Problem perception and problem regulation during online collaborative learning: what is important for successful collaboration?

Abstract

BackgroundUniversity students frequently prepare for exams or presentations in self-organized study groups. For this purpose, they often use videoconferencing software. During their collaboration, they need to regulate emerging problems to ensure effective learning. We suppose that regulation is facilitated when (1) the group perceives their regulation problems homogeneously, (2) they choose regulation strategies that have the potential to solve the problems immediately, and (3) they execute these strategies with sufficient intensity.AimsWe investigated which problems occur during online collaborative learning via videoconferencing and how homogeneity of problem perceptions, immediacy of the chosen strategies, and intensity of strategy use are related to regulation success.SampleUniversity students (N = 222) from two lectures in pre-service teacher education and educational sciences in 99 study groups.MethodsStudents collaborated in a self-organized manner, that is, without a teacher present, to study the material of one lecture using videoconferencing software. After the collaboration, group members rated, individually, the intensity of different problems during collaboration, reported which strategies they used to overcome their biggest problem, and rated the success of their problem regulation, their satisfaction with their collaboration, as well as their learning gain. In addition, they answered a knowledge test.ResultsWe found that most students rated technical issues as their biggest problem. Multilevel modeling showed that homogeneous problem perception moderated by problem intensity—contrary to immediate and intensive strategy use—predicted successful problem regulation and satisfaction with the collaboration but not knowledge gain. Case analyses illustrate the assumed mechanism that a homogeneous problem perception facilitates socially shared regulation.ConclusionWe conclude that even in only slightly structured learning contexts, students might only need to jointly identify their problems, whereas the best possible regulation of these problems seems less relevant. Therefore, training students to foster regulation competencies might prioritize identifying problems.