The purpose of this study was to investigate the relative effectiveness of positive interdependence and group processing on student achievement, interaction, and attitude in online cooperative learning. All of the participants, 144 college students enrolled in one of three different courses, received initial general instruction about teamwork skills and cooperative learning at the start of the study. Participants were then randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups: positive interdependence, group processing, and no structure. The ?positive interdependence? groups received subsequent positive interdependence skills training which were then utilized in their instructional activities. The ?group processing? groups received subsequent group processing skills training for use in their instructional activities. The ?no structure? groups received no additional instructional treatment beyond the initial basic teamwork and cooperative learning training. Results indicated that there were significant differences among students in the ?positive interdependence,? ?group processing,? and ?no structure? groups with respect to their achievement scores and interactions. Participants in the ?positive interdependence? groups had significantly higher achievement than participants in either the ?group processing? groups or the ?no structure? groups. In addition, participants in the ?positive interdependence? groups and the ?group processing? groups interacted with each other to a greater extent than those in the ?no structure? groups. This study also examined the relative effectiveness of positive interdependence and group processing on types of student interaction. The results indicated that ?positive interdependence? strategies were relatively more effective than ?group processing? strategies on ?sharing and comparing of information? interactions, whereas ?group processing? strategies were relatively more effective than ?positive interdependence? strategies on ?negotiation of meaning and co-construction of knowledge? interactions. Regarding student attitude towards the experiences of cooperative learning: participation, communication resources, and online activities, there was no significant difference among any of the three groups. The overall results of this study suggest that instructors would be advised to incorporate positive interdependence strategies in their online courses to help students perceive that they should actively contribute to their online group activities. In addition, instructors are recommended to inform groups of the individual progress of each member?s activities periodically by employing group processing strategies.

De récents travaux ont amorcé l’exploration des formes sociales de l’expérience optimale (i.e. group flow et team flow). Toutefois, la connaissance que l’on a de ces processus et des manières de les identifier reste très limitée. Ce travail de thèse visait d’une part à définir le team flow et à en isoler les dimensions conceptuelles, et d’autre part, à élaborer une nouvelle méthode d’observation visant à détecter les différentes formes de flow grâce aux comportements des joueurs et à l’enregistrement des parties de jeu. Dans cette perspective, trois études ont été menés sur différents jeux coopératifs (League of Legends, Resident Evil 5…) et ont révélé : 1) que le team flow est un phénomène qualitativement différent de la forme individuelle du flow et présente donc des dimensions conceptuelles qui lui sont spécifiques ; 2) que l’interdépendance positive et les modèles mentaux partagés semblent jouer un rôle majeur dans l’émergence du team flow. L’interdépendance permet de lier les joueurs dans l’action et de les orienter dans une direction commune. Les modèles mentaux semblent permettre aux joueurs de construire un cadre d’organisation partagé qui favorise l’émergence d’une coopération efficace et fluide ; 3) que le flow, le team flow et le group flow sont des états mentaux qu’il semble possible de détecter en observant le comportement des joueurs et leurs actions dans le jeu. Considérées dans leur ensemble, ces études ont permis de mieux cerner le fonctionnement de l’expérience optimale de coopération, sa singularité face à la version individuelle du flow, ainsi que des pistes pour identifier ces états mentaux en temps réel. Après avoir discuté les principaux résultats de cette thèse, nous suggérons des perspectives de recherches et d’applications dépassant le cadre du jeu vidéo / Recent studies have explored social forms of the optimal experience (i.e. group flow and team flow). However, knowledge about these processes and ways to identify them, is very limited. Therefore, the present thesis aims, first, to define the team flow and its conceptual dimensions, and second, to create a new method to detect the different forms of flow through observation of players’ behavior and game replays. In this vein, three studies were carried out on different cooperative games (League of Legends, Resident Evil 5…) and revealed that: 1) team flow is a phenomenon qualitatively different from individual flow and therefore posseses unique conceptual dimensions; 2) positive interdependence and shared mental models seem to play a major role in the emergence of team flow. Positive interdependence links players in action and points them in a common direction. Mental models appear to allow players to build a shared organizational framework that promotes the emergence of an effective and smooth cooperation; 3) flow, team flow and group flow are mental states that seem to be possibly detectable by observing players’ behavior and their actions in the game. The joint outcomes of these studies help to define the optimum cooperative experience, its functioning, its specific characteristics compared to the individual version of flow, as well as ways to identify these mental states in real time. After discussing the main results of this thesis, we suggest research perspectives and applications beyond the scope of gaming.

