Theories of Collaborative Cognition : Foundations for Cscl and Cscw Together

Both computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) are centrally concerned with teamwork, learning, problem solving, knowledge building, task accomplishment and other cognitive achievements by small groups of people. There are many theories useful for framing the cognitive work that groups undertake in CSCL and CSCW settings, and they may in principle not be reducible to a single theory. However, they seem foundational for both CSCL and CSCW, including their synthesis in CSCL-at-Work. Collaboration research explores questions involving numerous distinct—though interacting—phenomena at multiple levels of description. It is important to conceptualize these group activities as involving individual participants in group processes within larger community contexts. The useful approach may be to clearly distinguish levels such as individual, small-group and community units of analysis, and to differentiate terminology for discussing these different levels. Theory in general has evolved dramatically over the ages, with a trend to extend the unit of cognition beyond the single idea or even the individual mind. Seminal theoretical works influential within collaboration research suggest a post-cognitive approach to group cognition as a complement to—if not a foundation for—analyzing cognition of individuals or of communities-of-practice. While CSCL and CSCW can both build upon shared theories of cognition, they may derive different implications from those theories as relevant for students versus professionals and may converge in cases of CSCW at Work. Theory for CSCL and CSCW There is no one theory of collaboration in learning and working. Research in CSCL and CSCW is guided by and contributes to a diverse collection of theories. Even the word theory means different things to different researchers and plays various distinct roles within collaborative-learning work. The reading of the history of theory presented here is itself reflective of one theoretical stance among many held, implicitly or explicitly, by collaboration researchers. I originally tried to develop my theory of group cognition (Stahl, 2006) in response to issues of CSCL and CSCW software design. In particular, one of my research studies was an attempt to transform a basic CSCW system (BSCW) into a basic CSCL system (BCSCL or Synergia) (Ch. 7), exploring both mutual compatibilities and differences of emphasis between CSCL and CSCW. My other case studies can be categorized as either CSCL (Ch. 1, 2, 6, 12, 21) or CSCW (Ch.