Maria Beatrice Ligorio

The collaborative construction of chronotopes during computer-supported collaborative professional tasks

In this paper, we use the concept of chronotope to analyse the co-construction of spatial and temporal frameworks during collaborative interaction. A chronotope is a genre of movement or pacing in the space that participants adopt over the temporal duration of an activity. We look in particular at the conjunction point of time and space as revealing how collaboration works and what role is played by technology. Six sessions during which 10 teachers prepared a pedagogical scenario to be implemented in school were filmed and qualitatively analysed. The tempo of the activity was found to vary considerably depending on various factors, such as the features of the tools used, the aims of the activity, and the skills employed by the participants to achieve them. Three different tempos were identified, which we named, using a musical metaphor, Adagio, Andante, and Allegretto. Some representative excerpts of each of these tempos, and of the moving from one tempo to another, are selected and discussed. Our results allow an in-depth understanding of coordination within a group of teachers working on planning a common educational scenario for their classrooms with the mediation of a software tool.

Self-Positioning in a Text-Based Virtual Environment

The recent conceptualization of identity positioning of the dialogical self (Hermans, 2001b) has many potentialities for education, where the relation between identity development and learning is well recognized (Bruner, 1997). Moreover, new ways of expressing the self, based on computer-mediated communication, made virtual environments interesting for both dialogical self-theory and for education. In this article, Hermanss theory is used to analyze a case study of a dyad solving a problem implemented in an exclusively text-based virtual environment, called multiuser dimensions. Using the personal position repertoire method (Hermans, 2001a) adapted for the task, a list of specific self-positioning repertoires was identified. A finer discursive analysis showed complex relations between the different positionings detected, and highlighted the relevance of the sequence of microcontexts within the task. Results are discussed suggesting a fruitful encounter between clinical and educational psychology for the understanding of identity development while performing educational tasks.

Role-taking for Knowledge Building in a Blended Learning course

This paper focuses on role-taking effectiveness during blended learning activities. Two roles have been studied: the tutor, acting during forum-discussions, and the editor, in charge of supervising a collaborative writing task. A quantitative analysis was conducted to verify the impact of the two roles in terms of: a) participation to online activities, b) students’ preference for one of the roles and c) students’perception about the relevance of roles in acquiring academic skills. 48 in-service teachers attending a blended course responded to a 9-items semi-structured questionnaire. Their participation was measured bycounting their reading and writing activities. Results show that the highest participation is obtained when participants could play both roles. Participants prefer one or the other role based on specifc motivations reported on the questionnaire. The motivations were categorized by using four theoretical metaphors: behaviorist, cognitive, constructivist, and socio-constructivist motivations. Lower participants report more behaviorist motivations whereas higher participants have socio-constructivist argumentations. Both roles are perceived as useful to foster participation and improve communication and collaboration skills. Nevertheless, the role of the editor is perceived as more useful than that of the tutor in promoting both online and offine participation and individual learning.

Peer e-tutoring: Effects on students’ participation and interaction style in online courses

Abstract In this paper, we describe a procedure to promote active participation in online courses by supporting students in performing the role of an e-Tutor during group activities. A case study, conducted to explore the procedural effects both on students’ interactions and on their perceptions about the role, is discussed. Eighteen university students (67% female, mean Age = 23 years) took part in online collaborative learning activities as part of a 15-week blended learning course. Twelve participants took turns in covering the role of e-Tutor. Findings were based on a mixed methods analysis of 7105 contributions posted online by the 18 students. An analysis of e-Tutor self-assessment forms was also considered. Results indicated that utilising peer-based e-Tutors promoted substantial active participation in online discussions. Moreover, students performing the role of e-Tutor adopted a supportive, collaborative and educational style, which was maintained even after their turn as e-Tutor had ended.

The role of context in a collaborative problem-solving task during professional development

This article analyses how a group of teachers managed the resources available while performing computer-supported collaborative problem-solving tasks in the context of professional development. The authors video-recorded and analysed collaborative sessions during which the group of teachers used a digital environment to prepare a pedagogical scenario for subsequent implementation in their schools. The findings provide evidence that some aspects of context management can be explained in terms of explorative (opening problem space) and focused (closing problem space) actions. The results indicate that (a) the focused problem-solving took place when the problem space reached a provisional stability and problem-solvers developed a plan for proceeding with the task, (b) the individual exploration of the context was associated with the process of appropriation of a digital educational environment, and (c) the collective exploration of the context fostered the advancement of collaborative problem-solving and the introduction of new elements in the joint problem space.

