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Conceptualizing Context in CSCL: Cognitive and Sociocultural Perspectives

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International Handbook of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

Part of the book series: Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Series ((CULS,volume 19))

Abstract

Context is a critical consideration in CSCL research and design, yet difficult to delineate. Its definition can encompass aspects of the environment, the learners, the technology, and their histories and cultures. Depending on researchers’ theoretical perspectives and the focus of their study, different aspects of context are forefronted in the data collection and analysis, while others are given less importance. In this chapter, we offer a framework that conceptualizes context in terms of focal, immediate, and peripheral layers surrounding the object of study. We describe how the aspects contained within each layer of context differ depending on one’s theoretical orientation. To illustrate, we offer contrasting examples of CSCL research that approach context from a cognitive perspective and a sociocultural perspective. We end by outlining several areas for future research and highlight the importance of technological advances to keep pace with the theoretical conceptions of context in order to support the design of responsive CSCL environments. Ultimately, we argue that a full understanding of context leads to more robust and ecologically sound CSCL research and design.

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Further Readings

  • Bodemer, D., & Dehler, J. (2011). Group awareness in CSCL environments. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(3), 1043–1045. This special issue presents six studies that explore collaborative learning with group awareness technologies. They demonstrate a cognitively oriented perspective on context, with a focus on capturing, responding to, and informing learners of the social, behavioral, and cognitive aspects that surround and influence their collaboration.

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  • Borge, M., & Mercier, E. (2019). Towards a micro-ecological approach to CSCL. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 14(2), 219–235. This article argues that an ecological perspective on learning in CSCL better captures the complexity of teachers’ and learners’ decisions and actions. The authors illustrate a microecological approach to analyzing a case of elementary- and middle-grade students in an after-school design club. In their analysis, they identify “transecological disruptions,” events that occur at one level (i.e., between individual learners, between learners, and objects), and influence others (e.g., within collaborative groups, within the community as a whole). This research shows how a multilevel view of context can allow deeper and more valid, descriptive explanations of learning.

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  • Zimmermann, A., Lorenz, A., & Oppermann, R. (2007). An operational definition of context. In International and interdisciplinary conference on modeling and using context (pp. 558–571). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. This article reviews the history of the concept of context in the domain of context-aware computing. The authors define context in general, formal, and operational terms, which together describe the components of context (e.g., time, location, activity) and how they are used in software engineering. This piece offers a practically oriented perspective on context that is useful for both technology users and designers.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Nikol Rummel, who helped conceptualize early structures of this chapter, and the reviewers who helped to clarify our arguments.

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  1. Department of Administration, Leadership and Technology, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Camillia Matuk, Kayla DesPortes & Christopher Hoadley

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  1. Camillia Matuk
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  2. Kayla DesPortes
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  3. Christopher Hoadley
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Correspondence to Camillia Matuk .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany

    Ulrike Cress

  2. Language Technologies Institute and Human-Computer Interaction Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Carolyn Rosé

  3. Department of Administration Leadership, and Technology, New York University, New York, NY, USA

    Alyssa Friend Wise

  4. Faculty of Informatics, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka, Japan

    Jun Oshima

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Matuk, C., DesPortes, K., Hoadley, C. (2021). Conceptualizing Context in CSCL: Cognitive and Sociocultural Perspectives. In: Cress, U., Rosé, C., Wise, A.F., Oshima, J. (eds) International Handbook of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Series, vol 19. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65291-3_5

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