COLLABORATION SCRIPTS – A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS
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doi:{
10.1007/s10648-006-9007-2 }
Please refer this manuscript as:
Kollar, I., Fischer, F., & Hesse, F. W. (2006). Collaboration scripts - a conceptual analysis.
Educational Psychology Review, 18(2), 159-185.
Collaboration Scripts 2
Running Head: COLLABORATION SCRIPTS
Collaboration Scripts – A Conceptual Analysis
Ingo Kollar, Frank Fischer, and Friedrich W. Hesse
Knowledge Media Research Center, Tübingen (Germany)
Corresponding author:
Ingo Kollar, M.A.
Knowledge Media Research Center
Konrad-Adenauer-Strasse 40
D-72072 Tübingen/Germany
phone: ++49-7071 979-245
fax: ++49-7071 979-100
email: i.kollar@iwm-kmrc.de
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Abstract
This article presents a conceptual analysis of collaboration scripts used in face-to-face and
computer-mediated collaborative learning. Collaboration scripts are scaffolds that aim to
improve collaboration through structuring the interactive processes between two or more
learning partners. Collaboration scripts consist of at least five components: (a) learning
objectives, (b) type of activities, (c) sequencing, (d) role distribution, and (e) type of
representation. These components serve as a basis for comparing prototypical collaboration
script approaches for face-to-face vs. computer-mediated learning. As our analysis reveals,
collaboration scripts for face-to-face learning often focus on supporting collaborators in
engaging in activities that are specifically related to individual knowledge acquisition. Scripts for
computer-mediated collaboration are typically concerned with facilitating communicative-
coordinative processes that occur among group members. The two lines of research can be
consolidated to facilitate the design of collaboration scripts, which both support participation and
coordination, as well as induce learning activities closely related to individual knowledge
acquisition and metacognition. In addition, research on collaboration scripts needs to consider
the learners’ internal collaboration scripts as a further determinant of collaboration behavior. The
article closes with the presentation of a conceptual framework incorporating both external and
internal collaboration scripts.
Keywords:
computer-supported collaborative learning, scripts, collaboration scripts, scaffolding.
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Introduction
Research on collaborative learning has repeatedly demonstrated that learners often do not
collaborate well spontaneously (Cohen, 1994). For example, they tend not to participate equally
(Cohen and Lotan, 1995), often engage only in low-level argumentation (Bell, 2004), and rarely
converge on a comparable level of knowledge acquisition (Fischer et al., 2002). There is a need
for instructional support that guarantees a higher quality of both collaborative learning processes
and individual learning outcomes. Such instructional support has been described and analyzed
more systematically as scaffolding
(e.g., Quintana et al., 2004; Pea, 2004; Reiser, 2004; Sherin et
al., 2004; Tabak, 2004). Derived from the Vygotskyan concept of the Zone of Proximal
Development (Vygotsky, 1992), scaffolding is seen as a way to support learners as they
accomplish tasks that they would not be able to accomplish on their own (Wood et al., 1976).
Originally addressing parent-child interactions, the term scaffolding has also been used to
describe artifact-based instructional support (e.g., Quintana et al., 2004). With respect to
collaborative learning, at least two classes of scaffolds can be distinguished: (a) scaffolds that
provide support on a conceptual level and (b) scaffolds that provide support related to the
interactive processes between the collaborators. Scaffolds that provide learners with conceptual
support relevant to the contents of a task include, for example, questions or prompts that guide
learners in discussing a specific aspect of a physics problem such as “What is the relationship
between force and motion?” or “If ball A hits ball B with the speed of X, what is the resulting
speed of ball B?” Scaffolds that structure the interactive processes of collaborative learning
shape collaboration by specifying different roles and associated activities to be carried out by the
collaborators. For example, learners are asked to explain the contents of a text and to critique
contributions of their learning partners at specific points in the learning process. Especially in
Collaboration Scripts 5
research on computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), such scaffolds have been called
collaboration scripts
(e.g., Dillenbourg, 2002; Rummel and Spada, 2005; Weinberger et al.,
2005). They describe an instance of socio-cognitive structuring (Ertl et al., in press).
Collaboration scripts have been used to structure both face-to-face (e.g., O’Donnell and
Dansereau, 1992; Palincsar and Brown, 1984) and computer-mediated collaboration (e.g.,
Dillenbourg, 2002; Rummel and Spada, 2005; Weinberger et al., 2005). However, given the
variety of existing collaboration script approaches, the term lacks conceptual precision. In this
article, we analyze systematically previous research on collaboration scripts. We first work
towards a definition of collaboration scripts by identifying central conceptual components that
are shared among different approaches. We then compare prototypical collaboration script
approaches used for either face-to-face or computer-mediated learning on the basis of these
conceptual components to detect commonalities, differences, and shortcomings of the two lines
of research. Based on the identified deficits, we develop a conceptual framework that describes
how collaborators and collaboration scripts interact during collaboration tasks. We believe that
this framework can be used to inform both the design of collaboration script approaches and
future theory building and to trigger subsequent empirical research on collaboration scripts.
In sum, the article focuses on the following questions:
(1) What are the central conceptual components of collaboration scripts?
(2) Based on these components, what are the commonalities, differences, and shortcomings
of collaboration scripts developed for face-to-face and computer-mediated learning?
(3) What can be derived from this comparison with respect to design, theory building, and
empirical research on collaboration scripts?
