using a virtual learning community (vlc) to facilitate a cross-national science research...

Computers & Education 79 (2014) 1e15

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Computers & Education

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Using a virtual learning community (VLC) to facilitate a cross-nationalscience research collaboration between secondary school students

Hui Peng Chia a, *, Alan Pritchard b

a Hwa Chong Institution, Singapore & Graduate School of Education, University of Western Australia, 661 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 269734, Singaporeb Graduate School of Education, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009, Australia

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 1 March 2014Received in revised form7 July 2014Accepted 7 July 2014Available online 17 July 2014

Keywords:Virtual learning community (VLC)WikispacesScience researchProject workCollaboration

* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ65 96506801; fax: þE-mail address: [email protected] (H.P. Chia).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2014.07.0050360-1315/© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

a b s t r a c t

This paper reports on how a virtual learning community (VLC), set up on Wikispaces, facilitated cross-national collaboration in high level scientific research involving six teams of four students from twoschools, one in Singapore and one in USA. Qualitative case study methods were employed. Data fromonline postings, reflections and interviews were analysed using the Miles and Huberman (1994)approach to inductive analysis. Findings showed that the students found the VLC useful for theircollaboration and the exchanges on the platform positively impacted them in the cognitive, intellectualand interpersonal aspects. Recommendations for future practice and research are made.

© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In the 21st century, skills that enable people to face challenges and stay connected in a global and knowledge-based economy are likely togain importance (Ertmer, Newby, Yu, Tomory,& Lee, 2011). In addition, competencies towork across cultures and use digital communicationtools also contribute to the success of future global players. The education authorities in Singapore (the Ministry of Education, MOE) and theUSA (U.S. Department of Education) crafted their Frameworks for 21st Century Skills/Competencies listing skills or competencies withwhichstudents should be equipped to prepare them for the 21st century world (MOE, 2010; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008). Skills thatare listed in both frameworks include creativity, innovation, cross-cultural understanding, communication and collaboration. This paperreports an investigation on a science research collaboration involving students from two schools, one in Singapore and one in the USA.Through the collaboration the schools aimed to present the students with an opportunity to acquire the skills listed in each respectiveframework, a process which they believe will help them succeed in a constantly changing, well-connected world. The schools also intendedto provide students with the authentic experience of working like real scientists involved in international collaborations and give them aglobal perspective to science research.

To facilitate communication among the student researchers of the two countries over a 10-month collaboration period, the Singaporeschool in the current study set up a virtual learning community (VLC) onWikispaces. The purpose of this studywas to gain an understandingof how a VLC, set up on Wikispaces, could facilitate the students' collaboration in a science research programme in a trans-national teamstructure. Findings from the study would provide points of consideration to the Singapore school as it plans to set up a communicationplatform, within its online learning management system, to cater to future international research collaborations between its students andoverseas schools.

Examination of available literature indicated that the use of VLCs for project work is more widespread at tertiary levels than other levelsof study in an international context, especially in distance learning or online courses (Cleary & Marcus-Quinn, 2008; Helic, Krottmaier,

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H.P. Chia, A. Pritchard / Computers & Education 79 (2014) 1e152

Maurer & Scerbakov, 2005; Law, Ma, & Yuen, 2000). Their use in project work at the pre-tertiary level appeared less common in mostcountries (international and Asia) other than the USA.

VLCs can be hosted on various online platforms, such as the Wikispaces. The Wikispaces is an online platform that provides users withfacilities that enable file sharing and asynchronous discussions. This platform has been used to support project-based learning in variouscountries. In an Australian study involving undergraduates, Snelling and Karanicolas (2008) observed that Wikispaces provided a solutionfor student groups to work on their projects beyond lesson time and was effective in recording the involvement of each student.

Wikispaces have also found its way into Asian classrooms. Foo and Hussain (2010) reported its use in a Malaysian university wherestudents in a master degree course used the platform for their instructional design project. They observed that in addition to buildingknowledge, the students acquired life skills like interpersonal skills and reflection in the course of the project. In Singapore, a class ofsecondary two (14-year old) students was observed by Chua and Chua (2008) to compile and share relevant information, and obtain peerfeedback on Wikispaces as they worked in groups on their science projects. The researchers reported a high level of motivation andengagement in the students as multimedia resources, such as videos, were shared among the students.

Due to its web-based nature, Wikispaces is accessible by students who are geographically separated and is an excellent platform foronline communication and discussion (Larusson & Alterman, 2009). In addition, it also allows members to share resources and monitorchanges made on shared documents (Lucking & Christmann, 2008). In view of the possibilities provided by Wikispaces for collaborativework and the Singapore students' prior experience in using the platform for their online lessons, the Singapore school set up on thisplatform, a VLC comprising its students and those from the collaborating USA school. Findings of the current study provide details on howthe students used the VLC, set up on Wikispaces, for their project collaboration. Through this experience in using Wikispaces, theSingapore school hopes to identify desirable features that may be incorporated in the virtual learning portal that it plans to build. Researchinvolving the use of Wikispaces for international project collaboration among students, especially in science experimental research, is anew field. Hence findings documented in this paper will contribute to the scarce pool of existing literature to inform future studies of asimilar nature. It also has the capacity to act as a path-finding research project which can inform other pre-tertiary schools or institutionscontemplating similar learning advances, particularly in an Asian context and in Asian-Western collaborations among secondary schoolstudents.

2. Method

The current study is an investigation of a case on how a group of Singapore and USA students used a VLC, set up on Wikispaces, as aresource for their research project collaboration. Qualitative researchmethods were employed, with case study as the research strategy. Thiswas done to enable the collection of rich data to provide the authors with a comprehensive understanding of how the students used the VLCfor their research collaboration. Data were gathered from group interviews, online postings and reflective journals and analysed followingthe Miles and Huberman (1994) inductive approach to the analysis of qualitative data.

2.1. Sample, sampling strategy and context

The current study presents a situation where all the possible participants of the research collaboration programme were studied. Thusthe method of sampling does not fall into any of the common sampling designs. Participants were 12 secondary four (age 16 years) boys of aSingapore independent school, who were selected by merit, to participate in a collaborative science research programme with 12 USAstudents, also selected by merit. The 12 USA students comprised five boys and seven girls, aged 16e17 years. The students of the Singaporeschool were enrolled in one of the special programmes of their school, the Science and Mathematics Talent Programme (SMTP). All SMTPstudents were required to carry out a science investigative project which involved extensive data collection in the science laboratories, theywork in groups comprising students from within the Singapore school. For the purpose of the Singapore-USA research collaboration pro-gramme,12 Singapore students were selected and theymade up all the Singapore participants in the study undertaken by the authors of thispaper. The 12 USA students were enrolled in a specialised Science andMathematics school in Virginia, USA. They were the corresponding 12USA students for the study reported by this paper. The Singapore school in the current study is a boys' school from secondary one to four(equivalent to grades seven to 10), hence no girls were available for this study. As the Singapore and USA students were geographically apart,they used the virtual learning community (VLC) portal, set up on Wikispaces by the Singapore school, for project-related communications.

