Group Awareness of Social and Cognitive Behavior in a CSCL Environment

This study investigated whether a peer feedback tool and a reflection tool would enhance group performance in a computer-supported collaborative learning environment. The underlying assumption was that group performance can be positively influenced by making group members aware of how their social and cognitive behavior is perceived by themselves, their peers, and the group as a whole. Participants were 120 fourth-year high school students working, with or without the tools, in dyads, triads and groups of 4 on a collaborative writing task. Results show that groups using tools perceived their team as being better developed, experienced higher levels of group satisfaction and lower levels of conflicts, than groups not using the tools. Results demonstrate that awareness, stimulated by peer assessment and reflection tools, enhances the social performance of a CSCL-group.