Collaboration script
A collaboration script is a software system in computer-aided collaborative learning (CSCL) , which is intended to facilitate collaborative knowledge construction through suitable structuring . They are based on the scripted collaboration approach of O'Donnel and Dansereau (1992) and follow the basic assumption that free collaboration is in many cases not effective enough.
O'Donnel and Dansereau define a collaboration script as a set of instructions that specify how group members should interact, how they should work together, and how they should solve the problem.
A collaboration script is intended to promote or force activities that facilitate or improve the acquisition of domain knowledge, but which are rarely carried out by the participants of their own accord. Furthermore, disturbing influences, such as. B. Discussions outside of the topic are reduced.
Types of scripts
There are two types of scripts:
Micro-scripts
Micro-scripts are very fine-grained and offer the user very precise guidance within the process (for example when arguing). There is a psychological approach behind the micro-scripts . The aim is to ensure that the users internalize the processes in the script and, over time, follow the processes even without script support.
Macro scripts
Macro scripts follow an educational approach. The focus here is on the sequencing of the individual activities.
Tasks of a script
On the one hand, the script takes on the leadership of the participants through the process and, through given structures, exerts a certain pressure on the participants to design the learning process according to a certain pattern. This is done through, among other things
- Forms that provide a specific structure
- Predefined sentence starts
- Tools for a specific work method
Furthermore, the script also
- the composition of the groups
- the distribution of roles
- the backup and dissemination of the results
- the distribution of tasks
- the provision of the materials
- the timing
accepted.
Roles in the script
The participants take on given roles within the script (e.g. moderator, representative of a certain opinion, etc.). This role makes the participant aware of what behavior and what results are expected of him. There are two types of roles:
Induced roles
Induced roles are given by the script. You will be supported by other roles e.g. B. separated by restricting access to resources, documents and tools. Furthermore, they can also be defined by explicitly transferring responsibilities.
Natural roles
Natural roles pick up on differences that the participants already bring with them. These include B. the gender, the nationality, the level of knowledge in a certain area or opinions on a certain topic.
Phases
The properties and effects of scripts depend on which phases they go through and how these are structured.
A phase takes place either individually, in a group or in the entirety of the participants (class). The phases are characterized by
- the nature of the task
- the group composition
- the distribution of work
- the way of interaction
- the time management
Group composition
The learning process can be promoted by the way the groups are put together. Different variants are conceivable depending on the task at hand. The criteria for grouping are divided into external and internal criteria.
External criteria
- Friendship
- Skill level
- Areas of knowledge
- geographical or cultural background
Internal criteria
- Behavior of the students in the script
- "Products" of the students in previous phases
SWISH design principle
Pierre Dillenbourg formulates the acronym SWISH as the design principle for scripts: "Split Where Interaction Should Happen". It states that in order to achieve interaction between them, you have to pull the participants apart.
However, this approach is only borrowed from practice and not theoretically founded.
Reusability
Most scripts have so far only been tailored to a special software environment and can therefore hardly be reused in other contexts. Under the direction of Pierre Dillenbourg, there is currently an attempt at EPFL Lausanne under the title ManyScripts to create a uniform platform for reusable scripts.
The software developed there offers four different script types as a framework. An authoring tool is included for the teaching staff with which the script templates can be edited. The participants can then execute the scripts and work with them in a runtime environment.
criticism
The user interfaces provided by the scripts are sometimes too complex for technical laypeople. This affects the learning success. Even with learners who already proceed in a very structured manner, losses were recorded when using scripts.
literature
- Weinberger, A., Reiserer, M., Ertl, B., Fischer, F., & Mandl, H. (2005). Facilitating collaborative knowledge construction in computer-mediated learning environments with cooperation scripts.
- Kobbe, L., Weinberger, A., Dillenbourg, P., Harrer, A., Hämäläinen, R., Häkkinen, P., Fischer, F. (2007). Specifying computer-supported collaboration scripts
- Dillenbourg, P., Hong, F. (2008). The mechanics of CSCL macro scripts
- Harrer, A., Malzahn, N. (2006). Bridging the gap - towards a graphical modeling language for learning designs and collaboration scripts of various granularities.
- Dillenbourg, P. (2002). Over-scripting CSCL: The risks of blending collaborative learning with instructional design