Bernhard Ertl

Facilitating Collaborative Knowledge Construction in Computer-Mediated Learning Environments with Cooperation Scripts

Collaborative knowledge construction in computer-mediated learning environments poses difficulties regarding what tasks learners work on and how learners interact with each other. Learners who collaboratively construct knowledge in computer-mediated learning environments sometimes construct inadequate conceptions of a subject and rashly build consensus regarding these conceptions. Collaborative learning tasks can be structured through cooperation scripts. It is unclear, how cooperation scripts could be designed for different tasks and different technologies for computer-mediated communication. In this chapter, two studies with a 2×2-design will be reported that applied social and epistemic cooperation scripts in computer-mediated learning environments based on web-based discussion boards and videoconferencing technologies. Results show that social cooperation scripts substantially foster the processes of collaborative knowledge construction as well as learning outcomes. Epistemic cooperation scripts facilitate the processes of collaborative knowledge construction, but have no or negative effects on learning outcomes.