information as a social achievement: collaborative information behavior in cscl

CSCL’07

Information as a Social Achievement: Collaborative Information Behavior in CSCL

Nan Zhou Alan Zemel Gerry Stahl

The Virtual Math Teams ProjectThe Information School at Drexel University

Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams 2

CSCL’07

Outline

• Introduction of the problem• Overview of the study• The VMT project• Research method• Data Analysis


CSCL’07

Introduction

• Learning as a contentious concept• Koschmann et al (2005) argue for the study of “how

participants … actually go about doing learning” and examination of “member’s methods” (Garfinkel 1967)

• Suthers (2006) proposes intersubjective meaning making as the central phenomenon of the interest to the CSCL community. Stahl (2006) Group Cognition.

• Learners in CSCL environments constantly engage in various information practices. We argue that information practices constitute important part of learners’ activities thus need closer examination for understanding learning.

• CSCL has not looked closely at information practices whereas studies of information behavior haven’t focused on collaboration and learning


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Overview

• This exploratory study– is situated in the Virtual Math Teams research project – looks at information practices of small groups of students when

they work on a math problem collaboratively in a virtual environment

• We have studied information practices of small groups:– Negotiation and co-construction of information needs– Information seeking– Making sense of information and applying to solving the problem

• We argue that information only becomes information for participants when it is interactionally constructed to be meaningful and intelligible in their local situation.


CSCL’07

The Virtual Math Teams (VMT) Project

• Aims to build an online math discourse community• We are designing and deploying a service as an

extension to the Math Forum’s current Problem of the Week service – bring students together to explore math collaboratively in online chat environments

• Analyzes the interactions taking place in small groups to understand practices and various issues (such as design, community building)

• Design-Based Research: cycles of design


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Research Methods

• Over 90 sessions with groups of students in naturalistic settings – e.g. VMT Spring Festival

• Participants range from 6th to 12th grade across the country and internationally; interactions are mediated through the online chat environment

• A typical session is about one hour long with 2-5 participants and a facilitator from VMT

• Ethnomethodologically-informed approach based on aspects of conversation analysis – micro level analysis from an interactional perspective

• Data sessions


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Data Analysis


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• Negotiation of Information Needs

• Seeking information

• Negotiation and construction of meaning


CSCL’07

The picture here gives you a rough idea of what my pool looks like. (Notice that the railing sections are straight, but the pool itself is a cylinder) How many gallons of water does the pool hold?

Extra: An Olympic-sized swimming pool is quite a bit larger than our pool. They are usually 50 meters by 25 meters, when looking from the top, and the picture below shows the depths of one Olympic-sized pool. How many times could I fill my pool with the water from this pool?

The Water in My Pool – from the Problem of the Week at the Math Forum


CSCL’07

Negotiation of Information Needs

146 AME The height of the olympic pool is 25 right? 7:32:31

147 KIM rereading 7:32:50

148 HOL height is 2m 7:33:33

149 AME wha? 7:33:39

150 KIM I think we're looking at a side view - so the heights are given in the picture 7:33:44

151 AME I disagree 7:34:38

152 KIMit says, "They are usually 50 meters by 25 meters, when looking from the

top" 7:36:30

153 HOL ? 7:36:50

154 KIM then, "the picture below shows the depths" 7:37:59

155 AME yeah but whats the height? 7:38:19

156 HOL height from what perspectiv 7:38:58


CSCL’07

Negotiation of Information Needs

• How does an information problem emerge?• The need (to find out what the height of the pool

is) is negotiated and constructed through the interactions.


