Redesigning Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environment Using Grammar Animations in Virtual Classes: the Matter of Effective Instructional Scaffolding
Clément Compaoré, University of Munich (Burkina Faso)
Abstract
The present paper is situated in the context of socio-cognitive aspects of language processing and collaborative knowledge acquisition. The study examines the following: Do negotiated interactions in collaborative learning with grammar animations lead to better learning scores than non-negotiated interactions?
The study is conducted according to a randomized control-group pretest-posttest design. This includes the evaluation of short-and long-term learner scores in the use of grammatical rules. Participants in the learning settings are 63 German learners at a level between A2 and B1. The used grammar animations were designed and tested in the previous study to teach two-ways prepositions to German as a Foreign Language learners. The collaborative learning settings take place in a predesigned virtual learning environment called vitero (virtual team room). A computer-based script is designed and used in the experimental group to orchestrate the negotiated interactions.
The findings will contribute to the ongoing theoretical and practical debate on the relevance (or otherwise) of instruction in technology-enhanced collaborative language teaching.
Keywords: Script-based Instruction, German