On Incorporating Learning Theories to Simulate a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environment

The success of a computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment in improving student knowledge depends on factors like student attributes (e.g., ability and motivation) and elements of the CSCL environment (e.g., group size and group formation). Better understanding of the individual and combined effects of these factors on the learning outcome of students would help: (1) researchers design better CSCL systems and (2) teachers make better decisions while carrying out CSCL sessions. To aid the researchers and teachers, we have used the observations collected and derived from published theories on individual, peerbased, and collaborative learning to design SimCoL, a multiagentbased tool for simulating the collaborating learning process in a CSCL environment. SimCoL consists of agents that model student collaborative behaviors, teacher instructional decisions, and agent-based learning support in the CSCL environment.