Facilitating online project collaboration - new directions for learning design

Authors

  • Inez Estelle Harker-Schuch Department of Plant and Environmental Science University of Copenhagen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2721-8598
  • Henrik Bregnhøj Det Sundhedsvidenskabelige Fakultet Københavns Universitet
  • Victoria Jae Chuang Department of Plant and Environmental Science University of Copenhagen
  • Peter Furu Department of Public Health University of Copenhagen
  • Ingelise Andersen Institut for Folkesundhedsvidenskab Københavns Universitet
  • Christian Bugge Henriksen Department of Plant and Environmental Science University of Copenhagen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2890-4522

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7146/lom.v9i16.24411

Keywords:

Online learning, Learning design, project collaboration

Abstract

Although research suggests that project collaboration supports deep learning, facilitators frequently face participation and engagement challenges – particularly in 100% online courses and/or courses with students from diverse geographical/cultural backgrounds.  We present our experiences with learning designs featuring online project collaboration by examining student evaluation of the group work component in the course ‘Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation’ and reviewing specific process reports from the course ‘Environmental Management in the Tropics’.  For the CCIAM we discern positive trends over the 2009-2012 period with ‘collaborative dynamics’, ‘organisation/coordination’, ‘burden sharing’ and practical knowledge’ showing significant improvements following revision.  We provide experience from revising the CCIAM course (responding to evaluations) - and reflect on the results that such revisions engender.  Determining specific factors that contribute to improvements in student evaluations are not always clear but we offer suggestions for facilitating online project collaboration to circumnavigate the four above-mentioned major issues identified on the CCIAM course: these suggestions are peer assessment, mandatory participation, and grading (as a contribution to the overall final grade).  For EMiT ‘communication’ showed the strongest issue-signal – with organization/coordination ‘cultural issues’ and ‘learning outcomes’ also indicating issue-relevance..  We propose that learning designs for online project collaboration can be improved via teacher-facilitated interventions without undermining the socialisation pathways that students can find motivating and that promote online team building.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anderson, T., & Anderson, T. (2009). The Theory and Practice of Online Learning (5th ed.). Book, AU Press, Athabasca University.

Biasutti, M. (2011). The student experience of a collaborative e-learning university module. Computers & Education Journal, 57, 1865–1875. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.04.006

Boud, D., Cohen, R., & Sampson, J. (2014). Peer Learning in Higher Education: Learning from and with Each Other. Psychology Press.

Curtis, D. D., & Lawson, M. J. (2001). Exploring collaborative online learning. JALN, 5(1).

Diamond, J. (1997). Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W.W. Norton & Company.

Garrison, D. R. (2011). E-Learning in the 21st Century: A Framework for Research and Practice. Taylor and Francis.

Goodfellow, R., & Lamy, M.-N. (2009). Learning Cultures in Online Education. A&C Black.

Hernández-Sellés, N., González-Sanmamed, M., & Muñoz-Carril, P. C. (2014). Planning Collaborative Learning in Virtual Environments. Comunicar, 21(42), 25–33. http://doi.org/10.3916/C42-2014-02

Janes, G. (2006). Addressing the learning needs of multidisciplinary students at a distance using a virtual learning environment (VLE): A novice teacher reflects. Nurse Educ Pract, 6(2), 87–97. Journal Article. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2005.09.003

Joham, C., & Clarke, M. (2012). Teaching critical management skills: the role of problem-based learning. Teaching in Higher Education, 17(1), 75–88. Journal Article. http://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2011.590975

John Rae Carole Roberts, G. T. (2004). Collaborative Learning: A connected community for learning and knowledge management. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, 3(3), 225–233.

John R Savery, T. M. D. (1994). Problem Based Learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework (Report). Centre for research on learning and technology.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2003). Assessing Students in Groups: Promoting Group Responsibility and Individual Accountability. Corwin Press.

Jonassen, D. H., & Ronrer-murphy, L. (1999). Activity Theory as a Framework for Designing Constructivist Learning Environments [ ], 47(I), 61–79.

Katzenbach, J., & Smith, D. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. Harvard Business Press.

Ku, H. Y., Tseng, H. W., & Akarasriworn, C. (2013). Collaboration factors, teamwork satisfaction, and student attitudes toward online collaborative learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 922–929. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.12.019

Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Philosophical Review (Vol. II). http://doi.org/10.1119/1.1969660

Salmon, G. (2000). E-moderating: The key to teaching and learning online (2nd ed.). Book, London: Taylor & Francis Books Ltd.

Salmon, G., Nie, M., & Edirisingha, P. (2010). Developing a five-stage model of learning inSecond Life. Educational Research, 52(2), 169–182. Journal Article. http://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2010.482744

Stegmann, K., Wecker, C., Weinberger, A., & Fischer, F. (2011). Collaborative argumentation and cognitive elaboration in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. Instructional Science, 40(2), 297–323. Journal Article. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-011-9174-5

Tolstoy, L. (1875). Anna Karenina.

Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Zhu, C. (2012). Student Satisfaction , Performance , and Knowledge Construction in Online. Journal of Educational Technology Society, 15, 127–136. Retrieved from http://www.ifets.info/journals/15_1/12.pdf

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2016-11-04

How to Cite

Harker-Schuch, I. E., Bregnhøj, H., Chuang, V. J., Furu, P., Andersen, I., & Henriksen, C. B. (2016). Facilitating online project collaboration - new directions for learning design. Tidsskriftet Læring Og Medier (LOM), 9(16). https://doi.org/10.7146/lom.v9i16.24411

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 16 (2016): Learning design i praksis – cases og erfaringer fra online- og blended learning

Section

Articles

License



Articles published in the Journal of Learning and Media are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 Unported Licens.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication; simultaneously articles are licensend under the Creative Commons Attribution license: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerviatives (by-nc-nd). Read about this license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

---

At LOM.dk, you will also find articles from the discontinued Journal for the Continuing and Further Education of the Danish Universities (UNEV). Note that special rules apply to UNEV articles:

It is the authors and any other copyright holder who have the copyright of articles published under the auspices of UNEV, and access to the articles is contingent on users acknowledging and complying with the associated legal guidelines:

  • Users may download and print one copy of any UNEV publication for private studies or research.
  • The redistribution of articles or the use of these for revenue-funded activities or commercial purposes are not allowed.
  • It is not allowed to distribute the URLs of UNEV articles.