Role taking and conversational functions in a blended university course

Article Sidebar

PDF (Italian)
Published: Feb 10, 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17471/2499-4324/814
Keywords:
Collaborative learning, Role taking, Participation, Knowledge building, Educational Technology, Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL)

Main Article Content

Donatella Cesareni
Università di Roma "Sapienza", Roma
Stefano Cacciamani
Università della Valle d'Aosta, Aosta

Abstract

Role taking is an established technique that can foster group participation in online university courses. This paper reports on a blended course in Experimental Pedagogy at Sapienza University in Rome, analyzing how conversational functions and language use differs when students are assigned a role. A total of 143 students (22 males, 121 females) participated in the study. Online messages posted in a Moodle forum were analyzed by two different experts, who used a coding system that distinguishes between global and specific conversational functions. Language analysis was conducted using the software T-Lab. The results reveal differences in the performance of roleplaying and non-roleplaying students, specifically in the employment of conversational functions and the use of pronouns. Implications for future research are discussed.

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 23 No. 3 (2015): TD66 - General Issue
Section
Articles - General topics

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 Attribution 4.0 International License.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access)

References

Beaudoin, M. (2003). Learning or Lurking? Tracking the Invisible on line Student. The Internet and Higher Education, 5, 147-155.

Black E., Dawson, K., & Priem J. (2008). Data for free: Using LMS activity logs to measure community in an online course. Internet and Higher Education, 11(2), 65-70.

Brewer S., & Klein J. (2006). Type of positive interdependence and affiliation motive in an asynchronous, collaborative learning environment. Educational Technology Research & Development, 54(4), 331-354.

Cacciamani, S., Cesareni, D., Martini, F., Ferrini, T., & Fujita, N. (2012). Influence of participation, facilitator styles, and metacognitive reflection on knowledge building in online university courses. Computers and Education, 58(3), 874-884.

Cesareni, D., & Cacciamani, S. (2011). Effects of role taking in on-line writing and reading activities in a blended University course. Paper presented to the XIV Earli conference Education for a Global Networked Society, Exeter UK.

Cesareni, D., & Rossi, F. (2011) Discutere in rete per costruire competenze professionali: costruzione di un sistema di analisi della partecipazione qualitativa alla discussione. III Congresso Nazionale CKBG Empowerment, Formazione e Tecnologie: l’individuo, il gruppo e l’organizzazione, Bari IT. Abstract retrieved from www.ckbg.org/congresso2011/wpcontent/ uploads/2011/04/III_Congresso_CKB G._Libro_degli_Abstract_completo1.pdf

Coldwell, J., Craig, A., Paterson, T., & Mustard, J. (2008). Online Students: Relationships between Participation, Demographics and Academic Performance. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 6(1), 19-30. Retrieved from www.ejel.org.

Engeström, Y., & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundation, findings and future challenges. Educational Research Review, 5, 1-24.

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105.

Hare, A.P. (1994). Types of roles in small groups: A bit of history and a current perspective. Small Group Research, 25, 443-448.

Kollar, I., Fischer, F., & Hesse, F. W. (2006). Collaboration scripts - a conceptual analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 18(2), 159- 185.

Lancia, F. (2004). Strumenti per l’Analisi dei Testi. Introduzione all’uso di T-LAB. Milano, IT: Franco Angeli.

Ligorio, M. B. (2010). Dialogical relationship between identity and learning. Culture & Psychology, 16(1), 93-107.

Morris, M., & Ogan, C. (1996). The Internet as mass medium. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 1(4). Retrieved from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol1/ issue4/morris.html

Muukkonen, H., Hakkarainen, K., & Lakkala, M. (2004). Computer-mediated progressive inquiry in higher education. In T. S. Roberts (Ed.), Online Collaborative Learning: Theory and Practice (pp. 28-53). Hershey, PA, USA: Information Science Publishing.

Nonnecke, B., & Preece, J. (2001). Why lurkers lurk. Paper presented at the Americas Conference on Information Systems. Boston. Retrieved from http://skeeter.socs.uoguelph.ca /~nonnecke//research/whylurk.pdf

Pontecorvo, C., Ajello, A.M., & Zucchermaglio, C. (1991) Discutendo si impara. Interazione sociale e conoscenza a scuola. Roma, IT: Carocci.

Preece, J., Nonnecke, B., & Andrews, D. (2004). The top five reasons for lurking: improving community experience for everyone. Computers in Human Behavior, 20, 201-223.

Scardamalia, M. (2002). Collective cognitive responsibility for the advancement of knowledge. In B. Smith (Ed.), Liberal education in a knowledge society (pp.76-98). Chicago, IL, USA: Open Court.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2006). Knowledge building: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In K. Sawyer (Ed.), Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences. New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2010). A brief history of Knowledge Building. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology 36(1). Retrieved from http://www.cjlt.ca/index.php /cjlt/article/view/574.

Schellens, T., Van Keer, H., De Wever, B., & Valcke, M. (2007). Scripting by assigning roles: Does it improve knowledge construction in asynchronous discussion groups? International Journal of Computer- Supported Collaborative Learning, 2(2/3), 225-246.

Selwyn, N. (2012). I Social Media nell’educazione formale e informale tra potenzialità e realtà. TD Tecnologie didattiche, 20(1), 4-10. Retrieved form http://www.tdjournal.itd.cnr.it /files/pdfarticles/PDF55/Neil_Selwyn.pdf

Spadaro, P. F., Sansone, N., & Ligorio, M.B. (2009). Role-taking for knowledge building in a blended learning course. Je-LKS, 5(3), 11-21.

Strijbos, J.W., Martens, R., Jochems, W.M.G., & Broers, N.J. (2004). The effect of functional roles on group efficiency: Using multilevel modeling and content analysis to investigate computer-supported collaboration in small groups. Small Group Research, 35(2), 195- 229.

Strijbos, J. W., & Weinberger, A. (2010). Emerging and scripted roles in computer-supported collaborative learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 491-494.

Wise, A. F., & Chiu, M. M. (2011) Analyzing temporal patterns of knowledge construction in a role-based online discussion. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6, 445-470.

Wise, A. F., Saghafian, M., & Padmanabhan, P. (2012). Towards more precise design guidance: specifying and testing the functions of assigned student roles in online discussions. Educational Technology Research and Development, 60(1), 55-82.