Hans-Rüdiger Pfister

Group formation in computer-supported collaborative learning

Group formation in CSCL environments is either done manually with little support from the system, or the system needs an elaborated model of the learning domain in order to select potential peer learners and to form learning groups in a pedagogically sound way. Our research objectives include the integration of collaborative learning into the learning environment so that knowledge about the collaboration context can be used to support collaboration, including group formation without the need for a detailed model of the learning domain. In this paper we describe how so-called Intended Points of Cooperation (IPoCs) can be integrated into a (web-based) course. The course author defines at which points in the course a collaborative activity should occur and specifies the cooperative activity, i.e., type and size of the learning group, the collaboration type, and additional material for each activity. We explain how the system can utilize the knowledge about the collaboration context in order to form appropriate learning groups. Finally, we illustrate our approach with examples from the project L3: Lifelong learning as a utility, a German federally funded project which serves as a use case.

Supporting discourse in a synchronous learning environment: the learning protocol approach

Lack of coordination and coherence among contributions is a typical problem with the use of chat for netbased learning. We propose so-called learning protocols to increase coordination, coherence, and, hence, the efficiency of learning via chat. Learning protocols are system controlled cooperation scripts: Participants explicitely identify the reference and the type of their contributions, and the order of contributions is predetermined. As an example, the explanation protocol is described and empirical results confirming that structured discourse leads to superior learning are presented.

Consequences, morality, and time in environmental risk evaluation

Environmental risks pose a serious problem to individual and societal decision‐making, and the public debate is often characterized by a conflict between morally‐principled and technically oriented points of view. Drawing on previous work of Böhm and Pfister (2000), we propose a model on how environmental risks are cognitively represented and how risks are evaluated. The model suggests two evaluative pathways, evaluations of consequences and evaluation of moral considerations, each leading to a distinct set of emotions and action tendencies. Either one of these pathways may become dominant depending on the evaluative focus of the person, which, in turn, depends on the causal structure of the risk. An experimental study yields confirming evidence for this model. Furthermore, the influence of time perspective, that is, the delay of negative consequences caused by an environmental risk, is investigated. Contrary to the common assumption, only weak evidence for temporal discounting effects is found. It is concluded that environmental risks, due to their strong moral component, are partly immune to time perspective.

The Metaphor of Virtual Rooms in the Cooperative Learning Environment CLear

In the CLear project we develop a cooperative learning system for supporting learning and training processes of co-located and distributed groups. One of the fundamental concepts of CLear is the virtual room metaphor. We discuss divergent interpretations of this metaphor each appropriate for certain aspects of the learning process. We are exploring the implications of using such a metaphor for supporting collaboration, structuring hypermedia information and supporting the learning process in general. Our aim is to define a virtual room metaphor that integrates the collaborative aspects as well as the need to structure learning content contained within this system.

Mental representation of global environmental risks

We investigate the mental representation of environmental risks with special emphasis on global change. We propose a multi-level framework of the causal structure of global risks with five causally connected levels: attitudes, activities, emissions, environmental changes and negative consequences for humans. We contrast two approaches in the literature on the mental representation of risks, mental models and psychometric dimensions. Both approaches are viewed from the multi-level framework perspective. We argue that the mental representation corresponds to the multi-level framework and present several empirical studies which support this assumption. Finally, we discuss the relationship between the mental representation of environmental risks and environmental behavior.

Points of cooperation: Integrating cooperative learning into web-based courses

State-of-the-art web-based courses are limited in supporting cooperative forms of learning. In this paper we introduce the concept Point of Cooperation (PoC) which covers a wide range of cooperative learning activities in a networked learning environment. With respect to the extent to which a cooperative activity is incorporated into a course we differentiate between generic (GPoC), spontaneous (SPoC), and intended (IPoC) Points of Cooperation. The PoC concept is discussed with respect to the Berlin model of didactics and compared with traditional web-based learning environments. We outline how PoCs are integrated into a course from the authors point-of-view. Furthermore, we describe how PoCs are handled during the actual learning process, including the management of PoCs for each learner, the execution of PoCs, the formation of learning groups, the integration of communication and cooperation tools, and the management of the cooperation’s results. Finally, we describe the project L3: Lifelong learning as a basic need, a German federally funded project which serves as a use case for the PoC approach.

