Using Social Network Analysis to Evaluate the Functioning of a Class With Multiple Collaborating Groups
Brayan Díaz, Cesar Delgado, Collin Lynch, Kevin Han
17th International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS 2023)
Network design
Nodes
Graduate engineering students and their project groups in one multidisciplinary course.
Ties
Slack message exchanges within a project group or across the boundaries of different groups.
Methods
Communication-network construction, SNA visualization and participation analysis, temporal comparison of group-to-group interaction, and Community of Practice interpretation.
Source: ISLS Repository
Reviewed summary
Students in the course worked in small teams on separate components of a larger robotic computer-vision project. Completing the shared system required both collaboration within teams and coordination across team boundaries.
The researchers used Slack communication records to evaluate participation and interaction through a Community of Practice lens. The network patterns illustrated three kinds of group-to-group connection and showed how cross-team communication changed during the course.
SNA
How SNA was used
Slack messages were represented as communication ties and examined at individual and group levels. Network visualizations and temporal summaries were interpreted against Community of Practice concepts: overlaps, boundary practices, and peripheral connections.
Source
Proceedings of the International Conference of the Learning Sciences, 1382-1385
DOI: 10.22318/icls2023.323952
