Patterns of scaffolding in computer‐mediated collaborative inquiry

Abstract

There is wide agreement on the importance of scaffolding for student learning. Yet, models of individual and face‐to‐face scaffolding are not necessarily applicable to educational settings in which a group of learners is pursuing a process of inquiry mediated by technology. The scaffolding needed for such a process may be examined from three perspectives: the organization of activities, the affordances of tools, and process‐level guidance. The purpose of the present study was to assess three tutors’ contributions to university students’ computer‐mediated discourse organized as a question‐driven inquiry process. In all, 17 students participated in the discourse as part of their studies in a cognitive psychology course. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to investigate critical patterns and possible effects of the tutors’ process‐level scaffolding. During the process, the more experienced tutors acted as meta‐level commentators, whereas the less experienced tutor participated in the inquiry as a co‐inquirer who also produced inquiry questions. More elaborate scaffolding to foster students’ metacognitive awareness of the inquiry strategies was generally lacking in all three tutors’ data. Implications for pedagogical improvement in collaborative, computer‐supported educational settings are discussed.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all persons who have given valuable comments for improvement of the article, especially Lasse Lipponen, Liisa Ilomäki, Jiri Lallimo, Marjaana Veermans, and Hal White. We also wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments on an earlier version of this article. The first author was supported by an individual grant from The Finnish Cultural Foundation during 2000–2.