A Complexity-Grounded Model for the Emergence of Convergence in CSCL Groups

We advance a complexity−grounded, quantitative method for uncovering temporal patterns in CSCL discussions. We focus on convergence because understanding how complex group discussions converge presents a major challenge in CSCL research. From a complex systems perspective, convergence in group discussions is an emergent behavior arising from the transactional interactions between group members. Leveraging the concepts of emergent simplicity and emergent complexity (Bar-Yam 2003), a set of theoretically-sound yet simple rules was hypothesized: Interactions between group members were conceptualized as goal-seeking adaptations that either help the group move towards or away from its goal, or maintain its status quo. Operationalizing this movement as a Markov walk, we present quantitative and qualitative findings from a study of online problem-solving groups. Findings suggest high (or low) quality contributions have a greater positive (or negative) impact on convergence when they come earlier in a discussion than later. Significantly, convergence analysis was able to predict a group’s performance based on what happened in the first 30–40% of its discussion. Findings and their implications for CSCL theory, methodology, and design are discussed.

[1]  J. Levin,et al.  Single-case research design and analysis : new directions for psychology and education , 1992 .

[2]  Roger Bakeman,et al.  Observing Interaction: An Introduction to Sequential Analysis , 1986 .

[3]  Susanne P. Lajoie,et al.  Computers as Cognitive Tools: No More Walls , 2000 .

[4]  Michael J. Jacobson,et al.  Emergence of learning in computer-supported, large-scale collective dynamics: a research agenda , 2007, CSCL.

[5]  Wolfgang Banzhaf,et al.  Advances in Artificial Life , 2003, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[6]  Holly Arrow,et al.  Small Groups as Complex Systems: Formation, Coordination, Development, and Adaptation , 2000 .

[7]  A. Nowak,et al.  Dynamical Minimalism: Why Less is More in Psychology , 2004, Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

[8]  Daniel D. Suthers,et al.  Technology affordances for intersubjective meaning making: A research agenda for CSCL , 2006, Int. J. Comput. Support. Collab. Learn..

[9]  Janyce Wiebe,et al.  A machine learning approach to assessing knowledge sharing during collaborative learning activities , 2002, CSCL.

[10]  Rachel A. Lotan,et al.  Can Groups Learn , 2002 .

[11]  Manu Kapur,et al.  Sensitivities to early exchange in synchronous computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) groups , 2007, Comput. Educ..

[12]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Toward a design theory of problem solving , 2000 .

[13]  T. Schelling.  The Strategy of Conflict , 1963 .

[14]  Sasha A. Barab,et al.  Constructing Networks of Action-Relevant Episodes: An In Situ Research Methodology , 2001 .

[15]  J. Roschelle.  Learning by Collaborating: Convergent Conceptual Change , 1992 .

[16]  Gijsbert Erkens,et al.  Computer Support for Collaborative and Argumentative Writing , 2002 .

[17]  Stephanie D. Teasley,et al.  Perspectives on socially shared cognition , 1991 .

[18]  Manu Kapur.  Productive failure in mathematical problem solving , 2010 .

[19]  Judy Kay,et al.  Analyzing Collaborative Interactions with Data Mining Methods for the Benefit of Learning , 2011 .

[20]  Stephanie D. Teasley.  Constructing a Joint Problem Space: The Computer as a Tool for Sharing Knowledge , 1993 .

[21]  James F. Kavanagh,et al.  Speech and language in the laboratory, school, and clinic , 1978 .

[22]  Martin Suter,et al.  Small World , 2002 .

[23]  Liam Rourke,et al.  Validity in quantitative content analysis , 2004 .

[24]  H. H. Clark,et al.  Understanding what is meant from what is said: A study in conversationally conveyed requests , 1975 .

[25]  J. Bruner,et al.  The role of tutoring in problem solving. , 1976, Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines.

[26]  Gerry Stahl,et al.  Group cognition in computer-assisted collaborative learning , 2005, J. Comput. Assist. Learn..

[27]  Lawrence R. Rabiner,et al.  A tutorial on hidden Markov models and selected applications in speech recognition , 1989, Proc. IEEE.

[28]  Michelene T. H. Chi,et al.  Knowledge convergence and collaborative learning , 2007 .

