Interaction and Monitoring Matter: Comparison of High and Low-performing Groups in CSCL

Abstract

This study explores students’ interaction patterns and how monitoring influenced students’ interactions when they were engaged in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) activities. A comparison analysis was conducted between two groups of students (one high-performing group and one low-performing group) from a secondary school in Singapore. Content analysis was performed to compare the quality of student-generated artifacts between the two groups. Social network analysis (SNA) and lag-sequential analysis (LSA) were employed to analyze the interactive processes of the students. The results identified three differences in the ways the two groups engaged in collaborative argumentation: (1) quantity of social interaction, (2) diversity of interactive patterns (3) sequence of contributing to group work and seeking input. The findings reveal the possible interaction patterns which promote or constrain the development of collaboration argumentation. The implications on how teachers design and implement small group computer-supported collaborative learning is discussed.