Direct Tutor Moderation of Synchronous Discussions: The Importance of Involvement and Personalization

Research on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) is deeply rooted in constructivism and focuses on the role of peer collaboration in learning and development. Whereas important insights have been obtained on collaboration mechanisms and the role of task design, the role of the teacher has not been considered with the same intensity. This study reports on first findings from qualitative analyses of tutor moderation practices in a synchronous discussion environment. The analyses show that the use of generic scaffolding prompts meant to improve students' reasoning were overall ineffective and unappreciated. They also revealed the importance of involvement and personalization of moderator interventions. The potential reasons for these findings are discussed in terms of design and communication formats.