CSCL’07Negotiation of information needs in the process of problem solving

120 REA Are u there PIN 8:48:08

121 PIN ya im here 8:48:29

122 REA checking 8:48:37

123 REA u stuck cause i am:-( 8:49:07

124 PIN well angle CED is congruent to angle B 8:49:56

125 PIN if that helps 8:50:06

126 REA It helps 8:50:48

127 REA but i already estlabished that 8:51:15

128 PIN im stuck 8:51:36

129 MCP What's known? 8:51:42

130 MCP BE:EC = 3:5, right? 8:52:05

131 REA how did you get that 8:52:42

132 PIN how did u get that 8:52:43

133 PIN lol 8:52:46

134 MCP Tri ABC similar to DEC 8:53:10

135 PIN ya we got that 8:53:19

136 MCP AB:DE = 8:5, right? 8:53:30

137 REA We know that 8:53:33

138 PIN ya 8:53:35

139 MCP So BC:EC=8:5 8:53:51

140 REA ya 8:54:11

141 MCP That 8 breaks down 3 for BE, 5 for EC 8:54:23

142 REA We might have to use law of sines 8:54:38


CSCL’07Negotiation of information needs in the process of problem solving

• What is useful information?• How does an information problem emerge

during group interactions?• Why is MCP’s proposal “So BC:EC=8:5” at line

139 not picked up by the group? • What could the group have done to get

“unstuck”?


CSCL’07





CSCL’07Seeking Information – Question Posing & Use of Resources

106 SUP is there a formula for a 60/60/60? 8:29:04

107 AVR I have no idea 8:29:12

108 AVR I think once we find the formula it should be pretty easy 8:29:20

109 AVR I don't think there's a formula, though 8:29:24

110 PIN search google 8:29:27

111 AVR I think we find it some other way 8:29:29

112 AVR that's what I'm doing 8:29:31

113 SUP what does itmeans by edglengths? 8:29:41

114 SUP jone of the 3 sides? 8:30:23

115 AVR edgelength means length of a side 8:30:42

116 SUP ok 8:30:46

* An excerpt from a VMT session, powwow2 group2


CSCL’07Equilateral Triangle Areas - posted March 1, 2004

If two equilateral triangles have edgelengths of 9 cubits and 12 cubits, what's the edgelength of the equilateral triangle whose area is equal to the sum of the areas of the other two?


CSCL’07Seeking Information – Question Posing & Use of Resources

• Information questions are directed to the group• Tactics of posing a question• Use of external resource: search google


CSCL’07How an information question is answered can be consequential

172 137 Wait. Why are we using summations? 06.56.15

173 Jason for the formulas.. it looks nicer that way :) 06.56.36

174 Jason just downloaded trial of MathType, will install now... 06.56.48

175 ssjnish hope this doesnt sound too stupid, but wuts a summation 06.56.58

176 Jason installed :-) 06.57.14

177 137 The sum of all terms from a to b 06.57.34

178 Jason http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigma_notation 06.57.36

179 davidcyl good idea 06.57.50

180 Jason don't worry nish, you'll learn all about it next year 06.58.11


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CSCL’07

Negotiation and Construction of Meaning

• How meaning is constructed and information is made sense of and applied to the problem situation – Data excerpt 1: “I dunno bout the permutation”– Data excerpt 2: what do you mean by “pyramind”?


CSCL’07


CSCL’07

374 Quicksilver Oh!! Wait...Your thinking of the kind of pyramid that is flat on one whole edge

07.18.13

375 Quicksilver I mean like a real pyramid that each layer is completely centered 07.18.32

376 Aznx Draw it. 07.18.44

377 Quicksilver i'll try 07.18.57

378 bwang8 use the rectangle tool, it's easier 07.19.24

379 Aznx Yeah. 07.19.32

380 Quicksilver k 07.19.33

381 bwang8 o ic 07.19.44

382 Quicksilver top view 07.19.49

383 Quicksilver something like that 07.20.16

384 bwang8 i c what you mean 07.20.19

385 Quicksilver do u aznx? 07.20.27

386 Aznx Since we're both in Spanish class, are you saying something what the Aztecs made?

07.20.30


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Summary of findings

• Participants negotiate and construct their information needs collaboratively. Often an information problem emerges and initiates such process.

• Group is a primary information resource for them.• There are observable tactics that participants frame their information

questions.• How an information question is answered can be consequential on

participation.• Use of online resources is a common practice. There is discrepancy

between students’ perception of online resources and the reality.• There is difficulty applying what they found to the problem. They

need to do the work of constructing meaning of the information in their local situation.

• Information is essentially a social achievement that is constructed collaboratively and emerges through the interactions of the group.

CSCL’07

Questions?Comments?

Nan Zhou Alan Zemel Gerry Stahl

The Virtual Math Teams ProjectThe Information School at Drexel University

[email protected]

information as a social achievement: collaborative information behavior in cscl

Documents

math problem

various information

virtual environmentwe

learningnan zhou

math forums current

drexel universitynan

cycles of designnan

cscl community