Collaboration Scripts – A Conceptual Analysis

Ingo Kollar (1) , Frank Fischer (1) , Friedrich Hesse (2)

1 KRMC - Knowledge Media Research Center
2 IWM - Instituts für Wissensmedien

This article presents a conceptual analysis of collaboration scripts used in face-to-face and computer-mediated collaborative learning. Collaboration scripts are scaffolds that aim to improve collaboration through structuring the interactive processes between two or more learning partners. Collaboration scripts consist of at least five components: (a) learning objectives, (b) type of activities, (c) sequencing, (d) role distribution, and (e) type of representation. These components serve as a basis for comparing prototypical collaboration script approaches for face-to-face vs. computer-mediated learning. As our analysis reveals, collaboration scripts for face-to-face learning often focus on supporting collaborators to engage in activities that are specifically related to individual knowledge acquisition. Scripts for computer-mediated collaboration are typically concerned with facilitating communicative-coordinative processes that occur among group members. The two research lines can be consolidated to facilitate the design of collaboration scripts which both support participation and coordination and induce learning activities closely related to individual knowledge acquisition and metacognition. However, research on collaboration scripts needs to consider the learners' internal collaboration scripts as a further determinant of collaboration behavior. The article closes with the presentation of a conceptual framework incorporating both external and internal collaboration scripts.

Mots clés: collaboration scripts; computer-mediated technologies

Domaines: Environnements Informatiques pour l'Apprentissage Humain

Ingo Kollar, Frank Fischer, Friedrich Hesse. Collaboration Scripts – A Conceptual Analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 2006, 18(2), pp.159-185. ⟨10.1007/s10648-006-9007-2⟩. ⟨hal-00190642⟩