A Rational Framework for Student Interactions with Collaborative Educational Systems

The rise of a new class of collaboration tools should encourage us to examine parts of the collaborative process that may have been less valuable to examine in the past. Specifically, this research examines a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment that makes possible new modalities for student-instructor collaboration. In particular, this environment makes possible time-shifted collaboration that allows students to collaborate interactively with instructors in real time with no noticeable delay, without requiring both individuals to be actively engaged at the same time. This learning environment makes it possible to examine both new ways in which students and instructors collaborate and to provide new evidence that addresses one of the fundamental problems faced by students - procrastination. Data routinely collected as part of this (CSCL) environment make it possible to empirically examine student behaviors and performance. This method of collaboration brings up an interesting dimension in education: A deadline can be assigned and the student can continue to collaborate with the instructor in a time-shifted manner right until the deadline. It becomes a natural question to ask how students alter their behavior as the time to deadline approaches. This paper empirically examines student behavior as time to deadline approaches and interprets that behavior using a rational framework based on Temporal Motivation Theory. Both qualitative and quantitative data are presented to highlight changes in student behavior and performance as time to deadline approaches.