In an age of ready access to people, online spaces and information, canonized formal knowledge acquisition is being disrupted. The emergence of socially constructed knowledge based on connected learning is democratising education and re-framing how formal and informal learning is considered. What we currently understand connected learning to be is…

Nurturing twenty-first-century competency is one important agenda in this era, especially in developing collaborative learning and critical thinking skills. Yet, facilitating such a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment is challenging. Although several technological platforms from past research studies were developed to…

The current study aimed to measure preservice teachers' skills in implementing pedagogical model of collaborative problem solving (CPS) using a more advanced and novel human-to-agent computerized assessment instrument. By doing so, a framework with three major skills in the implementation of CPS and four major individual problem-solving processes…

When a course designed around cooperative, problem-centered instruction attracts learners with a wide range of experience in the topic, should learners be grouped heterogeneously or homogeneously in terms of their relative expertise? In this study, learners were randomly distributed between the two types of groups; learning gains, satisfaction,…

This work explores the impact of teacher-led heterogeneous group formation on students' teamwork, based on students' learning styles. Fifty senior university students participated in a project-based course with two key organizational features: first, a web system (PEGASUS) was developed to help students identify their learning styles and…

This study investigated the effects of collaboration mode and group composition during a computer-mediated collaborative (CMC) program. Six intact sections of a computer literacy course were assigned to either a face-to-face or a virtual, online collaboration treatment condition. Groups consisted of homogeneous lower-ability, homogeneous…

The aim of this study was to examine the development of the metacognitive knowledge of a group of higher education students who participated actively in an experiment based on a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning environment called KnowCat. Eighteen university students participated in a 12-month learning project during which the KnowCat…

This study explores the barriers associated with teachers implementing information and communication technology-assisted collaborative project-based learning (ICTCPrjBL) as a classroom teaching methodology with students. We used a Web-based Delphi method to engage experienced educators in anonymous consensus building consisting of three rounds of…

Although important, traditional basic-to-applied research methods have provided an insufficient basis for advancing the design and implementation of innovative collaborative learning environments. It is proposed that more progress may be accomplished through development research or design research. Development research protocols require intensive…

We present a conceptual framework for scaffolding ill-structured problem-solving processes using question prompts and peer interactions. We first examine the characteristics and processes of ill-structured problem solving, namely, problem representation, generating solutions, making justifications, and monitoring and evaluation. Then, we analyze…

Examines the research dealing with integrating cooperative-learning strategies and computer-based instruction, and provides guidelines and strategies for designing Integrated Learning System (ILS) instruction that enhances opportunities for cooperative learning. (Author/AEF)

In this study, we investigated the effect of type of positive interdependence (roles, rewards, roles-plus-rewards, or no structure) and affiliation motives (high vs. low) in an asynchronous, collaborative learning environment. College reentry students worked together in small, fully online discussion groups that lasted for seven days. Results…