Redesigning the Classroom Environment to Enhance Students’ Collaborative Learning Activities

This study explores the situation of basic level community school boy and girl students’ science and health learning through collaborative culture. Fifth, sixth and seventh-grade students (both boys and girls) took part in this study. As per the aim of this study, a set of questionnaire was developed and administered to the sampled students. Two hundred and fifty-eight students were selected from the sampled school using the census sampling technique. All the students were involved in collaborative learning activities such as building trust and open communication, establishing group interaction, respect diversity and sharing creative ideas based on the basic level science and health curriculum aiming at promoting inquiry learning through collaboration. A quantitative analysis involving the use of the Chi-square test at 0.05 level of significance, Likelihood ratio and Somer’s symmetric was conducted to see the association between the variables. The results showed that science and health collaborative learning activities by gender were not associated significantly. There was no statistically significant difference (α=0.05) between the variables studied. The findings showed a weak association with gender and collaborative science and health learning activities in the classrooms.

Computer programming is a subject that requires problem-solving strategies and involves a great number of programming logic activities which pose challenges for learners. Therefore, providing learning support and guidance is important. Collaborative learning is widely believed to be an effective teaching approach; it can enhance learners’ social interaction and offer a learning environment which provides rich learning experiences. However, the social interaction in collaborative learning does not occur automatically. Without proper guidance strategies or supporting tools for collaborative learning, the learning effects can be disappointing. To solve such a problem, a problem posing-based practicing strategy was proposed to support the development of a collaborative learning activity in a computer programming practice course. The students were guided to raise computer programming problems to boost the discussion among team members. The problems raised in each team were then exchanged and solved by another team to examine the coding and to provide feedback. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted in a C# programming course. Two classes of students from a university participated in the experiment. One class with 25 students was randomly assigned as the experimental group, and learned with a collaborative learning activity using the problem posing-based practicing strategy; the other class with 28 students was the control group, which learned with a conventional collaborative learning activity. The results show that the proposed strategy benefited the students in terms of improving their learning achievement, in particular, their programming skills. Moreover, it was found that the students who learned with the proposed approach had higher self-efficacy and lower cognitive load than those who learned with the conventional collaborative learning approach.

Analyzing collaborative interactions: divergence, shared understanding and construction of knowledge

Enhancing University Students’ Extensive Reading Outcomes: Integrating Motivation, Technology, and Collaborative Active Learning. Objective: This study aimed to enhance students’ outcomes in the Extensive Reading course by integrating motivation, technology, and Collaborative Active Learning (CAL) into the learning process. It was conducted in response to low student achievement and to address the research gap, since few studies have comprehensively explored the combined role of motivation, technology, and CAL in improving extensive reading performance. Methods: The study involved 49 third-semester English Education students in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, using a mixed-method approach. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design, along with semi-structured interviews, was employed. The experimental group (n = 25) received the intervention, while the control group (n = 24) followed traditional methods. The intervention lasted for 14 weeks, beginning with a pre-test in week 1, followed by the intervention from weeks 2 to 15, and a post-test in week 16. Interviews were conducted with six purposively selected students (three high-achieving and three low-achieving) to support the quantitative findings. A paired samples t-test was used to analyze the data. Findings: The results showed that the integration of motivation, technology, and collaborative active learning significantly improved students' learning outcomes for the Extensive Reading course in the experimental group (pre-test mean: 41.32; post-test mean: 66.64; p <0.001), while the control group showed no change. Interview data revealed that technology and collaboration enhanced motivation and engagement among students in the experimental group, whereas the control group reported low motivation and limited support. Conclusion: Policymakers should support digital literacy initiatives, teachers should implement collaborative and technology-based reading activities, and universities should integrate these approaches into their curriculum design to enhance the success of extensive reading. Keywords: integration, motivation, technology, collaborative active learning, extensive reading, higher education.

This paper focuses on Collaborative Virtual Learning Environments, examining the state of the art in both open source and proprietary software. Issues pertaining to the use of open source CVLEs are discussed and a collaborative learning activity in Second Life is presented. Evaluation results assess the appropriateness of the Second Life platform in executing collaborative learning scenarios, and reveal the students’ reactions to a novel didactical approach.

