TY - JOUR

T1 - Round or rectangular tables for collaborative problem solving? A multimodal learning analytics study

AU - Vujovic, Milica

AU - Hernández-Leo, Davinia

AU - Tassani, Simone

AU - Spikol, Daniel

PY - 2020/9/1

Y1 - 2020/9/1

N2 - The current knowledge of the effects of the physical environment on learners’ behaviour in collaborative problem-solving tasks is underexplored. This paper aims to critically examine the potential of multimodal learning analytics, using new data sets, in studying how the shapes of shared tables affect the learners’ behaviour when collaborating in terms of patterns of participation and indicators related to physical social interactions. The research presented in this paper investigates this question considering the potential interplay with contextual aspects (level of education) and learning design decisions (group size). Three dependent variables (distance between students, range of movement and level of participation) are tested using quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected using a motion capture system and video recordings. Results show that the use of round tables (vs rectangular tables) leads to higher levels of on-task participation in the case of elementary school students. For university students, different table shapes seem to have a limited impact on their levels of participation in collaborative problem solving. The analysis shows significant differences regarding the relationship between group size and the distance between students, but there is no substantial evidence that group size affects the level of participation. The findings support previous research highlighting the importance of studying the role of the physical environment as an element of learning design and the potential of multimodal learning analytics in approaching these studies.

AB - The current knowledge of the effects of the physical environment on learners’ behaviour in collaborative problem-solving tasks is underexplored. This paper aims to critically examine the potential of multimodal learning analytics, using new data sets, in studying how the shapes of shared tables affect the learners’ behaviour when collaborating in terms of patterns of participation and indicators related to physical social interactions. The research presented in this paper investigates this question considering the potential interplay with contextual aspects (level of education) and learning design decisions (group size). Three dependent variables (distance between students, range of movement and level of participation) are tested using quantitative and qualitative analyses of data collected using a motion capture system and video recordings. Results show that the use of round tables (vs rectangular tables) leads to higher levels of on-task participation in the case of elementary school students. For university students, different table shapes seem to have a limited impact on their levels of participation in collaborative problem solving. The analysis shows significant differences regarding the relationship between group size and the distance between students, but there is no substantial evidence that group size affects the level of participation. The findings support previous research highlighting the importance of studying the role of the physical environment as an element of learning design and the potential of multimodal learning analytics in approaching these studies.

KW - collaborative learning

KW - learning space

KW - motion capture

KW - multimodal learning analytics

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087212826&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/bjet.12988

DO - 10.1111/bjet.12988

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85087212826

VL - 51

SP - 1597

EP - 1614

JO - British Journal of Educational Technology

JF - British Journal of Educational Technology

SN - 0007-1013

IS - 5

ER -