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Analyzing the Contextual Nature of Collaborative Activity

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Analyzing Interactions in CSCL

Part of the book series: Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Series ((CULS,volume 12))

Abstract

This chapter discusses a methodology designed to explore the ­contextual nature of collaborative activity. The methods that can be generally considered to be based on ‘socio-cultural’ discourse analysis are discussed as a means to explore how different aspects of a situation mediate students’ shared meaning-making. First, an analysis is demonstrated, illustrating how different immediate and mediated contexts are embedded in students’ discourse as they are engaged in face-to-face collaborative activity in a computer-mediated context. Second, a multidimensional coding scheme is presented for analyzing the contextualized process of collaborative knowledge construction in an asynchronous web-based discussion. The strengths and weaknesses of the methods are also discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä, 35, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland

    Maarit Arvaja

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  1. Maarit Arvaja
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Correspondence to Maarit Arvaja .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, W. Johnson Street 1025, Madison, 53706-1796, Wisconsin, USA

    Sadhana Puntambekar

  2. Dept. Educational Sciences, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, Utrecht, 3584 CS, Netherlands

    Gijsbert Erkens

  3. Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University, Seminary Place 10, New Brunswick, 08901, New Jersey, USA

    Cindy Hmelo-Silver

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Arvaja, M. (2011). Analyzing the Contextual Nature of Collaborative Activity. In: Puntambekar, S., Erkens, G., Hmelo-Silver, C. (eds) Analyzing Interactions in CSCL. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Series, vol 12. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7710-6_2

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