Understanding Idea Creation in Collaborative Discourse through Networks: The Joint Attention-Interaction-Creation (AIC) Framework

In Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, ideas generated through collaborative discourse are informative indicators of students' learning and collaboration. Idea creation is a product of emergent and interactive socio-cognitive endeavors. Therefore, analyzing ideas requires capturing contextual information in addition to the ideas themselves. In this paper, we propose the Joint Attention-Interaction-Creation (AIC) framework, which captures important dynamics in collaborative discourse, from attention and interaction to creation. The framework was developed from the networked lens, informed by natural language processing techniques, and inspired by socio-semantic network analysis. A case study was included to exemplify the framework's application in classrooms and to illustrate its potential in broader contexts

The application of the microgenetic method to studies of learning in science education: characteristics of published studies, methodological issues and recommendations for future research

This paper examines the role of the microgenetic method in science education. The microgenetic method is a technique for exploring the progression of learning in detail through repeated, high-frequency observations of a learner’s ‘performance’ in some activity. Existing microgenetic studies in science education are analysed. This leads to an examination of five significant methodological issues in microgenetic research. Firstly, qualitative and/or quantitative approaches to data collection and analysis within the microgenetic approach are considered and a case is made for the appropriateness of qualitative microgenetic research. Secondly, it is argued that researchers may define static intervals, periods within which (for methodological purposes) change is assumed not to occur, when reporting microgenetic studies. Thirdly, researchers should consider providing justifications for their choice of sampling rate with reference to the rate of change of the phenomenon they are studying. Fourthly, the difficulty of distinguishing conceptual change from the existence of multiple understandings is highlighted. Finally, the nature of sequences of repeated measures in microgenetic studies is considered. It is argued that different methodological approaches are suitable for microgenetic studies of different phenomena and a list of guidelines for the use of the microgenetic method in small-scale, qualitatively analysed studies in science education is proposed

Languaging in cyberspace: a case study of the effects of peer-peer collaborative dialogue on the acquisition of English idioms in task-based synchronous computer-mediated communication

Despite the growing interest in examining the link between peer-peer collaborative dialogue and second language (L2) development in recent years (Swain, Brooks, & Tocalli-Beller, 2002), much of the empirical work in this regard focused on face-to-face communication, leaving the operationalization of collaborative dialogue in text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) largely unexplored. In addition, while the bulk of the existing studies concerned L2 learners’ incidental learning of the linguistic structures they had difficulty with during their collaboration on communicative tasks (e.g., Watanabe & Swain, 2007), little is known about the connection between collaborative dialogue and second language acquisition (SLA) when L2 learners are faced with preselected language features that are intended for learning. Furthermore, L2 learners’ perspectives on collaborative dialogue and its contribution to L2 growth were for the most part ignored in the literature. This study seeks to address these gaps through the examination of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ collaboration on English idioms that are frequently used in academic discourse. Drawing on sociocultural SLA (Lantolf, 2000; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006) and the concept of “languaging” (Swain, 2006), it explores how episodes of collaborative dialogue are carried out during SCMC-based dyadic interaction, its association with SLA, and L2 learners’ opinions about its effectiveness. Sixteen intermediate learners of English as a Second language (ESL) enrolled in a college-level academic writing class participated in the current study. They filled out a questionnaire, collaborated on four English idiom learning tasks, completed a pretest and posttests, wrote reflective journals, reflected on their interaction in stimulated recalls, and responded to survey and interview questions. Within a case study design, this study drew on both quantitative and qualitative observations for data analysis. Specifically, qualitative analyses in the current study were conducted on the basis of questionnaire responses, discourse analysis of chat transcripts, and interview and stimulated recall transcripts. Quantitative measures consisted of descriptive statistics in the form of frequency counts, percentages of each type of communication strategy use and scaffolded assistance, gain scores on posttests, and Likert-scale survey results. Qualitative and quantitative results were triangulated to ensure the thoroughness and accuracy of interpretations. The results of this study revealed that in working together on the English idiom learning tasks, the participants engaged in the four patterns of dyadic interaction that have been documented in the literature on face-to-face dialogue (Storch, 2002), notably collaborative, expert/novice, dominant/dominant, and dominant/passive. Additionally, the specific patterns that the members of the dyad adopted seemed to be influenced by their perceptions of and attitudes toward the collaborative interaction and the nature of the tasks. Furthermore, during SCMC-based collaborative dialogue, the participants employed a wide array of communication strategies to manage and maintain their online exchanges, which facilitated their socialization into the academic discourse and communities. They also offered each other scaffolded assistance such as the use of contextual information while deciphering the meaning of the target idioms. Through mutual scaffolding, the participants advanced through their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and achieved the transition from other-regulated to self-regulated performance. Finally, compared with the dyads with low posttest scores, the dyads with high posttest scores on the whole produced longer and more complex episodes of collaborative dialogue that clearly evidenced their cognitive processing of the target idioms, and the participants in general had a positive attitude toward the use of online chat for collaboration and target idiom learning through languaging

