Monitoring Pattern-Based CSCL Scripts: A Case Study

Abstract

Abstract. Two strategies have been proposed in CSCL to foster effective collaboration: structuring the learning scenario by means of collaboration scripts and monitoring interactions among participants in order to detect and regulate potential deviations from the initial plan. In order to help teachers in this endeavor, we propose to combine these two approaches by means of a process where design takes into account the especial requirements posed by monitoring, and monitoring is informed by the characteristics of the scripts that must be met to achieve the learning goals. These desired features are obtained from the constraints defined by the collaborative-learning flow patterns on which the scripts are based. The result is an automated and higher-level view about the evolution of the learning process, integrating the data gathered from the different tools. This paper also presents a case study based on an authentic experience in higher education where these ideas were tried out.

Towards a Monitoring-Aware Design Process for CSCL Scripts

“…The requirements that must be satisfied to accomplish this pattern are summarized in Table 1. These requirements are taken from the CLFPs analysis described in the previous Section, where CLFPs where studied in order to identify the critical points that could guide the monitoring process [11].…”

“…From this analysis, we proposed a method to get an automated and higher level view about the evolution of the learning process by combining monitoring and pattern-based scripting. These ideas were tried out in an authentic learning scenario, and we found evidences that support that being aware of the pattern used in a script increases the opportunities of automatically detecting critical situations while the script is put into practice [11]. However, in this proposal the teacher was not involved in the configuration of the monitoring.…”

“…In a previous work [11], we explored whether the use of CLFPs could be useful to guide monitoring. We found initial evidence that being aware of the pattern used in a script increases the opportunities of detecting critical situations when the script is put into practice.…”

“…We adopted this approach, with the teacher taking the role of expert "learning designer" and the researcher the role of "monitoring" expert. The requirements of both were considered and combined, in order to produce a "monitorable script" [11]. The goal was twofold: to identify the elements that would become part of a monitoring model on which to base the process, and to gather evidence on the usefulness of the proposed process from the teacher's point of view.…”

It's All about Time: Towards the Real-Time Evaluation of Collaborative Activities

“…Many frameworks focus on capturing user interactions that indicate collaborative knowledge building, fruitful communication and successful coordination [1]. Log file and interaction analysis techniques are combined to support designers and orchestrators [2,3], to provide feedback to users [4,5] or to assess collaboration quality [6]. Time is a key aspect of the collaborative process that should be studied in detail while it is argued that, usually, frameworks do not take into consideration the temporal and sequential nature of joint activities [7].…”