Inter-university cooperative learning: An exploratory study

Abstract

This paper presents some preliminary findings from continuing action research involving university students of Education and examines the creation of a community of learners through the use of electronic media for remote collaboration. The main goal of this community was the design and implementation of a Web site about the curicula content of two parallel courses. The research focussed on the evaluation of the impact of technologies on communication processes among local peers and remote peers, and on the role of experts in the learning process. Qualitative analyses were conducted on information gathered from videorecordings of local interactions, personal portfolios, and cognitive maps. Students also completed rating scales on their perceptions of desired and actual function fulfilment (direct instruction, cognitive scaffolding, and affective scaffolding) by local and remote peers and tutors in the accomplishment of goals.