This international collaboration using a VLC placed a case boundary round the group of Singapore and USA students. The researchinvolved examining how these students' use of the VLC changed during the course of the collaboration. The research programme beganwitha visit by the Singapore students to their USA counterparts at their school. During this 10-day visit, the student researchers got together towork out the proposals of their projects under the guidance of their teachers. The students worked in six groups of four, with each groupcomprising two students from each school. When the Singapore students returned to their country, they kept in touch with their USApartners via an online portal, Wikispaces, set up by the Singapore programme coordinator (a teacher of the Singapore school). Thiscommunication was maintained over a period of about 10 months, during which each team collected data in their respective school'slaboratories and analysed those data. The students from the two schools formed a virtual learning community (VLC) as they communicatedand collaborated with each other via Wikispaces.

At the end of the research collaboration, the students from the two schools met at the Singapore school to consolidate their findings, co-authored research papers and participated in the school's annual Projects Competition. At the competition, the teams were evaluated by apanel of teacher judges of the Singapore school. Based on the qualities of their projects and their oral presentations, teams may be awardedHigher Distinction, Distinction, Merit or Pass grades. During the end-of-collaboration visit to the Singapore school by the USA students, thestudents of the two schools were interviewed face-to-face separately in their groups, on how they used their VLC (Wikispaces) as a resourceto facilitate their research collaboration i.e. one project group, comprising two USA and two Singapore students, at a time was interviewed.

H.P. Chia, A. Pritchard / Computers & Education 79 (2014) 1e15 3

2.2. Pilot study

A pilot studywas carried out before actual data collection began so that problems could be identified and avoided during the actual study.It also enabled the crafting and development of questions and probes to encourage discussions in the actual interview during data collection.In the pilot study, core interview questions intended for the current study were used to interview four students of the Singapore school whoparticipated in similar research collaboration in the previous year. Following the pilot study, the questions were modified to improve theirclarity. The online postings put up by the pilot group on the VLC (Wikispaces) were also examined to ensure that data gathering methodenabled relevant information to be collected.

2.3. Data collection

Multiple sources of data were collected and analysed in the current study. These data consisted of interview transcripts, online postingsonWikispaces and reflective journals. The interview transcripts and reflective journals captured students' responses on the use of the VLC inretrospect at the end of their collaboration. On the other hand the online postings, made by the students on Wikispaces throughout thecollaboration period, offered valuable data in enabling the identification of changes in the types of postings made and interactions thatoccurred in the VLC. These observations, together with the findings gathered from the interview transcripts and reflective journals provideda detailed understanding on how the students used the VLC. The three types of data collected were triangulated to seek convergence(Gillham, 2000) and to confirm emerging trends. These practices of using multiple sources of data, analysing data (online postings made bystudents during the course of project collaboration) collected over a period of time and detailed study are typical of case studies (Yin, 2003).The different types of data used in this research allowed triangulation to confirm the findings and this in turn led to enhancement of thetransferability of findings (Burns, 1994).

2.3.1. Interview dataAt the end of the collaboration, the USA students visited the Singapore students at the latter's school. During this visit, face-to-face focus

group interviews were carried out with each project group in turn. Interview with each group lasted about 60e90 min. Prior to theinterview, personalised emails of invitation were sent to all the students, and they were invited to email the authors if clarifications wereneeded. The interview questions were sent via email to the students and letters were sent to their parents and principals to obtain consentfor the students' participation. A semi-structured interview schedule (see Appendix A), which included pre-crafted, open-ended questions,was used to give the participants the space to craft their answers. Probes (see Appendix A) were used to gain additional depth duringinterviews.

2.3.2. Documentary data2.3.2.1. Online postings on the VLC platform (Wikispaces). In addition to interviews, qualitative data were gained through documents.Documentary data allowed for triangulationwith interview data (Punch, 2005). The content of documents, the evolution of the content overa period of 10 months and the implications of such changes (Somekh & Lewin, 2006) were studied to add to the richness of this research.

Online postings of the students from the VLC (Wikispaces) were collected and analysed to identify the types of interactions that tookplace during their course of collaboration. Observations weremade on howand inwhich stage of their project the students used online toolsfound on the VLC platform. These datawere collected and analysed to elucidate trends or patterns. Evidence on the impact of the VLC on thestudents' work was sought. These data were used for triangulation and to enrich the interview data.

2.3.2.2. Students' reflective journals. In the current study, students were asked to submit written reflective journals at the end of thecollaboration. Students were asked to provide the following information in their journals:

� how they used the VLC to enable them to complete tasks at each stage of their project;� the roles they played in the VLC and how they interacted with each other;� the strategies they used to complete their tasks and reasons for their choice of strategies;� the ways in which the VLC has met their needs at each stage of the project; and� how they felt (likes and dislikes) about the collaboration programme.

As with the online postings, data from the students' reflective journals were analysed using methods similar to those used for theinterview transcripts as a process for triangulation and the enrichment of findings.

3. Data analysis

The Miles and Huberman (1994) inductive approach to the analysis of qualitative data was used to analyse the data collected throughinterview, and documentary data from students' online postings on Wikispaces and their reflective journals. All data analyses were carriedout solely by the first author, hence inter-rater reliability check was not carried out. The data collected were put through processes of datareduction, data display and drawing and verifying conclusions. Throughout these processes, coding andmemoing were used. The codes andmemos generated enabled trends and patterns to be identified.

3.1. Data reduction

Data were summarised through a coding and memoing process which led to the identification of themes and patterns throughcomparing, conceptualising and explaining (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Punch, 2005).


Data from interview transcripts, students' online posting on Wikispaces and reflective journals were organised in the form of tablescontaining columns for the data, codes and memos. Segments of data (words, phrases or sentences) from these sources were labelled withdescriptive, inferential and astringent codes (Miles & Huberman, 1994). These codes enabled segments of data related to a certain researchquestion or theme to be clustered in preparation for drawing tentative conclusions. In addition, memoswerewritten next to the appropriatedata segment. Memos were served as notes about the links between codes, or any idea, thoughts or reflections about the data useful forwriting this paper as they came to mind in the course of data analysis. In this study, segments of data were linked by memos (functioning asconceptual notes) to form clusters which were used to generate findings (Miles & Huberman, 1994). A sample of a segment of interviewtranscript, together with codes and memos, is shown in Table 1.

As this study involved six project groups (see Appendix B), data from each group were coded individually and then followed by cross-group analysis. The cross-group analysis wasmodelled after the cross-case analysis of theMiles and Huberman (1994) inductive approach tothe analysis of qualitative data. This type of analysis was carried out to enhance the transferability of the findings and deepen the un-derstanding and explanation of the study (Miles & Huberman, 1994). During cross-group analysis, meta-matrices (like those used in cross-case analysis) were used to enable comparison of the data obtained from various project groups, and subsequently the identification oftrends and themes.

