CoChemEx: Supporting conceptual chemistry learning via computer-mediated collaboration scripts

Abstract

Chemistry students, like students in other disciplines, often learn to solve problems by applying well-practiced procedures. Such an approach, however, may hinder conceptual understanding. We propose to promote conceptual learning by having pairs of students collaborate on problems in a virtual laboratory (VLab), assisted by a computer-mediated collaboration script that guides the students through the stages of scientific experimentation and adapts to their needs for support. We used the results from a small-scale study comparing how singles and dyads solve chemistry problems with the VLab with and without scripts to develop a scripted collaborative experimentation environment. A subsequent small-scale study compared an adaptive and a non-adaptive version of the system. Qualitative data analyses revealed a tendency for the dyads in the adaptive feedback condition to improve their collaboration and be more motivated than the non-adaptive dyads. In this paper, we present our research framework and report on preliminary results from the two small-scale studies. © 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.