The Effect of Varied Gender Groupings on Argumentation Skills among Middle School Students in Different Cultures

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the effect of varied gender groupings on argumentation skills among middle school students in Taiwan and the United States in a project-based learning environment that incorporated a graph-oriented computer-assisted application (GOCAA). A total of 43 students comprised the treatment condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in same-gender groupings. Of these 43 students, 20 were located in the U.S. and 23 were located in Taiwan. A total of 40 students comprised the control condition and were engaged in the collaborative argumentation process in mixed-gender groupings. Of these 40 students, 19 were in the U.S. and 21 were in Taiwan. In each country, verbal collaborative argumentation was recorded and the students’ post essays were collected. Among females in Taiwan, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that statistically a significant gender-grouping effect was evident on the total argumentation skills outcome, while MANOVA indicated no significant gender-grouping effect on the combined set of skill outcomes. Among females in the U.S., MANOVA indicated statistically significant gender-grouping effect on the combined set of argumentation skills outcomes Specifically, U.S. female students in mixed-gender groupings (the control condition) significantly outperformed female students in single-gender groupings (the treatment condition) in the counterargument and rebuttal skills. No significant group differences were observed among males. A qualitative analysis was conducted to examine how the graph-oriented computer-assisted application supported students’ development of argumentation skills in different gender groupings in both countries. In each country, all teams in both conditions demonstrated a similar pattern of collaborative argumentation with the exception of three female teams in the U.S. Female teams, male teams, (the treatment condition) and mixed-gender teams (the control condition) demonstrated metacognition regulation skills in different degrees and with different scaffolding

An assistant for group formation in CSCL based on constraint satisfaction

Group formation is a key aspect in computer-supported collaborative learning, since different characteristics of students might influence the group performance. In this article, we present an assistant that models group formation as a weighted constraint satisfaction problem (WCSP), and considers three students’ features, namely: psychological styles, team roles and social networks. Our WCSP formulation is able to combine constraints and preferences for individuals and groups. This assistant can aid teachers to form groups considering factors such as team role balance and distribution of psychological styles. We report on a pilot study to evaluate the proposal in different scenarios.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

An assistant for group formation in CSCL based on constraint satisfaction

Group formation is a key aspect in computer-supported collaborative learning, since different characteristics of students might influence the group performance. In this article, we present an assistant that models group formation as a weighted constraint satisfaction problem (WCSP), and considers three students’ features, namely: psychological styles, team roles and social networks. Our WCSP formulation is able to combine constraints and preferences for individuals and groups. This assistant can aid teachers to form groups considering factors such as team role balance and distribution of psychological styles. We report on a pilot study to evaluate the proposal in different scenarios.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Using a learning management system in secondary education : design and implementation characteristics of learning paths

The general aim of this dissertation was to increase the knowledge on how Learning Management Systems (LMS) are used by secondary school teachers and to examine the design and implementation of learning paths

Scripting intercultural computer-supported collaborative learning in higher education

Introduction of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), specifically in an intercultural learning environment, creates both challenges and benefits. Among the challenges are the coordination of different attitudes, styles of communication, and patterns of behaving. Among the benefits are the sharing of culturally diverse knowledge, hands-on preparation for working in an international climate. Five empirical studies reported in this dissertation were conducted to identify and respond to the cultural issues influencing collaborative learning in both face-to-face and online modes of communication. The ultimate goal of the fives taken together was to develop an instructional script for fostering collaboration and bridging intercultural differences in culturally diverse groups engaged in CSCL. The total sample for the present research included over 500 students representing a total of 55 countries. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were undertaken in the studies. The findings of this dissertation suggest that the scripting approach can foster collaboration and bridge intercultural differences in culturally diverse groups working in a CSCL environment

Role taking and knowledge building in a blended university course

Role taking is an established approach for promoting social cognition. Playing a specific role within a group could lead students to exercise collective cognitive responsibility for collaborative knowledge building. Two studies explored the relationship of role taking to participation in a blended university course. Students participated in the same knowledge-building activity over three consecutive, five-week modules and enacted four roles designed in alignment with knowledge building pedagogy (Scardamalia and Bereiter 2010). In Study 1, 59 students were distributed into groups with two conditions: students who took a role in Module 2 and students who did not take a role, using Module 1 and 3 as pre and post tests. Results showed no differences in participation in Module 1, higher levels of writing and reading for role takers in Module 2, and this pattern was sustained in Module 3. Students with the Synthesizer role were the most active in terms of writing and the second most active for reading; students with the Social Tutor role were the most active for reading. In Study 2, 143 students were divided into groups with two conditions: students who took a role in Module 1 and students who did not take a role. Content analysis revealed that role takers tended to vary their contributions more than non-role takers by proposing more problems, synthesizing the discourse, reflecting on the process and organization of activity. They also assumed appropriate responsibilities for their role: the Skeptic prioritizes questioning of content, the Synthesizer emphasizes synthesizing of content, and the Social Tutor privileges maintaining of relationships. Implications of designing role taking to foster knowledge building in university blended courses are discussed