Teacher-Immersion in Research and Evaluation of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning

Abstract

: This paper outlines an effort funded by the US National Science Foundation to produce iterations of research, design, and implementation in the area of project-based virtual collaboration by adolescents who live in different countries. The agency’s funding strand, “Research in Service of Practice,” emphasizes priority on making progress on the often -elusive connections between research and educational practice. The heavy involvement of teachers in the reported project tracks closely with this priority. The paper summarizes key aspects of the project as prelude to delving into four layers of roles that school teachers have held in it: practitioner, research advisor, research designer, and formal evaluator. It highlights important socio-affective experiences that participating students in the US and peers internationally reported along with recommendations for a new scale-up version of the project that is recently underway.