analysed. Both use the same technological design, the Elgg platform, which allows users to select and organize a set of resources or widgets according to their interests and needs. The results show that in both cases the uses that students make of technology are related to the characteristics and requirements of the particular techno-pedagogical designs. We conclude that the key is not to offer technological resources to the students so they can build their own personal learning environments, but to design activities that attract and induce them to build these personal environments and to guide and support the process of construction.

Enhancing participation and learning in an online forum by providing information on educational influence / La información sobre el ejercicio de la influencia educativa como medio para favorecer la participación y el aprendizaje en un foro en línea

Abstract The information provided to participants regarding their activity is a key focus of recent studies aiming to improve the processes and outcomes of computer-supported collaborative learning. The information that is ultimately made available is linked to that considered to be important for online collaborative learning processes. The study presented here attaches special importance both to educational influence and to the distribution of this influence among the participants. Participants were 42 university students. They were given information regarding certain indicators of their participation in the forums, which were theoretically related to the exercise of educational influence at both group and individual levels. The objectives were to analyse the impact of information on the evolution of activity across the forums, and the relationship with the value that participants assigned to the forums and the usefulness of the forums in the learning process. The results indicated that only individual information had a significant impact on participation in subsequent forums. Future studies should incorporate questions related to the meaning that participants ascribe to the information provided to them.