The project, led by investigators from Rutgers University, will engage in reviewing and synthesizing the research literature on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) conducted between 2005 and 2012. The project team will identify major themes in the research results, analyze effects on learning outcomes in CSCL research, identify moderating factors and trends, synthesize major lessons learned, and identify important gaps that still exist in our knowledge. Automated data mining and text analysis will be used to validate results.
The project should result in a framework for studying CSCL as well as an empirically-grounded set of design principles for how CSCL should be used in different educational settings, whether in or out of the classroom. Given the fast pace of development in the use of technology to support STEM learning, this synthesis should help give a broader historical context in which to understand them as well as encourage more directed and targeted research and development in the future.
