Tony Anderson

Learning about learning from hypertext

Hypertext is a term now applied so widely that it is no longer clear that it means anything other than the ability to retrieve information rapidly and relevantly by direct selection. In fact, the differences between hypertext systems for, say, information management, specialist writing environments, design or learning systems, so outweigh their similarities that it no longer seems sensible to talk about hypertext as though it is a generic technology with features, such as browsers, that are intrinsically desirable. Instead, it is more important to consider hypertext within the context of specific applications, each with its own task demands. In this paper we attempt first to illustrate this specificity by considering some of the features of hypertext from the point of view of learning requirements. Secondly, we ask how we can actually discover what the optimal features of a hypertext learning system might be.

Computer-assisted learning and groupwork: the design of an evaluation

Abstract This paper describes an evaluation methodology which directly addresses the issue of process. The principal focus of the study is the effect of software variables on the patterns of interaction within pairs of users. The paper therefore explores methodological issues concerning how to describe and characterise interaction, and the various design choices faced in a study involving such analyses. Several frequently-encountered dilemmas are raised, one major one being the scope of an evaluation. This is raised in several forms; for example: the trading of depth (in the fine detail of a coding scheme for describing subject and the machine behaviour at the microanalytic level) against breadth (in terms of the maximum numbers of subjects that can be run in a study involving such detailed analyses), the sampling of cross-sectional as opposed to longitudinal data, and the fact that particular design choices, whilst facilitating the addressing of specific research questions, inevitably constrain ones ability to address other, equally pressing, issues.

The Discursive Construction of Group Cohesion in Problem-Based Learning Tutorials.

Research has shown that educators may be reluctant to implement group work in their teaching due to concerns about students partaking in off-task behaviours. However, such off-task interactions have been shown to promote motivation, trust, and rapport-building. This paper details a study in which student groups were video recorded as they engaged in problem-based learning tutorials, with the aim of examining the social interaction within such settings. Eighty-five hours of data were collected from nine groups, with discursive psychology being used to analyse how group cohesion is constructed through off-topic talk such as gossiping and teasing. Two case studies are detailed in which we demonstrate how cohesion is established through a process of collective action against the ‘other’: highlighting the differences between ‘us’ and ‘them’, and how this can impact on group dynamics. There is often a discrepancy between self-reported and observed behaviour in groups and so the more we know about what actually happens in such environments, the better placed we are to support student learning. The paper concludes with recommendations on how analyses of social interaction and the management of psychological issues in problem-based learning tutorials can inform the use of problem-based learning as a teaching and learning approach.

Knowledge disagreement formulations in problem-based learning tutorials: balancing pedagogical demands with 'saving face'

ABSTRACT As a pedagogical approach that aims to develop students’ group-working skills and to challenge their current knowledge, problem-based learning (PBL) provides a unique setting in which to examine disagreements in interaction. Previous research on disagreements in classrooms has typically examined tutor–student interaction or student–student interaction in which a tutor is present. This paper, however, examines tutorless PBL tutorials and focuses specifically on those moments in which knowledge claims are challenged by other students. The data comprise 30 h of video recordings from 24 chemical engineering PBL tutorials in a Scottish university. Conversation analysis was used to identify 101 disagreement formulations, many of which follow the format seen in other classroom settings (e.g. agreement-prefaced disagreements). A subset of disagreement formulations manage epistemic responsibility through invoking expert sources (e.g. tutor-provided worksheets and academically superior out-group members). Through invoking an expert source in this way, students attend to the pedagogical activities – without tutor assistance – while minimising the conversational trouble associated with the act of ‘doing’ disagreement (i.e. indirectly enacting disagreements whilst maintaining a neutral stance). This paper thus contributes to CA literature on disagreements, while providing a unique insight into PBL tutorial interaction. Directions for future research are suggested.

Are You Still with Us? Managing Mobile Phone Use and Group Interaction in PBL

As mobile phone technology becomes more advanced, so too does its presence in everyday life. Research has shown, for instance, that students are using their mobile phones in classroom settings, a p ...