Interventions and Student Factors in Collaboration

This research is an exploratory study of student variables that mediate collaborative engagement in online discussions. More directly, the research explores what happens in online discussions when four teacher interventions designed to increase collaboration are introduced. The specific aim of the study is increasing collaboration that is ‘externally-revealed’ through engagement with others, especially at the integration level of Garrison, Anderson and Archer’s (2001) practical inquiry model. The secondary aim of the study is to address the problem of serial monologues in student online discussions and participation. The findings yield factors that impact student online collaboration such as student familiarity with the subject matter and with the online medium; purpose and timing of online engagement; importance of face-saving; and student acceptance of the ‘constructed knower’ role. The research sets the stage for future studies of online collaboration from a pedagogical perspective.