The temporal dimension as a dialogical resource for teachers’ professional development and fulfillment

This article presents the findings of a qualitative interview study of professional identity of 38 Italian teachers close to retirement. Through a dialogical analysis of the interviews, the authors trace the trajectory of the teachers’ voices along a temporal axis, to retrieve the history of the voices and the connections to a specific period of the teachers’ careers. In particular, the authors focus on how the interviewees dealt with problems and dilemmas in their professional lives and solved their feelings of professional inadequacy. This study highlights the importance of the time dimension in relation to teacher professionalism, in particular with regard to identity resources to overcome critical moments in their careers.

Participating in an international master’s programme: impact on agency for African in-service teachers

Abstract This paper investigates teachers’ agency in relation to their professional development. In particular, we refer to research skills and attitude in-service teachers may acquire while attending an international master of research in education. A semi-structured interview was administrated to nine in-service teachers, coming from three different African countries. All of them are attending an international master course aimed to acquire skills in science educational research. The data collected was qualitatively analysed through a category system based on five types of agency. Teachers express the various types of agency in their attempt to extend their action in the context of belonging, with a strong social connotation towards colleagues, students, and the community.

Identity profiles and metaphors for understanding the educational potentialities of social networks

Analizzare i Social Network (SN) puo aiutare a capire le loro potenzialita a supporto dell’apprendimento. Partendo da un quadro teorico socio costruttivista e utilizzando concettualizzazioni relative agli artefatti culturali, ai posizionamenti identitari e alle metafore, questa ricerca si propone di delineare dei profili degli utenti dei SN allo scopo di individuare modalita d’uso in contesti educativi. Un apposito questionario, composto da 28 domande che indagano quattro aree tematiche (informazioni personali, orientamento e preferenze, modalita di utilizzo, metafore), e stato compilato da 327 partecipanti, la maggior parte di eta compresa tra i 16 e i 27 anni. Dall’analisi dei dati emergono tre profili (Interdipendenza / Socialita, Dipendenza, Individualita) che permettono di superare i tre livelli elaborati da Wartofsky, prospettando l’emergere di un nuovo quarto livello, caratterizzato da artefatti che permettono di costruire mondi personali entro mondi collettivi astratti e simbolici. Infine, si propongono alcuni principi guida per un’eventuale progettazione di attivita educative supportate da artefatti di quarto livello.

Using e-learning: The students’ point of view

This paper discusses results obtained during a research project aimed at developing an e-learning platform for university courses, called Intelligent Web Teacher (IWT). Most studies of this kind are based on expert assessment, either software developers or competent users; in this research we analyzed students’ point of view through qualitative data. In particular, three thinking aloud protocols were collected during a study session at the university lab. Four university students (two of them worked in dyad and produced one protocol), from 19 to 23 years old, volunteered to be trained for thinking aloud sessions while using the platform. Discourse analysis is used to discern how meaning was organized in the three protocols and to discover what topics emerged during use of the e-learning platform (Sacks, 1992; Schegloff, 1992). Based on the gathered list of topics, a set of recommendations useful to both software developers and educators is outlined. Finally, it is suggested how to promote an active e-learner profile in place of the passive profi le that emerges.

Agency Online: Trends in a University Learning Course.

Abstract This article aims to investigate how university students perform agency in an online course and whether the collaborative nature of the course affects such expression. A total of 11 online web forums involving 18 students (N = 745 posts in total) were qualitatively analysed through the use of a codebook composed of five categories (individual, interpersonal, epistemic, transformative and collective) and several sub-categories purposely developed for the sake of this research. The results show that each category follows a specific path, although two events – the re-mixing of the groups and the assumption of the peer-tutor role – particularly affected the evolution of trends. Although this study needs further development, the authors believe that an in-depth understanding of the nature of agency, including how to analyse it as well as empower it when implementing blended educational activities, engages relevant theoretical and pedagogical issues.