< Back to previous page

Project

Optimization of technology-enhanced collaborative work in educational and professional context.

Although the value of collaborative problem solving (CPS) is widely recognized, successful teamwork is not guaranteed. Previous work in the field of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning has found that teachers in educational contexts and learning coaches in professional contexts often lack the knowledge about how CPS can best be taught. Moreover, the tools to support and objectively assess CPS are currently unavailable. This is problematic given that, in (Flemish) education, more teamwork creates additional challenges for teachers who are already faced with larger and more diverse groups of students. There is the need to investigate how technology can help to teach, effectively support and assess CPS in education as well as in professional contexts. The goal of this PhD-project is to first investigate the current state-of-the-art on supporting CPS by means of a literature review. Second, the project will focus on how we can evaluate the quality of collaboration based on a multimodal approach. Third, the PhD-project will set up different intervention studies to systematically investigate the effectiveness of specific tools to support the teaching, regulation and assessment of Collaborative Problem Solving (CPS) skills. The three tools that will be studied are: 1) a dashboard visualizing process variables to student peers and the learning coach; 2) a smart editor supporting the design of effective pedagogical scenarios, and 3) a smart group composition tool supporting in organizing and managing team processes. Overall, the research project aims to better understand the entire chain of preparation, playout and debriefing of a CPS lesson or training, and aims to results in evidence-based design guidelines for both the educational and professional context.

Date:15 Oct 2020 →  17 Jun 2021
Keywords:collaborative problem solving, Ambient learning spaces
Disciplines:Educational technology
Project type:PhD project