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1. STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES, PAIR PROGRAMMING AND SITUATIONAL MOTIVATION

   Pribesh, S.; He, W.; Watson, S.; Major, D.; Xu, L.; Li, L.; Tian, X.; Gorkhali, A.; He, Y. (March 2019, Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference)

   SITE (Ed.)

   Persons with learning disabilities (LD) are underrepresented in computer science and information technology fields despite the explosion of related career opportunities and interest. In this study, we examine the use of pair programming as a collaborative intervention in with computer programming and compare students with learning disabilities to students who do not have learning disabilities. We concentrate on situational motivation constructs which tap into the desire to meet goals and acquire skills. We find that students with LD and similar students without LD fare the same. For the both groups, three of the four situational motivation subscales increase after the introduction of pair programming. The use of pair programming holds promise as an educational intervention for all students including those with learning disabilities. 

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2. Collaborative Learning in Cloud-based Virtual Computer Labs

   https://doi.org/10.1109/FIE.2018.8659018  

   Hu, Xiaolin; Le, Hai; Bourgeois, Anu G.; Pan, Yi (October 2018, 2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE))

   This Innovative Practice Work-In-Progress paper presents a collaborative virtual computer lab (CVCL) environment to support collaborative learning in cloud-based virtual computer labs. With advances of cloud computing and virtualization technologies, a new paradigm of virtual computer labs has emerged, where students carry out labs on virtualized resources remotely through the Internet. Virtual computer labs bring advantages, such as anywhere, anytime, on-demand access of specialized software and hardware. However, with current implementations, it also makes it difficult for students to collaborate, due to the fact that students are assigned separated virtual working spaces in a remote-accessing environment and there is a lack of support for sharing and collaboration. To address this issue, we develop a CVCL environment that allows students to reserve virtual computers labs with multiple participants and support remote real-time collaboration among the participants during a lab. The CVCL environment will implement several well-defined collaborative lab models, including shared remote collaboration, virtual study room, and virtual tutoring center. This paper describes the overall architecture and main features of the CVCL environment and shows preliminary results. 

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3. The Interface Design of a Collaborative Computer Science Learning Environment for Elementary Aged Students

   https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181319631155  

   Bradbury, Amanda; Wiebe, Eric; Vandenberg, Jessica; Tsan, Jennifer; Lynch, Collin; Boyer, Kristy (November 2019, Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting)

   There is a currently a shortage of computer science professionals and this shortage is projected to continue into the foreseeable future as not enough students are selecting computer science majors. Researchers and policy-makers agree that development of this career pipeline starts in elementary school. Our study examined which collaborative programming setup, pair programming (two students collaborate on one computer) or side-by-side programming (two students collaborate on the same program from two computers), fifth-grade students preferred. We also sought to understand why students preferred one method over the other and explored ideas on how to effectively design a collaborative programming environment for this age group. Our study had participants first engage in five instructional days, alternating between pair and side-by-side programming, and then conducted focus groups. We found that students overwhelmingly preferred side-by-side programming. We explain this using self-determination theory which states that behavior is motivated by three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and psychological relatedness which side-by-side programming was better able to meet. 

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4. Collaborative Tasks in Immersive Virtual Reality Increase Learning

   Queiroz, A. C.; McGivney, E.; Liu, S. X.; Anderson, C. O.; Beams, B.; DeVeaux, C.; Frazier, K.; Han, E.; Miller, M. R.; Petersen, X. S.; et al (April 2023, Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning)

   Advances in immersive virtual reality (IVR) are creating more computer-supported collaborative learning environments, but there is little research explicating how collaboration in IVR impacts learning. We ran a quasi-experimental study with 80 participants targeting ocean literacy learning, varying the manner in which participants interacted in IVR to investigate how the design of collaborative IVR experiences influences learning. Results are discussed through the lens of collaborative cognitive learning theory. Participants that collaborated to actively build a new environment in IVR scored higher for learning than participants who only watched an instructional guide’s avatar, or participants who watched the guide’s avatar and subsequently discussed what they learned while in IVR. Moreover, feeling negative emotions, feeling active in the environment, and feeling bonded to the group members negatively correlated with learning. Results shed light on the mechanisms behind how collaborative tasks in IVR can support learning. 

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5. Collaborative Talk Across Two Pair-Programming Configurations

   Zacharia, Z; Boulden, D; Vandenberg, J; Tsan, J; Lynch, C; Wiebe, E; Boyer, K (June 2019, A Wide Lens: Combining Embodied, Enactive, Extended, and Embedded Learning in Collaborative Settings, 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) 2019)

   Abstract: Given that pair programming has proved to be an effective pedagogical approach for teaching programming skills, it is now important to explore alternative collaborative configurations. One popular configuration is where dyads collaborate by sharing a single computer sitting side-by-side. However, prior research points to potential challenges for elementary students when sharing a single computer when collaborating. This prompted us to explore another configuration where dyads sit side by side but collaborate on a shared virtual platform with individual computers. We compared the discourse of students’ collaboration under these two settings. Results show that although there are no significant differences in the amount of collaborative talk between the two configurations, there is qualitative evidence of how differing affordances of two configurations shape collaborative elementary students’ practices. 

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