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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Scripted Collaboration and Group‐Based Variations in a Higher Education CSCL Context

subject

description

Scripting student activities is one way to make Computer‐Supported Collaborative Learning more efficient. This case study examines how scripting guided student group activities and also how different groups interpreted the script; what kinds of roles students adopted and what kinds of differences there were between the groups in terms of their activities. Seven small groups of higher education students participated in the study. According to the findings, scripting enhanced collaboration and ensured that all groups were able to complete the task, but despite the script the groups' activities varied during the task and the script could not guarantee any “high‐level” participation by all students so that there were some “free riders” and “ghosts” within some of the groups. This study is supported by the Life as Learning research programme (LEARN) of the Academy of Finland (project no. 200167). We thank, Dr Marja‐Kirstiina Lerkkanen, Professor Pierre Dillenbourg and Professor Paivi Hakkinen.