What have you done! the role of 'interference' in tangible environments for supporting collaborative learning

Abstract

This paper presents a study that investigated collaborative activity in a tangible tabletop environment to support learning about the physics of light. In co-located groups of three, children performed exploratory activities, using tangible artefacts, to find out about light. Analysis suggests that the environment can support various collaborative activities, but of central interest, demonstrated the role of peer interference in learning activities. Verbal negotiation and synchronization of actions emerged as conflict-resolution strategies and an implicit agreement by the children for sharing the physical and virtual resources of the system was noticed. The physicality and 'present at hand' nature of the input devices contributed to balanced levels of participation, particularly through action. Overall, the interference-prone tabletop environment contributed to creating a highly collaborative environment in which individual exploration was discouraged, leading the group through a productive process of collective exploration and knowledge construction.