A quantitative multimodal discourse analysis of teaching and learning in a web-conferencing environment – The efficacy of student-centred learning designs

Abstract

This paper presents a quantitative approach to multimodal discourse analysis for analyzing online collaborative learning. The coding framework draws together the fields of systemic functional linguistics and Activity Theory to analyze interactions between collaborative-, content- and technology-related discourse. The approach is used to examine how the task subject matter, the activity design, and the choice of interface affected interaction and collaboration for a computing course conducted in a web-conferencing environment. The analysis revealed the critical impact of activity design on the amount and type of discourse that transpired. Student-centred designs resulted in over six times more student discourse as compared to teacher-centred designs and created a learning environment where students took greater ownership over the tasks and contributed more to the content-based discussion. The paper also incorporates a rationale for the approach to coding and a reflection on its efficacy for discourse analysis in technology-based learning environments.

Introduction

Studying computer-mediated communication facilitates understanding of communication patterns, forms, functions, conventions and subtexts, which can in turn engender an understanding of how people derive meaning within such contexts (Naidu & Jarvela, 2006). Recent emphasis in technology-based learning has shifted from a focus on more passive and individual learning of content to explore more student-centred and collaborative approaches to learning (Conole, 2007). However the use of networked technologies to enable collaborative learning provides no guarantee of improved outcomes, prompting the need for research to understand the factors that underpin their effective use (Naidu and Jarvela, 2006, Suthers, 2006).

Many contemporary online learning environments afford multimodal collaboration. For instance, web-conferencing systems such as Adobe Connect Meeting (Adobe Systems Inc., 2009), Elluminate Live (Elluminate Inc., 2009) and Wimba Classroom (Wimba Inc., 2009) offer a wide array of modalities for facilitating interaction and co-construction of knowledge, making these rich environments for studying collaborative learning. In such environments a multimodal discourse analysis methodology is useful in order to account for the multiple channels of communication being used. Analyzing a subset of collaborative modalities can lead to an incomplete understanding of how meaning is being made (Jewitt, 2006).

However there is a sparse literature about how multimodal collaborative learning environments are being used to facilitate learning. For instance, a search of the ERIC database as at 26th of August 2009 returned 31 references with the term “web-conferencing” in any field. However all but four of these were using the term to refer to more generic online collaboration (for instance using discussion boards) or only tangentially referred to the use of fully fledged web-conferencing systems. Only one of these papers proposed any recommendations for the way in which such systems are operated (Reushle & Loch, 2008). None of the articles had applied a systematic approach to researching the interactions of web-conferencing participants.

This study utilizes a quantitative multimodal discourse analysis approach to investigate the following research question:

How do the interface design, task type and activity design influence the amount and type of collaboration that occurs during learning episodes conducted in a web-conferencing environment?

By performing intertextual analysis between individual learning episodes, global results and learning design results were able to be derived. The quantitative approach provides a more objective means to detect and quantify cause-and-effect relationships, which can be used to complement established interpretivist multimodal discourse analysis approaches (Jewitt, 2006, Kress et al., 2001). The coding framework that will be demonstrated uniquely integrates Engeström’s (1987) Activity Theory framework with Halliday’s (1985) systemic functional linguistics.