Collaboration in Educational Settings Nathan Campbell Lisa Doan Kirill Kireyev Malte Winkler

Traditional Instruction “Sage on Stage” Limited interaction, participation –Hard to ask questions Cramming for tests –Shallow understanding –Low retention rate Competitive grading discourages cooperation Not taught how to find information Material not personally interesting, relevant

Why Collaboration? Solve large problems Teaches valuable “people” skills Self-empowerment, responsibility, self- expression Attitudes towards learning “When you teach, you learn” Synergy of ideas, “symmetry of ignorance” Cognitive Dissonance Theory –Learning by resolving disagreements

Collaboration Techniques in the Large Classroom What are some methods educators have come up with. How do they help the student? Can technology make these techniques more powerful?

Think-Pair-Share (Lyman, 1981) The teacher asks a question, the students think about it for a moment and then converse with a neighbor. Breaks up the lecture. Refocuses the class. immediate and explicit feedback on the strength or weakness of their understanding

Concept Test (Mazur, 1997) Similar to think pair share. Students write down an answer with a confidence level. Then try to convince their neighbor of their answer and then write their confidence level again. Mazur found using this technique significantly helped his students test scores.

Debriefing Exams (Cooper, 2000) leverages the communal knowledge of the class Exams are handed back in groups of folders. Each group will work together to help correct the exams by asking their peers for the correct answer. In a matter of 15 minutes a large portion of the students questions about the exam will be answered with out having to tax a large portion of the instructors time.

The Minute Paper (Wilson, 1986 ) Have students write a summarizing thought about what they have learned. Uses reflection to deepen understanding of subject mater.

Scripted Cooperative Learning (Dansereau, 1992) After 20 minutes of lecture have the students pair up to go over what has been taught. One student is the summarizer and the other is the checker. Work together to create visual representation of key points learned. Increases depth of understanding

Summary of Classroom Collaboration Techniques How can we use technology use these techniques to make them more powerful. Can technology institutionalize these techniques to bring these or similar concepts to more Classrooms.

Why Computer-aided Collaboration? Helps mediate opinions (everyone is heard) Easy to organize/visualize information Work remotely Reach out to wider audience Contribute at any time Store information, discussions for later access Fun

Our Research Internet –Overview of technologies, lessons Books Interviews –CU faculty members Current Technologies Observations Discourse via Swiki

Different Modes of Collaboration

Collaborative Tools Universidad de Vigo, Spain

Collaborative Tools Georgia Institute of Technology

Handheld Applications “Ecosystem”“Match-My-Graph”

Handheld/Wireless Applications ClassTalk – asking questions –Multiple choice, text, numerical ImageMap – interactive images –Maps, graphs, photos Probeware – physical measurements Participatory simulations –Tracking student’s movement, position Exploratorium – interactive museums

Interviews & Observations People: –Gerhard Fischer / Hal Eden (Swiki) –Sebastian De La Chica (UI design) –Michael Main (WebCT) –Carl Wieman (Clickers) –Amer Diwan CU: –WebCT –EDC –FEEL (DLC ’04) –Swiki –Moodle –Clickers

The Swiki Gerhard Fischer Allows students to create their own environment Allowed for asynchronous communication Sebastian De La Chica Great for communication Very messy if no structure is set up from the beginning Hal Eden Limited extension of the classroom Best for small groups

Professor Michael Main WebCT Message Board –Too rigid & structured –Forced usage –Unintuitive design –Data persistence fades after semester Collaboration –3 modes of work: alone, in groups, in groups online –Students should be adept at all of them

Conversational Classroom Amer Diwan Students Lead Class Conversation Allows for more ideas and discussion Conversation must be lead in the right direction –Key Topics Allows professor to get a better understanding of students knowledge

Interviews & Observations Issues –Structured vs. unstructured –Whiteboard vs. message board –In class vs. online discussions Generalizations –“Beaten Path” Remembering reasoning –“Cycle of Abandonment” Critical mass for acceptance of technology

Cycle of Abandonment

Collaboration: Challenges Re-structuring educational practices Creating supportive environment –Non-competitive –Open-ended creative projects Re-thinking grading policies “Free-rider” problem Scheduling overhead Teaching collaboration skills

Technology Design Questions Balance online vs. face-to-face –How to integrate? Structured (WebCT) vs Unstructured (wiki) –Freedom may be messy, overwhelming General vs. specific Mediation? Support flexibility, evolution –Users will use in different ways Sensitive to context, time

Making Collaboration Successful Shared motivations, common goals Adequate incentives Positive interdependence Symmetry of ignorance –Diversity of opinions, backgrounds Flexibility, opportunities for creativity Establishing team goals, deadlines, roles Regular synchronous meetings Social relationship building