Visualizing second language learning: a microgenetic case study using pantomime comics for adult ESL students

Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2012Comics are regularly used in language classrooms. Most language teachers and researchers in applied linguistics justify the use of comics through individual characteristics such as motivation, humor, and aiding comprehension. Some studies use comics in social settings, but do not consider the images as a significant factor in language development. This study investigates the effectiveness of instruction using pantomime comics on both language acquisition and language development for adult English as second language (ESL) students. A mixed methods approach is employed to investigate individual acquisition and language development during a collaborative task. Analyses of written tests, transcriptions, and audio/video data using analytical foci, deixis, and transcription conventions following conversation analysis ascertains how comic images affect individual learners and contribute to language development between learners. Results suggest that comics can benefit the language learner individually and act as a powerful, mediational tool for language development and co-construction of knowledge between peers

Focus-on-form through collaborative scaffolding in expert-to-novice online interaction

Synchronous Computer-mediated communication (CMC) creates affordable learning conditions to support both meaning-oriented communication and focus-on-form reflection that play an essential role in the development of language competence. This paper reports how corrective feedback was negotiated through expert-to-novice collaborative efforts and scaffolding with 30 subjects working on three different tasks—jigsaw, spot-the-differences and open-ended question. The findings reveal that text chats supported the focus-on-form procedure through collaborative engagement. Despite the fact that the experts were able to provide step-by-step scaffolding at the right moment to call learners’ attention to non-target-like-forms that resulted in error corrections, they needed to be made aware of not over-intervening as students reported interference between the expert's goals and the learner's. To maintain intersubjectivity, the use of both L2 and L1 shaped the route taken by experts and learners alike to negotiate L2 forms for both syntactic and lexical errors. The study concluded that it was not easy to provide corrective feedback and to attend to linguistic errors in a timely fashion during the meaning-based interaction. The long-term effect of focus-on-form procedures on L2 development through CMC remain to be explored in future studies

Participating in a shared cognitive space: An exploration of working collaboratively and longer-term performance of a complex grammatical structure

Qatar’s education system has recently been subjected to a process of deep structural reform. One of the beliefs which underpins this reform is the assumption that learner-centred pedagogy is more effective than traditional teacher-centred pedagogy. However, there is limited empirical evidence from a Qatari classroom context regarding the effectiveness of using learner-centred pedagogies. This lack of empirical evidence extends to the teaching of English as a foreign language. This study employed Vygotskian sociocultural theory as a lens to investigate the effects of working collaboratively on learners’ longer-term performance of two grammatical structures, the simple past passive and the present continuous passive, as well as the cognitive processes involved. Interventionist dynamic assessment was used to quantify the linguistic performance of male Arabic undergraduate EFL learners (N = 52) three times (pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest) over a 12-week period. In-between the pretest and the posttest, six form-focused treatment tasks were administered. The experimental group (n = 20) completed the treatment tasks collaboratively; the comparison group (n = 16) completed the treatment tasks individually; and the control group (n = 16) did not complete the treatment tasks. In addition, the genetic method was employed to trace the linguistic development of four participants in the experimental group. These four participants were audio-recorded as they collaboratively completed each treatment session. Mood’s median test (Mood, 1954) found a pretest to posttest statistically significant difference (M = 7.70, df = 1, p = 0.01) between the performances of the experimental and control groups for the structure of the simple past passive which is moderate to large in size (Cramér’s V = 0.46). However for both target structures, no statistically significant difference was found between the experimental group and the comparison group, suggesting that the treatment condition of working collaboratively was not more effective in promoting learners’ linguistic development than the treatment condition of working individually. Additionally, the descriptive statistics revealed high levels of individual variation. Of the four participants who were audio-recorded, the journey of one learner is presented. This data was analysed using a microgenetic approach with LREs (Swain and Lapkin, 1995, 1998, 2002) as the unit of analysis. The microgenetic analysis shows how working collaboratively provides learners with access to a shared cognitive space. Within this space, they can employ language as a cognitive tool to access other-regulation from their peers and deploy their own self-regulatory strategies. The experience of an individual was explored within the context of the linguistic gains made by the collective to whom he belongs. Thus, even though the statistical analysis of the results suggests that working collaboratively is not more effective in facilitating learners’ linguistic development than working individually, the process of language learning has been connected to the outcome of language learning through the results of the descriptive statistics and the microgenetic analysis. This study contributes to a better understanding of: the types of pedagogies that may be effective in a Qatari undergraduate context, why collaborative learning can be effective, how knowledge which is initially social can take on a psychological function, and how the Vygotskian sociocultural methodologies of the genetic method and dynamic assessment can be integrated into an SLA design

