Nathan Dwyer

Beyond threaded discussion: Representational guidance in asynchronous collaborative learning environments

Although most online learning environments are predominately text based, researchers have argued that representational support for the conceptual structure of a problem would address problems of coherence and convergence that have been shown to be associated with threaded discussions and more effectively support collaborative knowledge construction. The study described in this paper sets out to investigate the merits of knowledge mapping representations as an adjunct to or replacement for threaded discussion in problem solving by asynchronously communicating dyads. Results show that users of knowledge maps created more hypotheses earlier in the experimental sessions and elaborated on them more than users of threaded discussions. Participants using knowledge maps were more likely to converge on the same conclusion and scored significantly higher on post-test questions that required integration of information distributed across dyads in a hidden profile design, suggesting that there was greater collaboration during the session. These results were most consistent when a knowledge map with embedded notes was the primary means of interaction rather than when it augmented a threaded discussion. The paper also offers a methodological contribution: a paradigm for practical experimental study of asynchronous collaboration. It is crucial to understand how to support collaborative knowledge construction in the asynchronous settings prevalent in online learning, yet prior experimental research has focused on face-to-face and synchronous collaboration due to the pragmatic problems of conducting controlled studies of asynchronous interaction. A protocol is outlined that enables study of asynchronous collaboration in a controlled setting.

A Framework for Conceptualizing, Representing, and Analyzing Distributed Interaction

The relationship between interaction and learning is a central concern of the learning sciences, and analysis of interaction has emerged as a major theme within the current literature on computer-supported collaborative learning. The nature of technology-mediated interaction poses analytic challenges. Interaction may be distributed across actors, space, and time, and vary from synchronous, quasi-synchronous, and asynchronous, even within one data set. Often multiple media are involved and the data comes in a variety of formats. As a consequence, there are multiple analytic artifacts to inspect and the interaction may not be apparent upon inspection, being distributed across these artifacts. To address these problems as they were encountered in several studies in our own laboratory, we developed a framework for conceptualizing and representing distributed interaction. The framework assumes an analytic concern with uncovering or characterizing the organization of interaction in sequential records of events. The framework includes a media independent characterization of the most fundamental unit of interaction, which we call uptake. Uptake is present when a participant takes aspects of prior events as having relevance for ongoing activity. Uptake can be refined into interactional relationships of argumentation, information sharing, transactivity, and so forth for specific analytic objectives. Faced with the myriad of ways in which uptake can manifest in practice, we represent data using graphs of relationships between events that capture the potential ways in which one act can be contingent upon another. These contingency graphs serve as abstract transcripts that document in one representation interaction that is distributed across multiple media. This paper summarizes the requirements that motivate the framework, and discusses the theoretical foundations on which it is based. It then presents the framework and its application in detail, with examples from our work to illustrate how we have used it to support both ideographic and nomothetic research, using qualitative and quantitative methods. The paper concludes with a discussion of the framework’s potential role in supporting dialogue between various analytic concerns and methods represented in CSCL.

Consistent practices in artifact-mediated collaboration

The design of collaborative representations faces a challenge in integrating theoretical communication models with the context-sensitive and creative practices of human interaction. This paper presents results from a study that identified multiple, invariant communicative practices in how dyads appropriated flexible, paper-based media in discussions of wicked problems. These invariants, identified across media, participants and topics are a promising first step towards creating an abstract model for design that connects representational affordances and communicative functions. The authors identify areas where this model may challenge conventional design wisdom and discuss directions for further research.

A study of the foundations of artifact-mediated collaboration

The premise of this work is that, like language, the meanings of written representations are contextual and their affordances are appropriated in sometimes-unexpected ways. This situation presents a dilemma for designers of collaborative learning technologies: there is a need for representational and interactional tools that guide and support learning through cognitive and social activities, but predefined mappings between interface elements and functionalities may be too rigid. The study reported in this paper attempts to address this dilemma by identifying the strategies that people communicating via flexible written representations use to manage their interaction, and how they appropriate the affordances of media to carry out these strategies. We analyzed how people appropriated paper-based tools for collaboration under conditions approximating online interaction. Regularities were observed in the use of limited but polymorphic repertoires for communication and expression of attitude, functional and coordinative use of space, the presence of simultaneous threads, and strategies for interruption and context setting. The results suggest a new generation of collaborative technologies that include support for multi-faceted and parallel interactions, lightweight tools for expressing attitude, context representations, and scaffolding for automatically detecting and supporting emerging conventions.

A framework for eclectic analysis of collaborative interaction

The interactional structure of learning practices is a central focus of study for CSCL, although challenges remain in developing and pursuing a systematic research agenda in the field. Different analytic approaches produce complementary insights, but comparison is hampered by incompatible representations of the object of study. Sequential interaction analysis is promising but must be scaled to distributed and asynchronously mediated settings. Building on recent analytic work within our laboratory, we propose a framework for analysis that is founded on the concepts of media coordinations and uptake, and utilizes an abstract transcript representation, the dependency graph, that is suitable for use by multiple analytical traditions and supports examination of sequential structure at larger scales.

An Abstract Transcript Notation for Analyzing Interactional Construction of Meaning in Online Learning

This work is based on the premise that the interactional construction of meaning is as important in online settings as it is face-to-face, especially in collaborative learning. Yet most studies of online learning use quantitative methods that assign meaning to contributions in isolation and aggregate over many sessions, obscuring the situated procedures by which participants accomplish learning through the affordances of online media. Methods for studying the interactional construction of meaning are available, but have largely been developed for brief episodes of face-to-face data, and need to be adapted to online learning where media resources, time scale, and synchronicity differ. In order to resolve this tradeoff, we have prototyped an abstract transcript notation to support sequential and interactional analysis of distributed and asynchronous interactions. The paper describes applications to data derived from asynchronous interaction of dyads and small groups

Conceptual representations enhance knowledge construction in asynchronous collaboration

An experimental study of asynchronously communicating dyads tested the claim that conceptual representations could more effectively support collaborative knowledge construction in online learning than threaded discussions. Results showed that users of conceptual representations created more hypotheses earlier in the experimental sessions and elaborated on hypotheses more than users of threaded discussions. Participants using conceptual representations were more likely to converge on the same conclusion and scored higher on post-test questions that required integration of information distributed across dyads in a hidden profile design. However, the essay contents and post-test offered no evidence for differences in information sharing in itself. These results were most consistent when a knowledge map with embedded notes was the primary means of interaction rather than when it augmented a threaded discussion.

Representational Effects in Asynchronous Collaboration: A Research Paradigm and Initial Analysis

Researchers have argued that tools for online learning should provide representational support for the conceptual structure of a problem area in order to address issues of coherence and convergence and more effectively support collaborative knowledge construction. The study described in this paper sets out to investigate the merits of knowledge representations and of two alternative ways they may be related to discussion tools: embedded or linked. Analyses conducted to date suggest intriguing process and outcome differences to be investigated in future analyses. The paper also offers a methodological contribution: a paradigm for practical experimental study of asynchronous collaboration. Prior research has focused on face-to-face and synchronous collaboration due to the pragmatic problems of conducting asynchronous studies. It is crucial to understand how to support collaborative knowledge construction in asynchronous settings prevalent in online learning.