Combining individual and group-level perspectives for studying collaborative knowledge construction in context

Maarit Arvaja (1) , Hanna Salovaara (2) , Päivi Häkkinen (1) , Sanna Järvelä (2)

1 Institute for Educational Research
2 Research Unit for Educational Technology

The aim of this article is to identify concepts and methods for studying collaboration in context. The article presents a two-level methodology designed to combine individual and group-level perspectives for the evaluation of collaborative knowledge construction in student groups. The group-level analysis is focused on the students' negotiation processes. A self-report questionnaire gives insight into students' short-term impressions, meaningful activities and personal meanings attached to different activities. Empirical examples of the analysis of a teacher student group illustrate the applicability of the methods used in investigating the mediating influence of context on collaborative activity. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.04.003)

Keywords: collaborative knowledge construction; context; group; individual

Domains: Computer Science [cs]; Technology for Human Learning

Maarit Arvaja, Hanna Salovaara, Päivi Häkkinen, Sanna Järvelä. Combining individual and group-level perspectives for studying collaborative knowledge construction in context. Learning and Instruction, 2007, 17(4), pp.448-459. ⟨10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.04.003⟩. ⟨hal-00190782⟩