Narrative and collaboration are two core features of rich interactive learning. Narrative-centered learning environments offer significant potential for supporting student learning. By contextualizing learning within interactive narratives, these environments leverage students’ innate facilities for developing understandings through stories. Computer-supported collaborative learning environments offer students rich, collaborative learning experiences in which small groups of students engage in constructing artifacts, addressing disciplinary challenges, and solving problems. Narrative and collaboration have distinct affordances for learning, but combining them poses significant challenges. In this paper, we present initial work on solving this problem by introducing collaborative narrative-centered learning environments. These environments will enable small groups of students to collaboratively solve problems in rich multi-participant storyworlds. We propose a novel framework for designing and developing these environments, which we are using to create a collaborative narrative-centered learning environment for middle school ecosystems education. In the learning environment, students work on problem-solving scenarios centered on how to support optimal fish health in aquatic environments. Results from pilot testing the learning environment with 45 students suggest it supports the creation of engaging and effective collaborative narrative-centered learning experiences.
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This content will become publicly available on May 1, 2025
Unveiling joint attention dynamics: Examining multimodal engagement in an immersive collaborative astronomy simulation
Numerous computer-based collaborative learning environments have been developed to support
collaborative problem-solving. Yet, understanding the complexity and dynamic nature of the
collaboration process remains a challenge. This is particularly true in open-ended immersive
learning environments, where students navigate both physical and virtual spaces, pursuing
diverse paths to solve problems. In response, we aimed to unpack these complex collaborative
learning processes by investigating 16 groups of college students (n = 77) who utilized an
immersive astronomy simulation in their introductory astronomy course. Our specific focus is on
joint attention as a multi-level indicator to index collaboration. To examine the interplay between
joint attention and other multimodal traces (conceptual discussions and gestures) in students’
interactions with peers and the simulation, we employed a multi-granular approach. This
approach encompasses macro-level correlations, meso-level network trends, and micro-level
qualitative insights from vignettes to capture nuances at different levels. Distinct multimodal
engagement patterns emerged between low- and high-achieving groups, evolving over time across
a series of tasks. Our findings contribute to the understanding of the notion of timely joint
attention and emphasize the importance of individual exploration during the early stages of
collaborative problem-solving, demonstrating its contribution to productive knowledge coconstruction. This research overall provides valuable insights into the complexities of collaboration dynamics within and beyond digital space. The empirical evidence we present in our study
lays a strong foundation for developing instructional designs aimed at fostering productive
collaboration in immersive learning environments.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2225240
- PAR ID:
- 10540979
- Publisher / Repository:
- Computers and Education
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Computers & Education
- Volume:
- 213
- Issue:
- C
- ISSN:
- 0360-1315
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 105002
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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