Enhancing Collaboration and Critical Thinking in CSCL Environments: The Interplay Between Team Dynamics and Pedagogical Innovation

Abstract

This interdisciplinary study aims to enhance students' collaborative and critical thinking (CT) performance in a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. Three hundred sixteen English as a Foreign Language students and eight instructors were recruited as the sample, being randomly assigned into experimental and control groups. Both groups experienced the same teaching sessions and CSCL activities, whereas the experimental group received extra team building interventions from the organization development domain. Mixed results showed that the experimental group gained more positive team experiences and higher CT than the control group. The findings indicate that placing individuals in a CSCL environment might develop learners' CT, on condition that those learners have acquired in-depth collaboration skills and engaged in thought-provoking discussion. The techniques and team building interventions in this study may provide scholars with innovative perspectives to improve their students' social skills and higher-order thinking in a broader context.