ERIC Number: EJ890970
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0883-0355
EISSN: N/A
Strategizing Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning toward Knowledge Building
Mukama, Evode
International Journal of Educational Research, v49 n1 p1-9 2010
The purpose of this paper is to explore how university students can develop knowledge in small task-based groups while acquiring hands-on computer skills. Inspired by the sociocultural perspective, this study presents a theoretical framework on co-construction of knowledge and on computer-supported collaborative learning. The participants were selected from student teachers in Rwanda after a training program on searching, retrieving and exploiting web-based literature. The findings show that university students working together in small groups to acquire hands-on computer skills can adopt one of three major learning patterns: individual-led, group-led or individual-group hybrid-led. Moreover, the results indicate that the group-led framework seems to create a supportive environment for knowledge building. Nevertheless, university students showed a need for teacher support to enable them to focus on criterion-referenced reflection to regulate their learning.
Descriptors: Student Teachers, Sociocultural Patterns, Foreign Countries, Computer Assisted Instruction, Cooperative Learning, College Students, Higher Education, Computer Literacy, Models, Competency Based Education, Experiential Learning, Computer Uses in Education, Educational Technology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Rwanda
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A