Heli on Connectivism

Dillenbourg seem to be one of experts concerning pedagogical scripts, perhaps one of creators. I got a copy of his pdf  Over-scripting CSCL The risks of blending collaborative learning with instructional design.

CSCL= Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

A copy of the abstract (2002)

Free collaboration does not systematically produce learning. One way to enhance the effectiveness of collaborative learning is to structure interactions by engaging students in well-defined scripts.

A collaboration script is a set of instructions prescribing how students should form groups, how they should interact and collaborate and how they should solve the problem. In computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), the script is reified in the interface of the learning environment. This contribution  dismantles the concept of script. Syntactically, a script is sequence of phases and each phase can be described by five attributes. The grammatical combination of these elements may however produce any kind of pedagogical method, even those that have nothing to do with the idea of collaborative learning.

On the one hand, the definition of scripts constitutes a promising convergence between educational engineering and socio-cultural approaches but, on the other hand, it drifts away from the genuine notion of collaborative learning.

Will the fun and the richness of group interactions survive to this quest for effectiveness? The answer depends on the semantics of collaborative scripts: what is the design rationale, what is the core mechanism in the script through which the script designer expects to foster productive interaction and learning.

Prof. Pierre Dillenbourgh works in Lausanne, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

My questions:

In adult education, when students are committed to and they have intrinsic motivation, teachers or facilitators only create the circumstances for favourable learning. There is no need for pedagogical scripts?

Young students may have less motivation and they are used to clear rules and certain coercion: what I have to do for getting credits. Wise scripts are neeeded here, I suppose.

I am working with these questions in my way from CCK08 to Edinet. I don’t know  yet how motivates the students are but we need a general structure od learning and pedagogical scripts may help in this modeling.

Just studying the concept SCRIPT and considering if I need it at all. What new does it bring according to online teaching or is it “planning my course well/ planning from learner’s point of view.” I have heard the concept in two dissertations in Jyväskylä (Mäkitalo, Hämäläinen) and now researchers from Oulu University (Minna Pesonen).

A script is a more detailed and more explicit didactic contract between the teacher and the group of students regarding their mode of interaction (Dillenbourg 2004)

There are scripts called macro or micro, external or internal, content oriented (epistemic) or communication oriented (social). I can follow that content oriented scripts = assignments and communication oriented scipts tell about the interaction expected to happen during the course. You need sequencing, too: the order and schedule for happening. And last (or first) you need the group and resources. The script combines this all. That sounds good, I like the concept because it refers to a play or drama in my mind (not only teaching period)

Choosing the appropriate level of coercion is the oldest educational trade-off (Dillenbourgh 2004)

That is very true: every facilitator is studying that question all the time and the solutions need much experience and intuition. Students need guidance and freedom, both in epistemic and social area. How to become a wise fasilitator? Reflection is necessary and feedback and … Over-scripting means too much guidance or too strict assigments and so on – learning becomes boring, I would say. Every teacher can do that, I suppose.

Structuring approaches aim to create favourable conditions for learning by designing and scripting the learning situation before the interaction begins (Jermann 2004)

Oh, I need to say design, not plan. Design reasearch is the right concept nowadays, not action reasearch any more. I tend to be old-fashioned because I have age

This is European research: in Germany Fischer, Koppe, Weinberger, Kollar, in Switzerland Dillenbourg and Jermann and in Finland (names in the beginning). Thanks to Minna Pesonen for this orientation. Finnish researchers travel to Germany, it is our old custom. I don’t remember anybody commented scripts in CCK08?

Script researchers come from educational sciences, psychology and computer sciences – collaboration is needed. I know there is a doctoral study group (educational and computer sciences) in Joensuu Universities too.

Something very interesting in this script theme – I have to continue my studies. I have links but Foxit Reader didn’t open them correctly, so I add them later. And some concept maps or pictures would help.