CELSTEC researcher Femke Kirschner in thesis: ‘United brains’ as solution to learning of complex learning tasks

In her thesis she states that the cognitive load which a learning task imposes determines whether collaborative learning leads to better learning results than individual learning.

Collaborative learning
Kirschner uses a cognitive approach to research which role the complexity of a task has in determining whether, and under which circumstances, collaborative learning leads to better learning results than individual learning. She states that the very limited capacities of learners’ working memories need to be considered in designing learning environments. These limited capacities can lead to a new problem, when learners need to learn complex tasks, during which they need to process a large amount of new information. Collaborative learning can offer a solution to this problem, according to Kirschner.

United brains
Learners collaborating in groups can be considered to be information-processing systems, in which the total available working memory capacity is a sum of the memory capacities of the individual group members. Kirschner shows that collaborating learners learn better than individual learners, if the learning tasks are sufficiently complex. Reason is the benefit of having the possibility of dividing the task load over several learners and thus using a larger memory capacity.

Transaction costs
A characteristic of collaboration is that communication and coordination of information exchange between the collaborating learners imposes an additional cognitive load. Although these so-called transaction costs are relatively low regarding complex tasks (that is, in relation to the benefits of collaboration), they are relatively high considering simple tasks. Kirschner demonstrates in her research that individual learning learners will therefore learn better from simple tasks than collaborating learners.

Contribution of thesis
Kirschner’s research proves that collaborative learning can be used to neutralize the limitations of the individual cognitive system. The meaning of the research results for the educational practise is that the cognitive load or the complexity of the learning tasks needs to be considered when collaborative learning environments are designed. If the tasks are not sufficiently complex, the learners will not benefit from collaborative learning.

On Friday 11 December 2009, Kirschner will defend her thesis at 01.30 PM in the Pretoria building of the Open Universiteit in Heerlen, The Netherlands.