The fundamental advancement of information technology has given rise to distance education industry hence it has helped to the popularity of distance education among people. However, for employing innovative and advanced tools universities need financial resources. Reaching to these resources is not easy and accessible. Interaction equivalency theorem can be a good solution for overcoming the financial problems but designers are reluctant to utilize it because they think that education quality will decrease due to lack of teacher interaction. This study demonstrated that students’ perception toward interaction equivalency is positive as long as they have high level of interdependency with other students. Without this level of, students are not motivated in order to continue their courses. This study by providing techno-pedagogical design and IS design theory for support of IE helps e-learning practitioners who want to design an acceptable distance educational system with limited financial resources. / Program: Magisterutbildning i informatik

This is an exploratory research study aimed toward steadying attendance across a semester of higher education video game development labs with attention to cooperation as a co-factor. Following the observation of unusually strong attendance in a highly cooperative game development lab class which aligns with these theories, this paper seeks to explore whether subfactors of positive social interdependence are co-factors with lab attendance. Sparked by previous case data, this exploratory study examines data from the Fall 2019 iteration of the introductory video game development course, defining and measuring potential co-factor variables during an individual-focused half of the course supplemented with group activity, and a fully group-focused half of the semester, with future interest in investigating a correlation between attendance and positive interdependence. Empirical studies of both the performance impact of attendance, and the financial reliance of residential higher education institutions on student attendance and retention suggest that understanding how to operationalize students’ motivation to attend class is epistemically and fiscally valuable. Studies of positive interdependence raise interest as a co-factor contextually through high commitment, joint efficacy, and mutual benefit, strongly overlapping with empirical antecedents of higher education retention and seminal social psychological frameworks. Therefore, the author began an intended extensive analysis of consecutive semesters. All students enrolled in the Fall 2019 introductory game development course (n=56 for students with matched data sets, 59 retained participant students total) were engaged in cooperatively-designed lectures and lab activities, with the first half of the semester’s lighter collaborative activity and independent assigned work to be compared to the second half’s full-time group project work. Between these designed halves, two null hypotheses were assessed: 1) lab attendance in the first half of the semester is equivalent to the second half, and 2) subfactors of positive interdependence in the first half of the semester are equivalent to the second half. Attendance proportions and surveyed positive interdependence measures for the Fall 2019 semester were analyzed using paired sample t-tests. Attendance, and a majority of positive interdependence subfactors were not significantly different across halves of the semester, suggesting that collaboration had evened results across the whole, but not all effects reached their target results. The Classroom Life Instrument was used to formally measure the presence of a positive interdependent context before and after group project work.

The Swedish curriculum emphasizes the importance of pupils’ active learning, influence over the education and communicative skills in language learning. The Storyline approach has since its entry in the educational context in the 1960s, influenced teaching all over the world. The approach emphasizes pupils’ interest, meaning-making processes and creativity and thus agrees well with the content of the Swedish curriculum. This research overview aims to offer insight into how the Storyline approach can affect pupils in an English as a second language context, in different ways. It focuses primarily on how the Storyline approach can promote pupils’ second language acquisition, what impact the story and its characters have on pupils’ motivation and what effects the aesthetics in Storyline have on pupils. It also gives an overview of challenges that pupils and teachers might encounter while working with a Storyline project. The findings of the study indicate that the Storyline approach, through group work and communicative, meaningful tasks, promote pupils’ learning of English. Moreover, the context of the story and the characters seem to enhance pupils’ intrinsic motivation to learn the English language and the aesthetics can make pupil active agents in their learning process and mediate their knowledge. However, the Storyline approach also involves different challenges for both pupils and teachers, such as trying to find a balance between the teacher’s and the pupils’ control, keeping the story and the characters alive throughout the whole project, dealing with lack of time, group work issues and presenting the work in front of other pupils.