Information as a Social Achievement: Collaborative Information Behavior in CSCL

1. Information as a Social Achievement:Collaborative Information Behavior in CSCL Nan Zhou Alan Zemel Gerry Stahl The Virtual Math Teams Project The Information School at Drexel University

2. Outline • Introduction of the problem • Overview of the study • The VMT project • Research method • Data Analysis Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

3. Introduction • Learning as a contentious concept • Koschmann et al (2005) argue for the study of “how participants … actually go about doing learning” and examination of “member’s methods” (Garfinkel 1967) • Suthers (2006) proposes intersubjective meaning making as the central phenomenon of the interest to the CSCL community. Stahl (2006) Group Cognition. • Learners in CSCL environments constantly engage in various information practices. We argue that information practices constitute important part of learners’ activities thus need closer examination for understanding learning. • CSCL has not looked closely at information practices whereas studies of information behavior haven’t focused on collaboration and learning Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

4. Overview • This exploratory study • is situated in the Virtual Math Teams research project • looks at information practices of small groups of students when they work on a math problem collaboratively in a virtual environment • We have studied information practices of small groups: • Negotiation and co-construction of information needs • Information seeking • Making sense of information and applying to solving the problem • We argue that information only becomes information for participants when it is interactionally constructed to be meaningful and intelligible in their local situation. Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

5. The Virtual Math Teams (VMT) Project • Aims to build an online math discourse community • We are designing and deploying a service as an extension to the Math Forum’s current Problem of the Week service – bring students together to explore math collaboratively in online chat environments • Analyzes the interactions taking place in small groups to understand practices and various issues (such as design, community building) • Design-Based Research: cycles of design Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

6. Research Methods • Over 90 sessions with groups of students in naturalistic settings – e.g. VMT Spring Festival • Participants range from 6th to 12th grade across the country and internationally; interactions are mediated through the online chat environment • A typical session is about one hour long with 2-5 participants and a facilitator from VMT • Ethnomethodologically-informed approach based on aspects of conversation analysis – micro level analysis from an interactional perspective • Data sessions Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

7. Data Analysis Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

8. Negotiation of Information Needs • Seeking information • Negotiation and construction of meaning Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

9. The Water in My Pool – from the Problem of the Week at the Math Forum The picture here gives you a rough idea of what my pool looks like. (Notice that the railing sections are straight, but the pool itself is a cylinder) How many gallons of water does the pool hold? Extra: An Olympic-sized swimming pool is quite a bit larger than our pool. They are usually 50 meters by 25 meters, when looking from the top, and the picture below shows the depths of one Olympic-sized pool. How many times could I fill my pool with the water from this pool? Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

10. Negotiation of Information Needs Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

11. Negotiation of Information Needs • How does an information problem emerge? • The need (to find out what the height of the pool is) is negotiated and constructed through the interactions. Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

12. Negotiation of information needs in the process of problem solving Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

13. Negotiation of information needs in the process of problem solving • What is useful information? • How does an information problem emerge during group interactions? • Why is MCP’s proposal “So BC:EC=8:5” at line 139 not picked up by the group? • What could the group have done to get “unstuck”? Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

14. Negotiation of Information Needs • Seeking information • Negotiation and construction of meaning Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

15. Seeking Information – Question Posing & Use of Resources * An excerpt from a VMT session, powwow2 group2 Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

16. Equilateral Triangle Areas - posted March 1, 2004 If two equilateral triangles have edgelengths of 9 cubits and 12 cubits, what's the edgelength of the equilateral triangle whose area is equal to the sum of the areas of the other two? Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

17. Seeking Information – Question Posing & Use of Resources • Information questions are directed to the group • Tactics of posing a question • Use of external resource: search google Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

18. How an information question is answered can be consequential Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

19. Negotiation of Information Needs • Seeking information • Negotiation and construction of meaning Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

20. Negotiation and Construction of Meaning • How meaning is constructed and information is made sense of and applied to the problem situation • Data excerpt 1: “I dunno bout the permutation” • Data excerpt 2: what do you mean by “pyramind”? Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

21. Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

22. Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

23. Summary of findings • Participants negotiate and construct their information needs collaboratively. Often an information problem emerges and initiates such process. • Group is a primary information resource for them. • There are observable tactics that participants frame their information questions. • How an information question is answered can be consequential on participation. • Use of online resources is a common practice. There is discrepancy between students’ perception of online resources and the reality. • There is difficulty applying what they found to the problem. They need to do the work of constructing meaning of the information in their local situation. • Information is essentially a social achievement that is constructed collaboratively and emerges through the interactions of the group. Nan Zhou, The Virtual Math Teams

24. Questions?Comments? Nan Zhou Alan Zemel Gerry Stahl The Virtual Math Teams Project The Information School at Drexel University nan.zhou@ischool.drexel.edu