[29]  Manu Kapur,et al.  Productive failure in CSCL groups , 2009, Int. J. Comput. Support. Collab. Learn..

[30]  Allen Newell,et al.  Human Problem Solving. , 1973 .

[31]  S. Schulz-Hardt,et al.  Productive conflict in group decision making: genuine and contrived dissent as strategies to counteract biased information seeking☆ , 2002 .

[32]  Heinz Mandl,et al.  Knowledge Convergence in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning: The Role of External Representation Tools , 2005 .

[33]  Stephanie D. Teasley,et al.  The Construction of Shared Knowledge in Collaborative Problem Solving , 1995 .

[34]  Robert L. Goldstone,et al.  Thinking in groups , 2006 .

[35]  Herbert H. Clark,et al.  Grounding in communication , 1991, Perspectives on socially shared cognition.

[36]  H. H. Clark,et al.  Conceptual pacts and lexical choice in conversation. , 1996, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[37]  Susanne P. Lajoie,et al.  Computers As Cognitive Tools , 2020 .

[38]  Manu Kapur,et al.  Problem solving as a complex, evolutionary activity: a methodological framework for analyzing problem-solving processes in a computer-supported collaborative environment , 2005, CSCL.

[39]  Yaneer Bar-Yam,et al.  Dynamics Of Complex Systems , 2019 .

[40]  Joshua M. Epstein,et al.  Growing Artificial Societies: Social Science from the Bottom Up , 1996 .

[41]  C. Adami,et al.  Evolution of Biological Complexity , 2000, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.

[42]  U. Wilensky,et al.  Complex Systems in Education: Scientific and Educational Importance and Implications for the Learning Sciences , 2006 .

[43]  Michael W. Mehaffy,et al.  At Home In The Universe The Search For The Laws Of Self Organization And Complexity , 1996 .

[44]  Manu Kapur,et al.  Examining the effect of problem type in a synchronous computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment , 2007 .

[45]  Cindy E. Hmelo-Silver,et al.  Representational Tools for Understanding Complex Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments , 2011 .

[46]  J. Lemke.  Across the Scales of Time: Artifacts, Activities, and Meanings in Ecosocial Systems , 2000 .

[47]  Manu Kapur,et al.  A further study of productive failure in mathematical problem solving: unpacking the design components , 2011 .

[48]  John B. Black,et al.  An Emergentist Account of Collective Cognition in Collaborative Problem Solving , 2006 .

[49]  John Voiklis,et al.  A Thing Is What We Say It Is: Referential Communication and Indirect Category Learning , 2008 .

[50]  Peter Reimann,et al.  Time is precious: Variable- and event-centred approaches to process analysis in CSCL research , 2009, Int. J. Comput. Support. Collab. Learn..

[51]  Brigid Barron.  Achieving Coordination in Collaborative Problem-Solving Groups , 2000 .

[52]  Brigid Barron.  When Smart Groups Fail , 2003 .

[53]  R Sun,et al.  Proceedings of the 28th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society , 2006 .

[54]  Michael E. Holmes.  Optimal matching analysis of negotiation phase sequences in simulated and authentic hostage negotiations , 1997 .

[55]  Duncan J. Watts,et al.  Collective dynamics of ‘small-world’ networks , 1998, Nature.

[56]  Lieven Verschaffel,et al.  Powerful learning environments : unravelling basic components and dimensions , 2003 .

[57]  M. Chi.  Quantifying Qualitative Analyses of Verbal Data: A Practical Guide , 1997 .

[58]  Manu Kapur.  Productive Failure , 2006, ICLS.

[59]  John B. Black,et al.  Insights into the Emergence of Convergence in Group Discussions , 2006, ICLS.

[60]  César A. Collazos,et al.  Evaluating Collaborative Learning Processes , 2002, CRIWG.

[61]  Learning as an emergent phenomenon: Methodological implications , 2010 .

[62]  Sheldon M. Ross,et al.  Stochastic Processes , 2018, Gauge Integral Structures for Stochastic Calculus and Quantum Electrodynamics.

[63]  Mikhail S. Burtsev,et al.  Measuring the Dynamics of Artificial Evolution , 2003, ECAL.