3.2. Data display

According to Miles and Huberman (1994, p. 11), “a display is an organised, compressed assembly of information that permits conclusiondrawing and action”. In the current study, matrices were used to organise and display observations made during the data reduction phase.Matrices used include those that allow descriptive display, such as conceptually clustered and checklist matrices (Miles& Huberman, 1994).Conceptually clustered matrices allowed related items in the data to be brought together. An example is shown in Table 5. This was createdto list the different types of postings, made by the students onWikispaces, at different stages of the project collaboration. The different typesof postings were identified from the codes tagged to segments of data from the students' postings on the VLC platform (Wikispaces).Reading down the columns provides an idea of the kinds of postings made at each stage of the collaboration, while reading across allows acomparison of the postingsmade at different stages. Checklist matrices (Tables 2 and 3) were constructed to facilitate cross-group analysis toenable comparisons among the project groups. The analysis of data eventually led to the compilation of findings and drawing of conclusionsfor this study.

To establish reliability of the findings, interview data were triangulated with data obtained from the online postings of the collaboratingstudents onWikispaces and their reflective journals during data analysis. Meta-matrices (Table 4) were used to triangulate data. In additionto establishing the reliability of findings, triangulation also allowed novel and additional insights to emerge (Flick, 2009).

Table 1A sample of interview transcript with codes and memos.

Speaker Interview transcript Code Memo

Q So what were the different ways that you used the VLC?A1 At first, we were posting articles and things that we

had written out because before they came over to see usthey posted some sort of proposal for their project.Whereas we didn't do that, we were reading theirproposal.

STRATEGIES/TYPES OF POST� Proposal stage: post articles, documents,

proposals

Q That was in the beginning of the year?A1 Yeah, and so we read that just to ensure that we were

on the same page but we couldn't really have adiscussion about it yet. Whereas once they left, wewere refining the details so it was more useful to havepostings between us instead of things they havewritten or other things. Then it got to a point where wewere coming with the exact method of how we weredoing things, so suddenly our goals become reallyimportant because they would outline how they solveproblems. And we started updating each other on ourprogress and now I think, towards the end, we startedusing it to post again because we have pictures of whatwe’ve done. We have scanning electron microscopepictures that showed a lot about what we had figured out.

STRATEGIES/TYPES OF POSTStages� When students were apart, Wiki served

more as a communication platform thana repository for sharing materials ordocuments

� Method stage: goals were important indetermining how problems were solved

� Middle of project: update progresson Wiki

� End of project: post results (pictures)� Wiki was useful in different ways at

different stages of project� Changes in types of postings at different

stages of projects & reasons

Updates/communicating on Wikiwere more important than postingdocuments when no face-to efacemeetings were possible

S1 At the end, like the very end, which is like now, becausewe have done everything like the webpage, web report,then we started using Email. Yah, email instead becausewe can reply easily on our handphones.

� Near the end of project, Email became moreuseful because of its convenience of use

� Decreasing usefulness of Wiki near the endof project

Switch to emailing at the very endof project (students were togetherin Singapore)— share webreports — more convenient toemail— all students have greateraccess to handphonesthan computer as they were stayingin their own homes — fastercommunication. Faster to consolidatevia email. Would this have happenedif students were still geographicallyseparated?

Q So you're all using iphones?S1 No, no, android. But the main idea is that we can reply

to each other easily compared to having to upload…Q Was it faster that way?A1 Yeah. Towards the end you feel that documenting

changes is not so essential already.� End of project: More consolidation than

documentationS1 Yah.A1 Towards the end it was more of consolidation.

Speakers are labelled as follows: Q is the interviewer, S1 is one of the Singapore students and A1 is one of the USA students e all from Project Group 1.Major categories of codes are in UPPER CASE; descriptive codes are in non-italicised lower case; and inferential codes are in bold italics. Bold and underlined texts in thetranscript are the segments of data to which the codes are tagged.


The data collection and analysis processes of this study are summarised and illustrated in Fig. 1. Interview data and documentary datawere collected and coded individually (within-group analysis). These codes were then compared across groups, leading to the display ofdata using matrices. The processes of data collection, data reduction, data display, drawing and verifying tentative conclusions contributedto the results of this study, in addition to gathering more data were dynamic. This allowed data to be analysed and decisions made for moredata to be collected via internet interviews, to make the study more comprehensive. Provisions were made for internet interviews viaelectronic mails to the student participants to collect more data, and tomake clarifications on their earlier responses during the face-to-faceinterviews and those in their online postings onWikispaces andwritten reflections. Internet interviewswere used as themode for follow updata collection as the student participants were more easily available online than face-to-face. However, as sufficient data was collected,internet interviews were not carried out.

4. Results and discussion

4.1. Using the VLC as a resource for project work

4.1.1. The VLC as a repository and communication platformThe students in the current study used the VLC, set up onWikispaces, for their project collaboration inways which they perceived would

help them with their work. They used the VLC as a repository to deposit and share useful materials among members. It was also used as aplatform for communication to enable discussions and tracking of project progress. At times, the repository and communication functions ofthe platform were used complementarily to enable the discussion of uploaded documents.

Cross-group analysis of the online postings belonging to the students from the six project groups, revealed that all the groups used theVLC as a platform for sharing files and communication as seen in the meta-matrices illustrated in Tables 2 and 3 that follow.

As seen in Table 2, the students shared a variety of documents by uploading them on the wiki page which served as a repository. All sixgroups uploaded relevant readings which served as useful references to their projects, and Powerpoint slides (contains research data) usedby the groups for presentation at the judging sessions held in the Singapore school as part of its annual Projects Competition.

With the exception of one group, students uploaded their research proposals and final research papers onto the wiki page. The researchproposals ascertained the scope of the projects in the beginning of the collaborationwhile the research papers enabled the consolidation offindings at the end. The group that did not upload their research paper onto the wiki page shared these documents within the group via

Fig. 1. Summary of data collection and analysis processes.

Table 2Using the VLC as a repository for file sharing by various project groups.

Type of files shared on the VLC (wiki page of Wikispaces) Group number

1 2 3 4 5 6

Readings √ √ √ √ √ √Data as picture files √ √Data in spreadsheet √ √Research Proposals √ √ √ √ √ √Research Reports √ √ √ √ √Presentation (Powerpoint slides) √ √ √ √ √ √


email due to the group's preference. Groups who used the Wikispaces extensively explained that the repository function of the platformgave them the advantage of archiving their documents for easy retrieval and reference as compared to email. It also served as a backup filestorage in cyberspace.

As students of the USA and Singapore schools were twelve time zones apart, it was not practical for them to carry out synchronouscommunication regularly. Examination of data obtained from interviews and the students' reflections, revealed that students used the VLCplatform (Wikispaces) mostly for online asynchronous communication via the discussion forum tool ofWikispaces. Students were observedto make postings on discussion threads which they created for each topic of interest. These discussion threads kept the students updated ofeach other's progress throughout all the four stages of project work: planning (ideation), data collection (experimental), data analysis andconclusion. The discussion threads offered the advantage of documenting the students' discussions for their reference. This also served as arecord of what was done during the course of the research collaboration to enable students and teachers to keep track of the progress of theprojects.

