Using computer-based scaffolding to improve students' reasoning skills in collaborative learning

Collaborative learning empowers students' learning by encouraging students own construction of knowledge through collaborative tasks. However, lack of reasoning skills could limit meaningful knowledge creation process during collaborative learning. In order to enhance reasoning skills, clear guidelines for scaffolding are necessary. Vygotsky (1978) suggested that learning must occur within a student-centered environment, where teaching is the result of the co-construction of knowledge. Scaffolding can be provided for students if they encounter difficulty, and if they need to be helped towards the correct path. Clear guidelines from a collaborative reasoning discussion can also provide an opportunity for students to construct knowledge themselves, through the implementation of clear guidelines for scaffolding moves. Waggoner, Chinn, Yi and Anderson (1995) propose that such moves include ‘prompting’, ‘modelling’, ‘asking for clarification’, ‘challenging’, ‘encouraging’ and ‘summing up’. All of these scaffolding moves can assist peers in helping other students to offer ‘data’, provide ‘rebuttals’ and make ‘backings’, and also to take part in collaborative reasoning discussions. Based on this framework, a computer-based learning environment is developed to provide scaffolding to students during collaboration while also putting an emphasis on task division where the system assigns role among students' group members. A pilot testing on the system found that the system assists students to collaborate more effectively and has the potential to encourage participation and improve reasoning skills.