Learning management systems (LMSs) provide their users with the appropriate environments and tools to author, monitor and engage in collaborative learning activities. The unstructured collaboration spaces and the domain-independent interfaces of those platforms, pose restrictions to the analysis and the evaluation of the collaboration learning process. In this work is presented the design of an advising system, which aims to guide the users of the collaborative activities in a lesson in a LMS, by issuing recommendations and advices on the collaborative learning process. The system uses a fuzzy model to evaluate the learning behaviors of the learners and groups in the collaborative activities across several dimensions. An intelligent agent issues advices and recommendations to the learners and groups of the lesson based on their learning behaviors. The system aims to facilitate management of the collaborative activities in a LMS, by advising the instructors on the design of the collaborative learning experiences and also the learners on self-regulating their learning behaviors. The intelligent system has been partially developed using the Java Agent Development Framework (JADE) for the collaborative activities of Learning Activity Management System (LAMS).

Abstract
 In this global age, it is of critical importance for future workforces to possess both higher intellectual and social competencies crucially sustaining their careers. In accord with this fact, second language educators engaging in worldwide second language learning circumstances have taken a critical stance to promote collaborative learning activities earlier in senior high school contexts to maximize these future generations’ potentials in terms of problem-solving, critical thinking, social, and conflict resolution skills. This was a qualitative study conducted in a narrative way to decipher the observed recurring phenomenon accurately based on people’s stories and experiences. Open-ended interviews were also utilized in this study to obtain more natural and authentic portrayals regarding the stories told by participants. 2 EFL teachers having different expertise and experiences in running collaborative learning activities in distinctive Senior High School Contexts were also involved in this study to yield richer and reliable results out of the data gathered. The study revealed that collaborative learning activities will run more efficiently when supportive learning assistances are extensively addressed and a higher degree of reverence occurred among diverse group members. 
 Keywords: EFL Teachers’ Perspectives, Collaborative Learning Activities, Senior High School Contexts

\n Increase both students motivation and learning outcomes in Collaborative Learning (CL) activities is a challenge that the Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) community has been addressing in the past last years. The use of CSCL scripts to structure and orchestrate the CL process has been shown to be effective to support meaningful interactions and better learning, but the scripted collaboration often does not motivate students to participate in the CL process, which makes more difficult the use of scripts over time in CL activities. To deal with the motivational problems, the researchers, educators and practitioners are now looking at gamification as a solution to motivate and engage students. However, the gamification is a complex task, requiring from instructional designers and practitioners, knowledge about game elements (such as leaderboards and point systems), game design (e.g. how to combine game elements) and their impact on motivation, engagement and learning. Moreover, the gamification is too context-dependent, requiring personalization for each participant and situation. Thus, to address these issues, an ontological engineering approach to gamify CL sessions has been proposed and conducted in this dissertation. In this approach, an ontology has been formalized to enable the systematic representation of knowledge extracted from theories and best practices related to gamification. In this ontology, the concepts, extracted from practices and theories related to gamification, and identified as relevant to deal with the motivational problems in scripted collaborative learning, have been formalized as ontological structures to be used by computer-based mechanisms and procedures in intelligent-theory aware systems. These mechanisms and procedures with ontological structures aim to provide support to give advices and recommendations that will help instructional designers and practitioners to gamify CL sessions. To validate this approach, and to demonstrate its effectiveness and efficiency into deal with the motivational problems in scripted collaborative learning, four empirical studies were conducted in real situations at the University of São Paulo with undergraduate Computer Science and Computer Engineering students. The results of the empirical studies demonstrated that, for CL activities where the CSCL scripts are used as a method to orchestrate and structure the CL process, the ontological engineering approach to gamify CL scenarios is an effective and efficient solution to deal with the motivational problems because the CL sessions obtained by this approach affected in a proper way the participants motivation and learning outcomes.\n

Current efforts on Computer Support Collaborative Learning (CSCL) include the design of computational models of collaborative learning interaction such as to improve support guidance to human participation. However, during collaborative learning activities, the interaction process among learners is too complex and it is difficult for teachers or designers to analyze and measure learning effects. Computational models of collaborative learning interaction have been known as a method that provide functional computer-based representations to help educators understand, explain, and identify patterns of group behavior and hence support group learning processes. The aim of this paper is to give an overview on three computational models of learner’s interaction and support possibilities afforded by the various types of computational models of collaborative learning processes. This paper demonstrates how these models can be used to study the nature of interaction patterns within collaborative learning in e-learning

Collaborative Learning is a process of constructing knowledge through interaction with peers. In general, Collaborative learning is an instructional method involving and interaction between learners, it also involving cooperation and interaction between learners with software support. In specific, Collaborative learning is a computer mediated communication as a mode of course delivery. With the tremendous invention of smart devices in recent years, mere lecture is not sufficient to fulfil the needs and expectations of the learners. Incorporating Active Learning Strategies (ALS) with the teaching methodologies is needed in the curriculum. This study aims to explore the activity Collaborative Learning in an elective course among undergraduate students in the Information Technology. The participants included in this study are 176 students in the Information Technology branch from Thiagarajar College of Engineering. Collaborative learning is assessed by four methods of assessment: Individual, Group, Formative and Summative. At the end of the course feedback questionnaire is designed for the Collaborative Learning activity. Two control groups are created: one group with collaborative learning activity implementation and the other group without collaborative learning activity implementation. Three research questions are framed in order to know the implications of the activity. From the assessment and feedback we come to the conclusion “Collaborative Learning” works well. By incorporating Collaborative learning in the curriculum, Course Outcomes are also attained to the maximum level when compared to the previous batch of students.

