Studying Virtual Math Teams

Gerry Stahl teaches, publishes and conducts research in human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL). His recent book, Group Cognition: Computer Support for Building Collaborative Knowledge was published by MIT Press. He is founding Executive Editor of the International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (ijCSCL), published by Springer. He has contributed chapters to two edited volumes of the Springer CSCL series. He is the Principal Investigator of the Virtual Math Teams Project, a large 5-year research effort in collaboration with the Math Forum @ Drexel. He served as Program Chair for the international CSCL ’02 conference, Workshops Chair for CSCL ’03, CSCL ’05, ICCE ’06 and CSCL’07. He teaches undergraduate, masters and PhD courses in HCI, CSCW and CSCL at the I-School of Drexel University in Philadelphia. See CV for more details, at: http://www.cis.drexel.edu/faculty/gerry/resume.html.

• Introducing Group Cognition in Virtual Math Teams.- A Chat About Chat.- The VMT Vision.- Mathematical Discourse as Group Cognition.- Interactional Methods and Social Practices in VMT.- From Individual Representations to Group Cognition.- Studying Group Cognition in Virtual Math Teams.- The Sequential Co-Construction of the Joint Problem Space.- The Organization of Graphical, Narrative and Symbolic Interactions.- Question Co-Construction in VMT Chats.- Resolving Differences of Perspective in a VMT Session.- Studying Group Discourse in Virtual Math Teams.- Representational Practices in VMT.- Student and Team Agency in VMT.- Group Creativity in VMT.- Inscriptions, Mathematical Ideas and Reasoning in VMT.- Reading’s Work in VMT.- Designing the VMT Collaboration Environment.- The Integration of Dual-Interaction Spaces.- Designing a Mix of Synchronous and Asynchronous Media for VMT.- Deictic Referencing in VMT.- Scripting Group Processes in VMT.- Helping Agents in VMT.- Representing Group Interaction in VMT.- Thread-Based Analysis of Patterns in VMT.- Studying Response-Structure Confusion in VMT.- A Multidimensional Coding Scheme for VMT.- Combining Coding and Conversation Analysis of VMT Chats.- Polyphonic Inter-Animation of Voices in VMT.- A Model for Analyzing Math Knowledge Building in VMT.- Conceptualizing Group Cognition in VMT.- Meaning Making in VMT.- Critical Ethnography in the VMT Project.- Toward a Science of Group Cognition.

From the reviews: "This is an excellent book ... . In 2002, a group of researchers began the Virtual Math Team Project, which is still active during 2009. The goal of the project is to provide a new opportunity for students to engage in mathematical discourse. ... The book provides thoughts for explorations of group knowledge building and presents an effective online environment and educational service for collaborative learning of mathematics. ... book will be matter of interest to researchers and practitioners within the mathematics education field." (Valentina Dagiene, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1178, 2010)