Collaborative Computer-Mediated Reading: Documenting the Frequency, Mechanisms, and Outcomes of Peer Help

Abstract

This study investigated peer-to-peer interaction during collaborative, computer-mediated reading tasks. Fourteen university EFL students in Korea worked in pairs to complete three gapfill tasks. The transcript data from these tasks were analyzed to determine: (1) how often collaboration occurs during collaborative reading tasks, (2) the ways in which peers help each other, and (3) how successful peers are in resolving the problems they collaboratively pursue. The results showed that each of these aspects of interaction varied among sets of pairs. On average, however, the participants collaborated to jointly solve 75% of the problems they encountered. They also used a range of helping behaviors during collaboration. While the participants correctly resolved nearly half of the problems they attempted, half were incorrectly answered or unresolved. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications are offered, in addition to suggestions for future research into collaborative reading tasks.