Design and Evaluation of Collaborative Learning Using Blogs for a University Developmental Education Class

Abstract

In this study, we seek to design a developmental education class in a department of education based on a collaborative learning environment using information technology. We focus on a basic seminar program that aims to write a report including argumentation in the area of declining academic ability. Students tend to encounter ambiguity in this area while they struggle to adopt a new learning style at the university. Thus, we implemented a framework of collaborative learning to facilitate interaction among the students using the jigsaw method to address knowledge building and problem finding in this area and to exploit blogging to promote reflection of students' ideas through writing on the blogs. Students' outputs on the blogs demonstrated the results of idea generation and problem identification in preparing the final report. We also recognized the effectiveness of collaborative learning and blogging in developmental education at the university.