Instructional design for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning in primary and secondary school

The study of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) has a relatively brief history, yet despite this there have already been substantial changes in the nature of the research being undertaken in this field. Initially, the primary aim was to determine whether collaborative learning was more effective than learning alone and if so in what circumstances. In fact, many studies highlight the positive effects of social interaction on learning (Dillenbourg, 1999; Koschmann, 1996) and indicate that collaborative learning would seem to be more in keeping with the needs of the ‘‘information society’’, in which cooperative relationships, shared decisions, diversity and communication are becoming the dominant values. Computers have typically been used for individual learning but, given the positive findings reported for collaborative learning and the need to educate individuals to work together, it has become apparent that the use of computers can constitute a particularly valuable context for social interaction. As a result, the need to design learning environments that facilitate social interaction, cooperation and collaboration in the classroom has gained growing recognition. Recently, research interest has shifted away from considering simply the outcomes and products of collaborative work, towards analysing interactions as a means of gaining insight into the processes of collaborative learning. The aim of such analyses is to identify what constitutes productive collaborative activity. Most of the research in collaborative learning has been focused in four different areas: (1) The study of cognitive differences: a comparison between learning alone and learning in groups adopting a variety of psychological approaches (developmental, sociocognitive, etc), (2) The design of systems to facilitate collaborative learning, (3) The analysis of the implications for curriculum design (role of teachers, students, etc.), and (4) The consideration of the nature of interactions. In reviewing these areas the paper focuses attention on the way in which current instructional design theories can be used to design collaborative learning environments in primary Computers in Human Behavior 17 (2001) 439–451 www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh