2024-08-14, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Paneth, Lisa, Rack, Oliver, Zahn, Carmen

In the future of higher education, student learning will become more virtual and group-oriented, and this new reality of academic learning comes with challenges. Positive social interactions in virtual synchronous student learning groups are not self-evident but need extra support. To successfully support positive social interactions, the underlying group processes, such as collaborative group engagement, need to be understood in detail, and the important question arises: How can collaborative group engagement be assessed in virtual group learning settings? A promising methodological approach is the observation of students’ non-verbal behavior, for example, in videoconferences. In an exploratory field study, we observed the non-verbal behavior of psychology students in small virtual synchronous learning groups solving a complex problem via videoconferencing. The groups were videorecorded to analyze possible relations between their non-verbal behaviors and to rate the quality of collaborative group engagement

2023-12-31, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Frick, Andrea, Paneth, Lisa, Zahn, Carmen

2023, Paneth, Lisa, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Rack, Oliver, Zahn, Carmen, Damsa, Crina, Borge, Marcela, Koh, Elizabeth, Worsley, Marcelo

Multi-method approaches are an emerging trend in CSCL research as they allow to paint a more comprehensive picture of complex group learning processes than using a single method. In this contribution, we combined measures from different data sources to capture the quality of collaborative group engagement (QCGE) in CSCL-groups: QCGE-self-assessments, QCGE-ratings of verbal group communication, and video recorded nonverbal group behaviors. Using different methods of analysis, we visualized, described, and analyzed the data and related the measures to each other. Here, we present results suggesting that measures from different data sources are interrelated: For instance, nonverbal behavior (like nodding the head) is related to high QCGE-ratings of verbal communications. Results are preliminary and show disparities, too. Yet, we conclude that the multi-method approach results in a more comprehensive understanding of QCGE. Feasibility and suitability of the multi-method approach are discussed and conclusions for future research are drawn.

2022-07-22, Rack, Oliver, Paneth, Lisa, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Zahn, Carmen

In an explorative field study, we investigated nonverbal behavior and collaborative group engagement (QCGE) in online learning groups. Participants in small groups performed a hidden profile task. Results suggests differences within and between groups in their nonverbal behavior. We expect that nonverbal behaviors relate to QCGE in online learning groups.

2024-03-20, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Paneth, Lisa, Rack, Oliver, Zahn, Carmen, Wulff, Dirk

Collaborative group engagement is a key factor of success in learning groups. This work explores the development of an innovative natural language processing method for predicting collaborative group engagement. To this end, we identified linguistic markers based on an established observation-based scheme for rating collaborative group engagement, such as, semantic similarity to task instructions, verbal mimicry, sentiment, and use of jargon. We evaluated the predictive power of the linguistic markers on the data of an observational study in which 38 learning groups were instructed to perform a collaborative learning task. Overall, the data consisted of 2588 expert ratings on collaborative group engagement. We relied on machine learning to the predict collaborative group engagement ratings using informative subsets of linguistic markers. The results showed above-baseline predictive accuracy for all four dimensions of collaborative group engagement. Moreover, the analysis of feature importance points to quantity of utterances, responsiveness and uniformity of participation as the most important markers for collaborative group engagement. By harnessing natural language processing, this work extends traditional qualitative analysis and delivers nuanced quantitative metrics suitable for capturing the complexity and dynamics of contemporary Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environments. Thereby, it contributes to the evolving landscape of CSCL research and demonstrates the potential of novel analytic techniques to support and enrich qualitative analysis in multiple domains.

2023-06, Roos, Anna-Lena, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Bäuerlein, Kerstin, Mahler, Sara, Ruf, Alessia

2023, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Paneth, Lisa, Rack, Oliver, Zahn, Carmen, Wulff, Dirk U., Damşa, Crina, Borge, Marcela, Koh, Elizabeth, Worsley, Marcelo

This study takes a NLP approach to measuring social engagement in CSCL-learning groups. Specifically, we develop linguistic markers to capture aspects of social engagement, namely sentiment, responsiveness and uniformity of participation and compare them to human ratings of social engagement. We observed small to moderate links between NLP-markers and human ratings that varied in size and direction across the different groups. We discuss measurement and prediction of social collaborative group engagement using natural language processing.

2024, Fischer, Olivia, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Wulff, Dirk U.

Science communication is evolving: Increasingly, it is directed at the public rather than academic peers. Understanding the circumstances under which the public engages with scientific content is therefore crucial to improving science communication. In this article, we investigate the role of affect on audience engagement with a modern form of science communication: TED Talks on the social media platform YouTube. We examined how two aspects of affect, valence and density are associated with public engagement with the talk in terms of popularity (reflecting views and likes) and polarity (reflecting dislikes and comments). We found that the valence of TED Talks was associated with both popularity and polarity: Positive valence was linked to higher talk popularity and lower talk polarity. Density, on the other hand, was only associated with popularity: Higher affective density was linked to higher popularity—even more so than valence—but not polarity. Moreover, the association between affect and engagement was moderated by talk topic, but not by whether the talk included scientific content. Our results establish affect as an important covariate of audience engagement with scientific content on social media, which science communicators may be able to leverage to steer engagement and increase reach.

2023-06, Roos, Anna-Lena, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian, Zahn, Carmen

2022-11-08, Roos, Anna-Lena, Jeitziner, Loris Tizian

Synchron hybride Lernszenarien, bei denen ein Teil der Teilnehmenden vor Ort anwesend ist und gleichzeitig andere Teilnehmende online zugeschaltet sind, ermöglichen mehr Flexibilität und Anpassung an individuelle Lebenssituationen und können somit einen grossen Mehrwert für Lernende bieten. Dies gilt auch für virtuelle Lernräume, im Sinne kollaborativ nutzbarer 3D-Umgebungen. Damit hybride und virtuelle Lernszenarien erfolgreich sind, müssen sie jedoch methodisch-didaktisch und technisch sinnvoll geplant, vorbereitet und umgesetzt werden. Dr. Anna-Lena Roos und Loris Jeitziner geben in dieser Veranstaltung Einblicke in Ihre Erfahrungen bei der Konzeption und Umsetzung solcher Szenarien.