Moving towards normalising CALL: A case study from Timor-Leste

It is now widely understood that teachers are the main decision makers in the classroom, so when an innovation is introduced into a teaching and learning setting it seems that teachers‟ beliefs and attitudes may be a major determinant in the success or otherwise of that investment. This case study examines the process of a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) application being introduced into a university setting. Bax (2003) posited that a new technology is „normalised‟ when it is invisible and fully integrated, just as pens and books have been, into everyday classroom use. To gain further insights into the process of an innovatory CALL application moving „towards normalisation‟ (Chambers & Bax 2006), the present study solicited university teachers‟ opinions and impressions towards the innovation over a period of five months. The innovation is a software application developed in the Computer Science Department at the University of Waikato (http://flax.nzdl.org/greenstone3/flax). The Flexible Language Acquisition Device (FLAX) uses digitalised libraries to provide language learning tasks for students, both texts and tasks being written by teachers or more able students. The English Department at the National University of Timor-Leste (UNTL) was the setting selected for the study, as the researcher had spent fourteen months there as a volunteer teacher in 2005-6. The case study is framed within a wider (2006-2011) collaborative curriculum project between UNTL and the University of Waikato. It was decided to collect oral, rather than written, data in order to align with the oral traditions of Timor-Leste. Thus, oral reflective journals captured participants‟ perceptions in audio-recorded discussions with a peer over three occasions. Focus groups of participants reflected on key issues at entry and exit points, and the researcher wrote her own daily reflective journal. The findings showed that the participants moved from a position of excitement tinged with concern to a position of confidence and readiness to implement FLAX during the reseacher‟s visit, indicating a positive move towards normalisation. A powerful insight gained by the researcher was that teachers were able to co-construct a range of ways of using the programme with their students in terms of autonomous learning, peer scaffolding and the importance of the affective domain in language learning. These findings reinforced the notion that the introduction of technologies is a social construct, not just a technological one (Bax, 2011). A further lens of investigation of the innovation was provided by Activity Theory, (Engeström 1987), which showed that the process of curricular normalisation is influenced by activity outside the classrom, and may strengthen or reduce the object of activity, in this case improved learning outcomes. The implications of the case study may have resonance in relatable settings. It seems that encouraging a collaborative approach may enable teachers to envision and ideate new ways to teach and learn, and incorporate new technologies into their own settings. This study may also have implications for external change agents as they contemplate assisting learning communities to normalise curriculum innovation

The Role of Computer Mediation in the Instruction and Development of L2 Pragmatic Competence

This article submitted to IUPUI ScholarWorks as part of the OASIS Project. Article reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Permission granted through posted policies on copyright owner’s website or through direct contact with copyright owner.This article provides a selective review of the role of computer mediation in the instruction and development of second language (L2) or interlanguage pragmatic competence within foreign and second language education. Both researchers and practitioners have noted consistently that several aspects of the teaching and tutored learning of L2 pragmatics have been reported as problematic and/or underexplored in the published knowledge base to date, including the availability and authenticity of instructional materials, the provision of opportunities for the performance and practice of L2 pragmatic competence in meaningful interactions, the relative lack of developmental data documenting the precise (and varied) pathways of L2 pragmatic competence over time, and the efficacy of particular pedagogical interventions in classroom-based L2 pragmatics instruction. The role of computer mediation in each of these underexplored areas is examined with a special emphasis on the teaching and learning of L2 pragmatics in Internet-mediated partnerships and on the use of (learner) corpora in L2 pragmatics instruction and research