Lernprotokollunterstütztes Lernen - ein Vergleich zwischen unstrukturiertem und systemkontrolliertem diskursivem Lernen im Netz

Zusammenfassung. Kooperatives synchrones Lernen im Netz erfolgt oft unter Benutzung von Text-basierten Kommunikationswerkzeugen (Chat). Die Aneignung von Wissen durch den Austausch von Textbeitragen fuhrt meistens zu suboptimalen Ergebnissen, da der Lerndiskurs durch mangelnde Koordination und Inkoharenz der Beitrage gepragt ist. Mit dem Lernprotokollansatz schlagen wir eine Methode vor, um netzbasierte Lerndiskurse zu verbessern, indem die Koordination und die Koharenzbildung unterstutzt werden und damit der Lernerfolg gesteigert wird. Lernprotokolle werden als implementierte und vom Lernsystem kontrollierte Varianten von Kooperationsskripten konzipiert, die durch explizite Referenzierung, Beitragstypisierung und eine definierte Beitragsreihenfolge charakterisiert sind. Eine experimentelle Untersuchungen liefert positive Evidenz uber die Wirksamkeit eines speziellen Lernprotokolls zur Unterstutzung von Erklarungsdiskursen, insbesondere hinsichtlich der Referenzierungsfunktion. Allerdings zeigt sich, dass...

Umgebungen für computerunterstütztes kooperatives Lernen in der Schule

Dieser Beitrag skizziert, wie mit Umgebungen fur computerunterstutztes kooperatives Lernen traditionelle Probleme com¬puterunterstutzten Lernens uberwunden werden konnen. Es werden Einsatzmoglichkeiten derartiger Lernumgebungen in der Schule sowie Anforderungen an die Schule aufgezeigt. Als konkretes Beispiel wird die am GMD-IPSI entwickelte Lernumgebung VITAL vorgestellt.

The cognitive representation of genetic engineering: Knowledge and evaluations

Public opinion of genetic engineering is marked by scepticism and ambivalence. This holds true for Germany in particular, but for most other European countries, too. A large number of studies have conx8e rmed this over the past years (Kliment & Renn, 1993). Implicitly or explicitly, members of the scientix8e c community or the industry tend to accuse inadequate knowledge of being the cause for this ‘lack’ of acceptance. More extensive knowledge of genetic engineering would, so they argue, lead to a better understanding and hence to greater acceptance. A greater emphasis should therefore be put on educating people in this area. Up until now, this thesis is an assumption or hope as much as anything else. Proponents of genetic engineering are not alone in holding this view: opponents, too, are conx8e dent that more extensive knowledge will make people supporters of their cause. Hence, they too put their hopes in educating and informing people. Both camps assume that knowledge and evaluations of genetic engineering are connected, that the way people view genetic engineering is determined by how much they know about it. The more you know, they argue, the stronger a proponent or an opponent you will become. Is the trust in such a causal relation really justix8e ed? We tried to answer this question in the present study. We examined a representative sample of subjects as to what they knew—and about what they thought they knew—about genetic engineering and its different uses, about what they thought about it, and about the relationship between their knowledge and evaluations. We were less interested in the subjects’ factual knowledge or their responses to specix8e c questions (such as ‘What is genome analysis?’ or ‘Do you x8e nd genome analysis a good or a bad thing?’) but rather in the cognitive structure and representation of knowledge and evaluations. What we were trying to answer in particular was this: do knowledge and evaluations form cognitively coherent structures, or does their cognitive representation tend to be incoherent, fragmentary and unconnected? On the basis of direct survey methods alone, this question is impossible to answer. We have used an indirect methodical approach instead.

Decision Making in the Context of Environmental Risks

Environmental problems, such as pollution or the destruction of forests, are among the most serious challenges of today’s society. In recent years, increasing emphasis has been given to global phenomena, such as ozone layer depletion and climate change (e.g., Rayner and Malone, 1998a). These phenomena constitute global environmental risks, and it is one of the major problems for scientists as well as for policy makers how to assess, communicate, and manage these risks. Many of these environmental problems are anthropogenic, that is, they originate from human activities. Hence, the ultimate causes of global risks can be found in decision making processes -- on individual, organisational, and societal levels -- that lead to environmentally relevant behavior. Environmental problems arise from the fact that many individual choices are detrimental for the environment in the long run, such as car driving or overfishing, but are hard to change.