Dialogicality in making sense of online collaborative interaction: A conceptual perspective

In higher education, learning activities increasingly take place in online collaborative groups. In this conceptual paper, we explore online collaborative interaction from the perspective of dialogicality. We aim to reconceptualize the notion of “productive interaction” and the typical focus of its research by turning attention to the dialogic features of collaborative interaction, especially the notions of alterity, dialogic attitude, and dialogic orientation. In relation to this, we offer a contextual perspective on collaborative interaction. Relying on data from an online university course, we conceptually analyze specified components of dialogicality. This article illustrates and explores the conceptual framework that connects different contexts in dialogic meaning-making. We also discuss our conceptual and empirical exploration from the pedagogical perspective.