Key CSCL research topics for K-12 practice: A modified Delphi study with practitioners and researchers

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is effective in improving students’ learning outcomes, yet CSCL research is rarely translated to classroom practice. To identify key CSCL research topics for K-12 STEM practice, we conducted a modified Delphi method study with a panel of practitioners and researchers. We relied on a knowledge mobilization framework to draw on expertise from both researchers, who produce new knowledge, and practitioners, who combine it with their pedagogical wisdom and use it in classrooms. We used the Delphi method because of its potential to address the power imbalances among panelists and modified it to facilitate knowledge mediation between knowledge production and use. The panelists identified seven key CSCL topics for translation from research into practice: Classroom discourse; Diversity, equity, and inclusion; Teacher preparation and professional development; Socially shared regulation of learning; Argumentation; Classroom orchestration and scripts; and Student and teacher identities. We also investigated panelists’ ideas on effective practitioner-researcher partnerships to inform the next stage of our project, where researchers and practitioners will jointly translate research from selected topics into practical guidance. We discuss our findings and the affordances and limitations of the Delphi method in knowledge mediation.