Tracing the Knowledge Building Process through Discussions Mediated by a CSCL Environment: A Case Study
This case study demonstrates the use of interaction analysis techniques to explore students’ knowledge building process evidenced in time-stamped logs of a CSCL environment that consists of chat, shared whiteboard, and wiki features. The study was performed in a graduate level course, which covers online assignments that expect students to collaboratively discuss questions regarding statistical methods in chat sessions and share their solutions by co-authored wiki documents. More specifically, by applying the Progressive Knowledge Building Inquiry cycle, we investigated how learning groups enhanced their understanding of variables concepts of statistics in their collaborative activities in one of the assignments. The results cover learners’ progress in their chat discussions and wiki submissions.