Making the Black Box of Collaborative Learning Transparent: Combining Process-Oriented and Cognitive Load Approaches

By Jeroen Janssen, Femke C. Kirschner, Gijsbert Erkens, Paul A. Kirschner, Fred Paas. 2010

181 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Traditional research on collaborative learning employs a “black box” approach that makes it difficult to gain a deeper understanding of the differential effects of collaborative learning. To make the black box transparent, researchers have studied the process of collaboration, in order to establish which interaction features are likely to make learning more effective and efficient for group members. Although cognitive load theory has been developed in the context of individual learning situations, it may provide a promising new way of looking inside the black box, assuming that students working in groups have more processing capacity than students working individually. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the process-oriented and cognitive-load approaches to conducting collaborative learning research, to highlight their respective advantages and disadvantages, and to suggest how they can be combined in order to address new research questions.

Subfields: Developmental and Educational Psychology, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c2c8e4017f1dbb629747fbafd995deae5769991b

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Citations in the corpus

Factors affecting students’ learning performance through collaborative learning and engagement (2021, unknown): “Overall, students use social media for collaborative learning and engagement which improves their learning performance as evidenced by this study and previous studies (Janssen et al., 2010; McCarthy, 2010).”
From Cognitive Load Theory to Collaborative Cognitive Load Theory (2018, background): “…costs due to collaboration are associated with the specific extra acts that a learner has to carry out when studying, namely communicating with other learners, and coordinating both their own learning and the learning of other team members (Janssen et al. 2010; F. Kirschner et al. 2009b).”
An Evolutionary Upgrade of Cognitive Load Theory: Using the Human Motor System and Collaboration to Support the Learning of Complex Cognitive Tasks (2012, background): “The result is the collective working memory effect (Kirschner et al. 2011a, b; see also, Janssen et al. 2010).”
The impact of augmented reality on cognitive load and performance: A systematic review (2021, background): “In terms of collaborative learning, it is stated that individual working memory limitations can be overcome through a collective working memory effect (Janssen et al., 2010; Kirschner et al., 2009a, 2009b, 2011).”