Students created discussion threads and made postings in these threads to state their views. Table 3 informs on the kinds of commu-nication that took place among the students as they postedmessages on the discussion forum.Most of the groups used the discussion forumto update members on the development of their project, track each other's progress, brainstorm for ideas, confirm experimental methods,and work on problems encountered as they carried out their experiments. They also made postings to clarify issues where necessary.Discussions and explanations of the documents uploaded on the wiki page were carried out on the discussion forum.

Students indicated that they used both the repository and the discussion forum of Wikispaces simultaneously at times, and found thatthese two tools complemented each other in helping them convey their messages effectively. Communications on Wikispaces enabled thegroups to keep track of each other's progress. Group four was the only group who did most of their communications via email as this wastheir preferred platform.

The ways in which the VLC was used by the students for project work were collated from the interview data, and two sources ofdocumentary data namely students' online postings on the VLC platform and their reflective journals. Cross examination of these datarevealed a general consistency with regards to the use of the VLC by the students. Table 4 presents a checklist matrix that displays the waysthe students used the VLC and their corresponding samples of supporting evidence obtained from the three types of data.

The use of a VLC for project work has been reported in past investigations which involved students from the primary to tertiary levels oflearning (Case & Miller, 1999; Chang, 2008; Heo, Lim, & Kim, 2010; Ligorio & Van der Meijden, 2007; Musante, 2006; Seet & Quek, 2010;Underwood, Smith, Luckin& Fitzpatrick, 2007). Similar to the current study, in these investigations, VLCs were set up on online platforms bythe learning institutions to which the students belonged. These platforms allowed the students to carry out intellectual exchanges anddiscussions, and share documents with one another. Despite the difference in the types of online platform used compared to the currentstudy, these investigations and the current study observed that the project groups who had carried out intellectual exchanges on the VLCplatform produced products that presented the students' findings which incorporated views frommore than one perspective, thus makingtheir work more comprehensive. In addition, students also obtained new ideas and advice to solve problems from their partners via theplatform.

In some studies (Case & Miller, 1999; Musante, 2006; Underwood et al., 2007) that involved the use of VLCs for science project work,middle and high school students conducted experiments and collected datawhich were not only shared with their peers, but also with localscientists who provided online consultation to these students. Although the current study also involved students working on experimentalscience projects, scientists were not consulted nor invited to be part of the VLC. The teacher mentors of most groups rarely or neverparticipated in online interactions in the VLC. Most of the time, the teachers provided face-to-face guidance to the students in their countriesseparately in the course of the research programme, and left it to the students to communicate with their overseas teammates as necessary.Another difference is that the current study involved students from different countries while those carried out by Case andMiller (1999) andMusante (2006) only involved students within their own country, namely USA. These differences however, did not seem to negativelyimpact the students' collaboration in the current study as they, like the students in other studies, also managed to complete their productson time.

Table 3Using the VLC as a communication platform.

Types of communication made on the VLC platform (Wikispaces Discussion Threads) Group number

Update progress 1 2 3 4a 5 6Brainstorming √ √ √ √ √ √Confirm/align methods √ √ √ √ √ √Clarification √ √ √ √ √Solving problems √ √ √ √ √

a Communicated via email mainly.

Table 4Comparison of findings from different data types regarding the use of the VLC (Wikispaces) for project work.

Ways in which the VLC(Wikispaces) was used

Sample evidences from various types of data

Interview data Online postings Reflective journal

A place to get ideas They (USA students) provided us with newdimensions, this is what I like about it.(S-7)

Hey guys, … I came up with theprocedures … Here it is …Procedures for ExperimentDay 1Step 1: Prepare 200 ml of LBbroth … (PS-4)

We used the Wikispaces to gatherideas for our project at our initialstage. We had a lot of ideasbouncing around, and theWikispaces was a good place toconsolidate our ideas. TheWikispaces served as a hugelibrary of all the information wehave found. We used theWikispaces as an archive of allour ideas. (RS-5)

A repository forreadings

How I really benefited was because… bothof us we were looking for readings online.They managed to find very good readingsin an instant, so they saved us quite a lotof time. I like the readings they sent usbecause … paper gave new insights… (S-7)

Basically, according to the twoarticles that I just posted on thewiki (numbers 4 and 5),conductivity along with manyother parameters can affect the“spinability” of a solution … … Wehighly recommend thatyou read the two articles that weposted. The entirety of both of themis not relevant, but other parts ofthem are very helpful andinformative. (PA-1)

Mostly used for a repository of allour data, analysis, reports andreadings. When I required myUSA partner's data or report torefer to, I would go on Wikispacesbecause all our files were uploadedonto it. (RS-9)

A means forcommunica-tione.g.s discussion,clarification(ask questions)

… they (Singapore students) came over (to USA)and we talked through the couple of days,we were still unclear in a lot of things. Sousing the wiki we were able to clear that upand after that we could do. (A-2)

Discussion threads were created bythe groups.

I mainly used it as a communicationtool as due to the great differencein time zones, it was really difficultto arrange a time to talk via instantmessaging … and the Wikispaceswere used as a platform for discussionas it allows us to stage the messagehistory for future references. (RS-6)

A platform fortracking progress

So it (discussion forum) definitely helped mekeep track of what they (Singapore students)were doing and what I was doing, and to beable to remember really the small little detailsof things I'd done months before. (A-1)

We're still using cell lysates as we can'tculture cells. We've already orderedthe stuff we need like the column andthe lysates, but we can't start until weget our horseshoe crab blood. We canonly catch the crabs near the end ofFeb as we have to wait for low tide.Our experiments should start beforeMarch. (PS-12)

We used Wikispaces to refine ourresearch methodology to ensure thatour methods were the same andupdate each other on project progress.(RS-12)

Data- sharing You can keep all the data and all the pastreferences, research in one place. During theexperimental stage, if we meet with someproblems … it's easy to just go the Wikispacesand refer. (S-2)

Hi, we have managed to collecthemolymph and have done a set ofexperiments in December. You cansee the results in a word document thatI have uploaded on our wiki page. (PS-6)

At the data analysis stage, it was usefulas we could look at each other's resultsand analyse them.(RS-5)

Problem-solving They (Singapore students) have some creativeways in going over some road blocks (problemsencountered). There were some road blocks wherewe (USA students) were really stuck for a coupleof weeks. We were searching on the internet butsometimes we couldn't go to the lab ‘cos wedidn't know what to do. They come in and poston Wikispaces, they gave us a solution and inthat way we can go straight back to the lab andcontinue… (A-4)

You guys can do a starting test first to seeif 10 ml of broth is enough by just doingthe experiment with iron and observingfor chelation. If there is no chelation, tryusing more LB broth for more cellpellets, or reduce amount of sodiumalginate solution to make a more“saturated bead” of bacteria. (PS-4)

Wikispaces helped us to again poolour resources together and shareproblems we faced, so that we couldsolve problems that both parties facedtogether, and also avoid encounteringthe same problems in the other group.(RS-10)

Alignment ofmethods/decideon the methodsto use

So if you start to stray you don't keep on going indifferent directions. You can communicate toknow, “Oh, we went on different plans doingthat”. You can change so that both head in thesame direction. (A-2)

Can you guys please give us the step bystep procedure that was followed forsetting up the cell suspension? Wewould like to keep the procedures assimilar as possible. (PA-3)

… the Wikispaces more importantlyallowed us to share our files witheach other, allowing us to track eachother's progress and ensure that ourprojects were parallel. (RS-8)


4.1.2. The VLC as a platform for interactionsStudents engaged in various types of intellectual interactions in the VLC during the research collaboration programme. As the students

were located in vastly different time zones, these interactions were asynchronous. The interactions varied and evolved during the fourstages of project work because of the different emphases in the requirements of each stage.

