Sympathetic arousal commonalities and arousal contagion during collaborative learning: How attuned are triad members?

Abstract

This article explores the dynamics of collaborative learning in the classroom from the perspective of the commonalities and interdependence in the degree of physiological activation from the sympathetic nervous system (i.e., sympathetic arousal) of group members. Using Empatica E4 wristbands, electrodermal activity to derive arousal was measured in 24 high school students working in groups of three (i.e., triads) during two runs of an advanced physics course. The participants met three times a week over six weeks for lessons of 75 min each. Most of the time (60 95% of the lesson) the triad members were at different arousal levels, and, when they were on the same level, it was mainly the low arousal (or deactivated) level. Less than 4% of the time were the triad members simultaneously in high arousal. Possible within-triad arousal contagion cases (71.3%) occurred mostly on a one-to-one basis and with a latency from within a few seconds up to ten min, but usually within one min. This study supports the view that only small parts of group work are collaborative, as far as the synchronicity and coordination which collaboration presupposes. Although exploratory, results also illustrate the affordances of physiological measures to characterize collaborative processes.

Multimodal data capabilities for learning: What can multimodal data tell us about learning?

“…In collaborative conditions, MMD have been used to identify key moments of collaboration (Noel et al ., 2018 ;Noroozi et al ., 2019 ;Pijeira-Díaz, Drachsler, Järvelä, & Kirschner, 2019 ). MMD have also been used to distinguish between help-seeking and help-giving behavior (Cukurova, Kent, & Luckin, 2019 ), tentative and casual problem-solving behavior (Andrade et al ., 2017 ), nonverbal behaviors (Cukurova, Luckin, Millán, & Mavrikis, 2018 ), solving versus guessing (Sharma, Papamitsiou, et al ., 2019 ) and the reasoning behavior of students (Worsley & Blikstein, 2015, 2018.…”

“…All of the aforementioned advantages of MMLA come with a cost of ecological validity, which requires attention. The transfer of MMLA findings and implications from a constrained laboratory setting to an open-ended democratized setting is important (Blikstein, 2013 ;Martinez-Maldonado et al ., 2018 ;Pijeira-Díaz et al ., 2019 ). Martinez-Maldonado et al .…”

Round or rectangular tables for collaborative problem solving? A multimodal learning analytics study

“…The authors explain how the learning context refers to the interaction between learners and multiple people, artefacts and environments, and they draw attention to the importance of comprehensive studies on contextual factors in bridging the gap between research and practice. The emerging use of MMLA, which considers different sensors and computer systems for data collection during learning activities (Pijeira‐Diaz, Drachsler, Järvelä, & Kirschner, 2019), offers a methodological approach that can provide further insights into collaborative face‐to‐face spaces (Ricca, Bowers, & Jordan, 2019). The diversity of data (Spikol, Ruffaldi, Landolfi, & Cukurova, 2017), fusion and analysis methods (Shankar, Prieto, Rodríguez‐Triana, & Ruiz‐Calleja, 2018) and advanced developments in sensor technology (Schneider, Di Mitri, Limbu, & Drachsler, 2018) bring vast possibilities in terms of studying the effects of learning spaces.…”

Enhancing consent forms to support participant decision making in multimodal learning data research

“…Schneider, Reilly, and Radu (2020) point out concerns related to the increasing amount of fine-grained data that are infiltrating educational environments. However, recent MMLA studies collecting physiological data (eg, Echeverria, Martinez-Maldonado, & Buckingham Shum, 2019;Pijeira-Díaz et al, 2019) may promote the use of responsible practices, but do not make explicit the importance of informed consent and ensuring adequate understanding of the study and its risks by participants. The results of our study point to deficiencies in our informed consent process for MMLA research.…”

“…Measures of electrodermal activity (Pijeira-Díaz, Drachsler, Järvelä, & Kirschner, 2019), heart rate (Larra et al, 2014) and neural oscillations via an electroencephalogram (EEG) (Sun & Yeh, 2017) are more frequently being used. This biometric data are considered sensitive health data (Chassang, 2017).…”