The effect of communication styles on computer-supported collaborative learning

Abstract

This chapter investigates the relationships between communication styles, social networks, and learning in a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) community. Using Social Network Analysis (SNA) and longitudinal survey data, the authors analyzed how 31 distributed learners developed collaborative learning social networks, when they had work together on the design of aerospace systems using online collaboration tools. The results showed that both learner's personality characteristics (communication styles) and structural factors (a pre-existing friendship network) significantly affected the way the learners developed collaborative learning social networks. More specifically, learners who possessed high Willingness to Communicate (WTC) or occupied initially peripheral network positions were more likely to explore new network linkages in a distributed learning environment. The authors propose that the addition of personality theory (operationalized here as communication styles) to structural analysis (SNA) contributes to an enhanced picture of how distributed learners build their social and intellectual capital in the context of CSCL. © 2009, IGI Global.