Online interactions between the Singapore and USA students in the current study occurred during the entire period of the collaborationprogramme through various stages of project work as illustrated in Fig. 2. The collaboration programme stretched from the month ofNovember in the preceding year (Y1) to August of the current year (Y2). Project work progressed through four stages during the course ofthe collaboration. The collaboration beganwith the Singapore students visiting their USA partners in Nov(Y1) to initiate the planning stage.Students on both sides of the collaboration went through the four stages with the stages lasting different lengths of time as the students


from the two countries followed different school schedules. For example, after their initial meeting with the Singapore students in Nov(Y1),the USA students began data collection around Dec(Y1) through Apr(Y2) because by Dec(Y1) they were already well into their new schoolterm (opened in Aug(Y1)). On the other hand, the Singapore students were having their year-end school holidays in Nov(Y1) and Dec(Y1).Hence, they maintained contact with the USA students via the Wikispaces where they carried out interactive activities like furtherdevelopment and alignment of methods and share updated proposals from where they left off after their visit to USA. While the USAstudents began their data collection in Dec(Y1), the Singapore students only started collecting data during their new school term (opened inJan(Y2)) in Mar(Y2) through Aug(Y2). Despite the difference in schedules, the kinds of interactions and uploads made on the VLC platform(Wikispaces) were the same for the students from the two countries during the respective stages of project work.

Some types of interaction activities, such as brainstorming for ideas and sharing of results, only occurred in their respective specificstages as they served to achieve specific outcomes during those stages (see Fig. 2 and Table 5). On the other hand, interactive activities suchas making clarifications and updating of work progress occurred throughout the four stages of project work as these functions wereessential in enabling effective communication amongst the students. Although the stages of project work differed in their durations for theSingapore and USA students, project work ended at the same time for the students as they congregated in the Singapore school toconsolidate their findings and participate in the school's annual Project Competition judging where their projects were evaluated. Similarchanges in interactive activities were observed by Thomas and MacGregor (2005), who carried out a study on six collaborative under-graduate groups. These students worked collaboratively to develop a website and communicated with one another asynchronously andsynchronously in a VLC established on a virtual platform (Blackboard). This comparison indicates that a VLC is able to provide an envi-ronment that enables different types of interaction among students during different stages of the research collaboration that led to a jointeffort to construct knowledge.

As the interactions among the Singapore and USA students evolved through the different stages of project work, their postings onWikispaces varied correspondingly. Table 5 provides the details on the various types of postings made on the VLC platform (Wikispaces)during different stages of project work. All the postings made on the discussion forum and items uploaded on the wiki page were task-related. Postings on the wiki page were mainly documents (readings, proposals and reports) or resources that served as references orupdates on work done, and results obtained. Postings on the discussion forum were varied and illustrated the intellectual exchanges orinteractions amongst the students on the VLC platform.

Fig. 2. Types of interactions carried out by students on the VLC platform (Wikispaces) through various stages of project work.

Table 5Types of postings/interactions made on the VLC platform (Wikispaces) during various stages of project work.

Stage of project

Planning/Ideation Data collection/Experimental Data analysis Conclusion

Types of postings/interactionson Wikispaces (VLC)

� Readings� Questions to clarify ideas

or positions� Suggestions on possible

scope of the projects oralternatives for action

� Negotiations and confirmationon what to do to ensurealignment of experimentalmethods

� Updating progress

� Methods for data collection� List of materials required forexperiments

� Questions to clarify methodsand materials

� Suggestions on alternatives foraction or solutions to problemsencountered

� Negotiations and confirmationon what to do to ensurealignment of experimentalmethods

� Results obtained e numericalforms (Excel worksheets) andphotographs

� Questions on data collected forclarification


� Tables and diagramsgenerated from datacollected

� Statistical analysis ofdata (e.g. graphs plottedusing Excel)

� Discussions on analysesposted for clarification

� Suggestions on alternativesfor action or solutionsto problems encountered


� Research reportdrafts

� Presentation slidesfor judging

� Questions on theabove documentsposted



In the current study, interactions among students in the VLC were observed only within each group (intra-group interactions) althoughthe groups were able to see one each other's work on the online platform (Wikispaces). The ability to see other groups' wiki pages in theproject made the students aware, in general terms, of each other's progress. However, the students did not see the need for inter-groupinteraction as their projects were very different in nature and were complex in their own rights. In addition, as the students involved inthe current study were of high ability, they were observed to be particularly competent in solving problems they encountered as a group,with some advice from their teachers. In contrast, Lou and MacGregor (2004) reported that inter-group interactions occurred in the VLC oftheir study involving undergraduates working on collaborative projects. They found that inter-group interactions enabled the sharing ofstrategies and ideas among the students and resulted in the enhancement of their performance, especially in the case of low performingstudents. In view of the positive outcome of inter-group interactions, such interactions may be encouraged in future collaboration pro-grammes if it suits the needs of the students involved.

In terms of group dynamics, although all students participated in the VLC, it was observed that within each project group, one of themembers on each side of the collaboration was more dominant and active in making online postings throughout the course of thecollaboration. Thomas and MacGregor (2005) observed that a leader seemed to emerge in high performing groups, this leader establishedthe work flow and distributed tasks within the group. A similar observationwas made in three out of the six groups examined in the currentstudy where a dominant student in the group directed the way things should be done. In the remaining three groups, although there wasone member on each of side of the collaboration who was more active in making postings on the VLC platform; there seemed to be asituation of shared leadership among them. In these groups, all members contributedmore or less equally to decision-making. Although twotypes of group dynamics were observed among the project groups in the current study, both structures worked well for these selectedgroups of high ability students.

Responses collected from the students indicated that they felt that their interactions in the VLC positively impacted their work in generaland enabled them to achieve the common goal of completing their projects on time. All the groups did well at Singapore school's annualProjects Competition where four groups were awarded Higher Distinction while the remaining two groups obtained the Distinction award(see Appendix B).

4.1.3. The VLC as a platform for synergyStudents tapped one another's expertise and played different roles to achieve their common goal to complete their project as they

interacted in the VLC. Evidence from data collected (see Table 4) indicated that the USA students' ability to generate new ideas and theSingapore students' familiarity with experimental techniques, worked synergistically to ensure alignment in and produce projects of goodquality as indicated by the awards these projects obtained at the annual Projects Competition, organised annually by the Singapore school(see Appendix B).

