Learning Tasks, Peer Interaction, and Cognition Process An Online Collaborative Design Model

This paper illustrates a model for Online Group Collaborative Learning. The authors based the foundation of the Online Collaborative Design Model upon Piaget’s concepts of assimilation and accommodation, and Vygotsky’s theory of social interaction. The four components of online collaborative learning include: individual processes, the task(s) students work on, group member processes, and communication media. These elements become key components beginning with the theoretical framework, the models used, and implementation of the models. The purpose of this paper is to describe the Online Collaborative Design Model and student feedback related to its implementation in an online course. The model was piloted in a required multimedia graduate course using a problem-based learning approach. Students used synchronous chat rooms and asynchronous discussion boards for course discussions and for the final group project. The instructor, to gain an understanding of the piloted implementation of the Online Collaborative Design Model, gathered final reflections about collaboration and the final project. The reflections revealed that students sensed a connection between productivity and trust. Further research into the impact trust has on the interpersonal communications of the group and the intrapersonal communications of the individual would give interesting insights into the model.