Learner engagement in computer-supported collaborative learning activities: Natural or nurtured?

Abstract

Drawing on a mixed-methods study this paper aims to investigate what constitutes learner engagement and how postgraduate students engage in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) activities (such as video-conferencing and blogging) in a real-life setting. This research contributes to current literature by proposing the WISE Taxonomy of Learner Engagement Archetypes which portrays the most universal engagement approaches that emerged within the studied context. The findings show that CSCL activities may engage postgraduate students irrespective of their perceived preference over individual or social learning. The findings also suggest that given certain conditions students may strategically disengage from CSCL activities and as a result they may fail to appreciate CSCL as an authentic activity which leverages the opportunity to learn from and with each other, as well as from the wide range of digital resources openly available to them. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.