Gan and Zhu (2007) observed that members in a VLC usually have varied abilities, experiences, knowledge and learning styles; whichmay lead to a hierarchy among them. A similar situation arose in the current studywhere the Singapore and USA students, who had differentlevels of experience in science research and backgrounds, interacted with one another in the VLC. In the current study, the Singaporestudents who worked with the USA students had carried out a full-fledged science project in the year prior to the collaboration. In contrast,the research project undertaken during the collaboration was the maiden attempt of the USA students. USA students used this discrepancyin research experience to their advantage by having the Singapore students provide advice or take the lead in matters related to experi-mental techniques as they interacted on the Wikispaces. Observations from data collected (see Table 4) indicated that the Singapore stu-dents offered advice and solutions to problems encountered, especially in the data collection or experimental stage. The USA students on theother hand contributed more in bringing fresh ideas to the platform for consideration, especially during the planning stage.

The data also indicated that the USA students were more avid readers than the Singapore students, as the former were observed to bemore prolific in uploading and sharing readings on the wiki page (see Table 4). Through their postings, the USA students also directed theSingapore students to specific parts of a research paper that contained ideas for their projects. At the focused group interviews, studentsindicated that all the efforts in harnessing one another's expertise brought about good alignment in the projects which was essential in


ensuring coherence in the final products of the collaboration, namely the research papers and the presentation slides (for use at theSingapore school's annual Projects Competition judging session). In addition to enhancing the quality of the students' projects, this strategyof working synergistically also brought about bilateral learning between the students from the East and West, thus making this researchcollaboration a winewin education venture.

4.2. Impacts of using the VLC for project work

4.2.1. Impact in the academic domainIn the current study, students were involved in intellectual exchanges through a multi-stage collaboration process (see Fig. 2) which led

to the construction of knowledge through their joint research that contributed to collective wisdom in the form of the research papers theyco-authored. A similar knowledge construction process was documented by Oliveira, Tinoca, and Pereira (2011). In Oliveira et al.'s (2011)study and the current study, students were involved in collaborative and project-based learning which resulted in knowledge construc-tion. However the students in the current study were provided with a specific virtual portal, namely Wikispaces, for their collaborativeinteractions and were required to submit stipulated products (research papers and presentation slides for judging) for grading while thestudents in Oliveira et al.'s (2011) study were given the freedom to decide over these aspects of their work. Although the students in thecurrent study were not given as much choice over the type of online platform to use and the types of products to create for submission, inboth studies students produced good quality work through their collaborative efforts.

The developmental process observed in the current study bears close resemblance to the framework for the development of collectivewisdom described by Gan and Zhu (2007). In the current study it was observed that the students were involved in three out of the four levelsof the development of collective wisdom (Gan & Zhu, 2007). These three levels involved providing students with access to ICT tools on avirtual platform that enabled them to work collaboratively, transfer and exchange information, and eventually construct knowledge thatadded to collective wisdom. The only level of the development of collective wisdom (Gan& Zhu, 2007) that was not observed in the currentstudy is that of engaging students in e-learning via online or distance education. This missing element of Gan and Zhu's framework is due tothe fact the collaboration research programme is by nature not a distance learning course. Despite this slight difference in the knowledgeconstruction process between the current and Gan and Zhu's studies, all the students involved in both studies gained cognitive benefits fromtheir interactions in the VLC. In the current study, these cognitive gains (in terms of the quality of their projects which were assessed at theSingapore school's annual Projects Competition event) were visible in the students' products that resulted from their collaborative researchefforts.

Although VLCs, like Wikispaces, have been documented to be used for project-based learning, they differed from the current study interms of the kinds of products created by the students. In the current study, the final products were joint science research papers andpresentation slides for judging. These types of products were not reported in the other studies reviewed in this paper. They illustrate theimpact of the VLC in the academic domain, visible through the quality of the students' research papers, which can be considered as theircontributions to the development of collective wisdom. Final products of collaboration reported in other studies include a collection of wikipages (Chua & Chua, 2008), jointly constructed information websites on a selected topic (Thomas & MacGregor, 2005), online scientificposters (Snelling & Karanicolas, 2008) and three-dimensional cultural houses (Ligorio & Van der Meijden, 2007).

4.2.2. Impacts in the non-academic domainBesides impacting on the academic aspects of the students' learning, students in the current study also reaped non-academic benefits

from the research collaboration programme. During the interviews, students indicated that the programme provided them with anexperience in global collaboration, and facilitated inter-cultural exchange (during the visits to each other's countries) and the forging ofinternational friendships. Similar experiences by students were described by Thomas and MacGregor (2005). They observed that thestudents in their study enjoyed meeting and working with people whom they did not know in the VLC, and eventually developed newfriendships. This impact of an international collaboration enhancing the cultural competencies of the students was also reported by Ertmeret al. (2011). They observed that pre-service teachers from USA, England, Russia, South Korea and Sweden, involved in an internationalproject collaboration managed to overcome the challenges posed by the diversity in culture and language barriers to work collaboratively.These studies and the current paper demonstrate the potential of enabling cultural exchanges through the use of wiki platforms overextended periods of online communication and collaboration. Such appreciation of differences in cultures and the ability to befriend andcollaborate with one another may aid in preparing students to work with an assortment of people in future endeavours. This is especiallyimportant in the global economy which many of our students are likely to enter as working adults.

4.3. Problems associated with using the VLC (Wikispaces) as a resource for project work

In the course of using the VLC for project work, students in the current study encountered a number of problems. The first concernsproblems that result from the structure of the platform on which the VLC was set, Wikispaces, and the other concerns user issues.

In the current study, students reflected that Wikispaces lack advanced organising and editing tools, which they felt affected its efficiencyas a VLC platform. One of the inadequacies was the lack of a tool to allow the user to organise or clean up the discussion threads, leading to aconfusion of the status of the discussion on the issue concerned. The students also felt thatWikispaces did not allow efficient organisation ofthe content and format of the wiki page that would enhance easy retrieval of information and documents.

In addition, students highlighted thatWikispaces posed some technical inconveniences such as the lack of a function that allows the userto post picture files or attach documents to a posting on the discussion forum. This resulted in the need to toggle back and forth betweenpostings on the discussion forum and documents uploaded on the wiki page which affected the efficiency of communicating ideas andopinions among the students. Another technical shortcoming of Wikispaces that students highlighted was the slow speed involved inuploading large files onto the wiki page.

Although wikis presented some inconveniences to users according to the students of the current study, their lack of sophistication hasbeen justified by others such as Larusson and Alterman (2009). Larusson and Alterman (2009) argued that the structural simplicity of wikis


make their demands for the IT skills of its users low, so that they can be used by people from a range of disciplines with ease. Theymaintained that this also enables users to focus more on the content of their work and in developing the product of their collaboration. Inthe current study, the Singapore students already had the experience of using Wikispaces in their school for online lessons, hence they didnot have any issues using the platform for the collaboration project with the USA students. In contrast, the USA students did not have anyprior experience in using the Wikispaces. In view of this, teachers, who accompanied the Singapore students to the USA school for the firstface-to-face meeting at the beginning of the collaboration programme conducted a short session to brief the USA students on the essentialfunctions of Wikispaces. The Singapore students then followed up by providing their USA partners with further guidance during the courseof the collaboration to ease them into the use of the platform. As Wikispaces is a relatively user-friendly and simple platform, students fromboth sides of the collaboration did not have many problems associated with its use.

