Students’ appropriation of collaboration script in a networked class: an exploratory study

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the role of a collaboration script, the Funnel Model, in supporting students’ computer-supported collaborative scientific argumentation, and how the students appropriated the collaboration script in scientific argumentation. In this exploratory case study, a class of 33 Secondary grade four students went through four phases of computer-supported collaborative argumentation activity scripted by the Funnel Model: individual ideation, intra-group synergy, inter-group critique and intra-group refinement. Multiple sources of data were collected including student-generated artefacts online at different phases of collaboration, and the post-intervention interviews with the students. The results show that the Funnel Model facilitated students’ computer-supported collaborative argumentation. The students’ levels of content mastery, motivation, classroom culture and time allocated for classroom participation affect students’ appropriation of the script for effective collaborative argumentation.KEYWORDS: Computer-supported collaborative learningcollaboration argumentationcollaboration scriptsappropriation AcknowledgmentsThis study was funded by Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) under the Education Research Funding Programme (OER 07/17 CWL and OER 17/19 CWL) and administered by National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Singapore MOE and NIE. Consent from participants of this research was obtained based on ethics approval by Nanyang Technological University, IRB ref: IRB-2018-07-108.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Ministry of Education Singapore [OER 07/17 CWL].Notes on contributorsWenli ChenDr Wenli Chen is an associate professor at the National Institute of Education (NIE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Her research interests include collaborative learning and learning science.Si ZhangDr Si Zhang is an associate professor in the School of Educational Informational Technology (SEIT) at Central China Normal University. His research interests include learning analysis and teacher education.Zhongling PiDr Zhongling Pi is a research associate professor in the Key Laboratory of Modern Teaching Technology at Shaanxi Normal University China. Her research interests include educational psychology and collaborative learning.Jesmine S. H. TanDr Jesmine S. H. Tan is a staff developer at Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. Her research interests include collaborative learning and learning science.Yun WenDr Yun Wen is an assistant professor in NIE, NTU. Her research interests include collaborative learning and educational technology.Chee-Kit LooiDr Chee-Kit Looi is a research Chair Professor at the Education University of Hong Kong. His research interests include mobile learning, seamless learning, technology-enabled innovation, using mobile technologies to promote children’s learning.Jennifer YeoDr Jennifer Yeo is an associate professor at Singapore University of Social Sciences. Her research interests include the role of representations in scientific explanations and argumentation.Qingtang LiuDr Qingtang Liu is a professor in the SEIT at CCNU. His research interests include learning analysis and teacher education.