Since Shulman (1986b) argued that pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) should be a significant indicator of teacher knowledge for quality teaching, PCK has received enormous attention from researchers in the teacher education field. Nevertheless, little empirical and theoretical attention has been given to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ PCK growth in teachers’ collaborative learning activities (Li et al., 2021). In practice, collaborative learning groups for EFL teachers are often adopted as an effective teacher learning activity as it always integrates observations and discussions of real EFL teaching practices such as English teaching pedagogies and subject matters, for example. However, how EFL teachers’ collaborative learning promotes their PCK growth is less explored by empirical or theoretical studies and some teacher professional growth models. Therefore, this review will mainly discuss via existing literature how EFL teachers could increase their PCK in collaborative learning based on one particular teacher professional growth model, called the Interconnected Model of Professional Growth (IMPG) summarized by Clarke and Hollingsworth (2002). Since IMPG only generally summarizes teachers’ professional growth, this article aims to specifically elaborate the various trajectories of EFL teachers’ PCK growth. The significant role of three essential factors, namely, EFL teachers’ initiatives to learn/share, reciprocal mindset, and reflective dialogues in EFL teachers’ PCK development are stated in the paper. Several recommendations are made to EFL teachers, EFL teacher trainers, and EFL education programs.

This paper discusses the proposed model of the collaborative virtual learning system for the introductory computer programming course which uses one of the collaborative learning techniques known as the “Think-Pair-Share”. The main objective of this study is to design a model for an online learning system that facilitates the collaborative learning activities in a virtual environment such as online communications and pair or small group discussions. In order to model the virtual learning environment, the RUP methodology has been used where it involves the data collection phase and the analysis and design phase. Fifty respondents have been randomly selected to participate in the data collection phase to investigate the students’ interest and learning styles as well as their learning preferences. The results have shown the needs for the development of online small group discussions that can be used as an alternative learning style for programming courses. The proposed design of the virtual learning system named as the Online Collaborative Learning System or OCLS is being depicted using the objectoriented models which are the use-case model and class diagram in order to show the concise processes of virtual “Think-Pair-Share” collaborative activities. The “Think-PairShare” collaborative learning technique that is being used in this model has been chosen because of its simplicity and relatively low-risk. This paper also presents the proposed model of the system’s architecture that will become the guidelines for the physical development of OCLS using the web-based applications.

Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is a pedagogical approach wherein learning takes place via social interaction using a computer or through the Internet. This kind of learning is characterized by the sharing and construction of knowledge among participants. This knowledge is shared through communication technologies embedded in CSCL systems. However in the context of globalization and the expansion of the internet and Information Technology (IT), communication becomes intercultural, so a complex and important dimension is added to CSCL and brings a new type of knowledge, socio-cultural knowledge, that needs to be shared and then presents new challenges. Therefore, in intercultural collaborative learning settings, we need to get and ensure better interaction, to get better learning. Better interaction is reached by promoting motivation to learn in groups, and this is obtained by enhancing user satisfaction which is achieved by the development of tailored CSCL tools to each user according to her socio-cultural background. Adapting the CSCL system to the culture of each participant will allow and facilitate group decision-making in the collaborative learning activity, as we take into account socio-cultural specificities of each learner, this latter will be more comfortable with the system and the other learners, and can collaborate with them to make decisions about the collaborative solution. So this article addresses the challenges started up by this context, which is how to consider socio-cultural specificities of each learner.

Most existing software tools for online collaboration are designed to support the collaboration itself instead of the study of collaboration with a systematic team and task management system. In this report, we identify six important features for a platform to facilitate the study of online collaboration. We then introduce the Educational Testing Service Platform for Collaborative Assessment and Learning (EPCAL), which was developed to encompass these features to enable both large‐scale online collaboration itself and the research on these collaborations. The collaboration management features of the EPCAL also make it an ideal tool for teachers to carry out computer‐supported collaborative learning and assessment activities in classroom settings.

Empowering collaborative knowledge construction through the implementation of a collaborative argument map tool