The lack of advanced organising and editing tools on Wikispaces affects the efficiency of this VLC platform in serving as a resource forproject work. The absence of these tools leads to difficulties in locating the most recently uploaded files, and these difficulties increase inquantity during the course of collaboration. Additionally, it becomes challenging for students to check on the status of their discussions asthe number of postings increases in a discussion thread over time.

In the current study, it was observed that the efficiency of the VLC as a resource in project work can be influenced by the sluggish re-sponses of the users (team members) to online postings. During the course of collaboration, some students in the current study reportedthat their partners were slow in making responses to their postings on Wikispaces. This caused a delay in the decision-making processwhich in turn affected the progress of the project at times. One reason that contributed to the sluggish responses was the differences inschool schedules between the students. As observed from Fig. 2, the USA students started working on the project in November Y1, after thevisit by their Singapore partners. During this period up to Dec(Y1), the Singapore students were having their school holidays. Hence, the USAstudents had some difficulties contacting their Singapore partners during the holiday period as they might have gone off for holidays withtheir families. The same thing happened when the Singapore students tried contacting their USA partners during the May-July Y2 periodwhich is the time when the USA students went on their summer breaks. Although there were some delays in communication, the studentsstill managed to work around each other's schedules, provided responses were prompt when both schools were in session.

Students in other studies also made the point that overcoming the issue of sluggish responses was a concern that needed addressing(Jamaludin & Quek, 2006; Thomas & MacGregor, 2005). In addition, the current study and Wang's (2009) study indicate that inadequatecommunication among team members adversely affects the progress of the projects. Progress of the projects was adversely affected whenthe teams in both studies failed to communicate efficiently and promptly in their VLCs.

5. Limitations

The current research was confined to a small group of students. Due to the demanding nature of the programme, it was only offered to avery small selected group of high ability students, and these students formed a 100% sample population for this study. In addition, as theSingapore school only had boys in its secondary section, the Singapore sample did not contain any girls. In contrast, there was a mix of girlsand boys in the USA sample.

Concerns for transferability and reliability of the current study have been addressed, to the best of the researcher's ability, through theuse of multiple sources of data to enable triangulation and member checks. In addition, an audit trail was maintained throughout theresearch process. The transferability and relevance of the findings of the current study is left to the reader to decide bearing in mind that allparticipants were high ability science students and hence may not apply to students who are less able.

6. Recommendations

Recommendations for practice and further research, based on the findings from the current study, are presented as follows.

6.1. Recommendations for practice

The following recommendations, constructed based on the interview responses of the students, are offered for consideration by otherscontemplating future collaboration programmes in educational settings:

a) As a resource for project work, a VLC platform should have a comprehensive range of functions or tools that enable resource-sharing andretrieval, effective communication (both asynchronous and synchronous) and co-construction of products among members. Studentsbelieve that these provisions would enhance their work efficiency and the quality of their projects. The students felt that synchronouscommunication would allow discussions where quick decisions are needed as responses from both parties are instant. Although theyare in vastly different time zones, synchronous communication can still be carried out over weekends during which common “meetingtime” on the virtual platform can be arranged.

b) With the recommendations to include more tools/functions on the VLC platform it would be essential to provide students with suf-ficient training on the use of these tools/functions so that the challenges posed in using the platform can be reduced. Once equippedwith the ICT skills to use the platform, students would not only be more inclined to use the portal, they would also be able to focus moreon the demands of the project.

c) Face-to-face meetings should be a feature, if possible, in cross-border collaborations among students as they facilitate the formation ofgood working relations among students. Such meetings, not reported in the works reviewed in this paper, allowed the collaboratingstudents from both schools in the current study to know each other by face. Students in the current study indicated that they felt agreater sense of familiarity during subsequent online communications after the initial meeting. They also added that the meeting pavedthe way for the development of good working relations among them and gave them an opportunity to learn about each other's culturesduring their partners' stay in their homes during the visit.

Fig. 3. The VLC (Wikispaces) as a resource for project work.


It should, however be noted, that some students may prefer to communicate via other virtual means due to their personal preferences aswith group four in this study, who used the platform occasionally. Schools may stipulate the extent of usage of the platform by studentsaccording to their requirements. If documentation on the platform and extent of usage of the platform are graded to evaluate or trackstudents' performance in project work, schools should make this clear to students so that they would use the platform as per the schools'requirement.

6.2. Recommendations for future research

Findings of the current study described how students used a VLC for project work in a cross-border research collaboration programme.Many more aspects of this type of project-based learning await exploration to present readers with a greater understanding of the phe-nomenon. The following recommendations are worth consideration for future research.

a) Further research is recommended to identify factors that affect the success of cross-border student research collaboration. These factorscould include:

� Quality or availability of teacher or external mentorship to the project groups;� Nature of students' projects;� Age, gender and abilities of students involved in the programme;� Availability of resources to the students such as laboratory facilities, materials required for experiments and relevant readings; and� Differences in schedules between collaborating students which in turn affect the amount of time students have to carry out theproject.

b) The roles of teachers in student research collaborations, involving schools in the East and West, can be studied to contribute to thelimited pool of literature which may be of value to schools who wish to set up similar programmes. In the current study, althoughteachers on both sides of the collaboration provided guidance to the students of their respective countries involved in the collaborationprogramme, they rarely or never participated in the online exchanges on the VLC platform.


c) Further research can be carried out using different VLC platforms, other thanWikispaces, for science research collaborative projects thatinvolve overseas partners. This may enable a comparison of the effectiveness of different VLC platforms in serving as a resource forsimilar programmes. Findings from the comparison of the effectiveness of two or more different VLC platforms as a resource for in-ternational science research project collaboration programmes, and the types of interaction among the students on the selectedplatforms can aid in matching the working styles or abilities of users to the capabilities of the platforms so that an appropriate choice ofa VLC platform may be made for use in programmes of similar nature.

7. Conclusion

The findings of this study provided insights as to how the students of a Singapore secondary school and those of a USA high schoolworked collaboratively, using a VLC (Wikispaces), to contribute to collective wisdom through writing joint science research papers. It wasobserved that students used the VLC for twomain purposes: as a platform for communication to discuss issues and update progress on theirprojects, and as a repository to share resources. In general, students found the VLC useful for their research collaboration which impactedthem positively in the academic and non-academic domains. Fig. 3 summarises how the students used the VLC as a resource for projectwork.

The authors observed that the international science research collaboration between the Singapore and USA schools was a winewinprogramme that enabled both schools to take their research programmes to greater heights to nurture their young science talents. It alsoenabled both schools to achieve the desired outcomes of several educational policy initiatives of their countries. In addition, this collab-oration is likely to spark off future working relations that can lead to the formation of partnerships rather than competition among thestudents from the two countries.

The use of a VLC for research projects has been reported by other scholars in a small number of studies that involved internationalstudent collaborations at the secondary level (Ligorio & Van der Meijden, 2007; Wang, Poole, Harris, & Wangermann, 2001). Other reportson the use a VLC for students' research collaboration at the secondary level involved students of different schools within the same country(Case & Miller, 1999; Musante, 2006; Underwood et al., 2007). In contrast to the current study, all these studies documented the use of aVLC for non-science projects and did not involve laboratory work. The current study stands out in that it reports on a science researchcollaboration between secondary school students from the East and the West where students tapped each other's expertise to enhancethe quality of their projects. To the knowledge of the authors of this paper, this type of study presents a rare case of East-West scienceresearch collaboration among secondary school students which has not been reported by other investigators. Hence, the findings of thecurrent study have the potential to serve as valuable information for anyone who plans to set up a student collaboration programme of asimilar nature.

APPENDIX A. Interview schedule

Guiding research questions Questions in interview schedule

1a) What are the aims of the students, involved inthe Singapore-USA research collaboration, withregard to using the virtual learning community(VLC) as a resource for project work? Whatreasons do they give for their aims?

1. What do you understand by the term “virtual learning community (VLC)”?2. What do you hope to achieve through using the VLC for your project

work? Why?Probe: Any other aims you hope to achieve, why?3. How do you think the VLC can help you achieve your aims, at different

stages of your project, as you carry out your project? Why?Probe: Can you explain more about …?4. Did you expect the VLC to be more useful to you at any stage of your project?

Probe: Any reasons why it was more useful at ________ stage of your project? How didthe VLC help during this stage of your project?

1b) How does the nature of their postings on the VLCplatform change as they progress through differentstages of their project work?

1. What were some examples of types of questions you asked at differentstages of your project? Probe: What else?

2. In what ways is it helpful to ask different questions at different stagesof your project work?

Probe: Anything else?3. What impact do these questions have on your project at different stages

of your project work? Probes: Can you explain a little more about …4. How did your postings change during the course of your project? Any

changes from asking questions to giving comments/advice or makinga statement, for example? What impact do such changes have atdifferent stages of your project?

5. Did you find any particular provision/tool on the VLC platformparticularly effective in helping you obtain the answers to yourquestions? What? Why? How? Probes: Was there another one?

(continued on next page)

(continued )

Guiding research questions Questions in interview schedule

2a) What strategies do the students say they havefor realising their aims?

1. What were some ways you used the VLC as a resource for project work?(Researcher provided some examples when students were unsure:for posting questions, resources (repository of what kinds of resources(readings, pictures, videos etc.), as discussion platform, as a place to seekanswers to questions or seek advice, as a means to track progressof group etc.?)

2. How did the ways you used the VLC help you as you work throughdifferent stages of your project? Probe: What else? Can you describehow …?

3. What are some of the changes you have made on the VLC platformas you progressed through the different stages in your project? Probe:Another change?

4. What are the reasons for your decision to make these changes?Probe:Anyother reasons?

5. In what ways were the changes you made on the VLC significant orimportant in relation to your project? Probe: What other angles/importance?

2b) What intentions and reasons do they give forutilising those strategies?

1. What were your reasons for using the VLC the way you did at differentstages of your project?

2. What are the advantages of using the VLC as a resource for project work?3. What problems did you encounter while using the VLC? How did you

overcome these problems?

Probe: Can you think of another reason/advantage/problem?3) What do the students see as the significance of their aims

and their strategies, and what reasons can they give for this?1. How has using the VLC impacted your ways of carrying out your project

(science or math)? Give me an example.2. What changes in work schedule did the VLC bring? What was most

important? Why?3. In what ways was the VLC a useful resource for project work? In the

short term? In the long term, like in a year's time (e.g. useful to referback for some kind of information)?

4. In what ways was the interaction you had with your team matesbeneficial to your project? Why?

5. What did you enjoy about interacting with your team mates in the VLC?If you had to pick one thing, what did you enjoy most? What were somegreat moments? Any bad experiences, what were they? Why didn't youlike these?

4) What outcomes do the students expect frompursuing their aims and what reasons canthey give for this?

1. What do you expect to achieve through using the VLC during the project?How about in the long term?

2. What tools or resources were you hoping to find on the VLC platform?Why? How did these tools or resources help?

3. In what ways do you think the VLC has met your needs? Why?4. In what ways can the VLC be improved to serve your needs better?

Note: In this interview, the researcher explained to student participants that the platform which they have used on Wikispaces is a type of VLC platform. Hence VLC in thequestions is taken as an equivalent to Wikispaces.


Other questions:

1. Besides the VLC, did you use any other types of internet communication platform as a resource for your project? If so, what did you useand why? How were these types of communication platform useful to you?

2. Were the other types of communication platforms you used more effective than the VLC (Wikispaces)? Why?3. What do you like about the collaboration programme?4. What do you dislike about the collaboration programme?5. How can the collaboration programme be improved?

APPENDIX B. Summary list of research projects and awards obtained at the projects competition held at the Singapore school

Project #1: Electrospinning of hybrid polymers to mimic spider dragline silk (Distinction)

In this project students made hybrid polymers using keratin and elastin through electrospinning to create a material that has propertiessimilar to spider silk. The hybrid polymers are expected to have high tensile strength and extensibility, making them potential materials formanufacturing bandages, ropes, surgical threads, and artificial tendons and ligaments.

Project # 2: Investigating the anti-fungal properties of subterranean termites (higher distinction)

Attempts weremade by students to extract the body fluids (hemolymph) of termites to study their anti-fungal properties. Findings showthat the bacteria present in the termite hemolymph were the source of anti-fungal activities.


Project # 3: Investigating the effects of Cissus quadrangularis and IGF-1on the production of collagen in animal fibroblast cells (higherdistinction)

Collagen production is essential for recovery from joint injuries. Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) has been reported to stimulatecollagen production. In this project, students investigated the possibility of enhancing the effect of IGF-1 on collagen production in animalfibroblast cells, through the addition of an extract prepared from an Indian herb Cissus quadrangularis.

Project # 4: Investigation of the use of Siderophores from Pseudomonas Genus to chelate heavy metal ions (higher distinction)

Siderophores are compounds secreted by microbes such as bacteria. They have high affinity for heavy metal compounds. In this project,students obtained siderophores from Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens and studied their abilities to chelate heavy metalions of lead, iron copper, nickel and zinc. Findings may be valuable for consideration in the development of a solution to environmentalpollution by heavy metals.

Project # 5: Elucidating acute-phase cancer responsive proteins from horseshoe crabs (distinction)

This project explores the possibility of using blood proteins of horseshoe crabs to treat cancer. Students extracted proteins from the bloodof horseshoe crabs and sequenced them to identify peptides that may be used in cancer treatments or for cancer detection.

Project # 6: Effects of herbal extracts on C. elegans with neuromuscular disorders (higher distinction)

In this project, students carried out a study on the abilities of selected herbal extracts to slow down or inhibit neuromuscular disorders inC. elegans (roundworms). The rate at which the roundworms move and their path of movement were used as indicators of the neuro-muscular activities in the worms subjected to herbal treatments.

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