Scripts Good and Bad

Weinberger discussed two types of scripts in CSCL: epistemic and social scripts. An epistemic script specifies how learners approach the learning task at hand. In order to guide the learning process, epistemic scripts "specify and sequence knowledge construction activities." Thus, the learners are directed sequentially through the knowledge building process as they work collaboratively. Somewhat unexpectedly, epistemic scripts have been found to impede the learning process in some cases and to, at the very least, fail to facilitate it in other cases.

Social scripts, on the other hand, have been found to aid in the collaborative learning process. A social script specifies how learners interact with one another rather than what is actually discussed. A social script in CSCL specifies and sequences the interactions between students. A well constructed social script in CSCL will encourage "equal and alternating participation" by learners during the knowledge building process. This means that all students will both ask and answer questions, and all will participate in negotiation of the knowledge construction process and in the building of the final product.

REFERENCE

Weinberger, A., Ertl, B., Fischer, F., & Mandl, H. (2005). Epistemic and social scripts in computer-supported collaborative learning. Instructional Sciences, 33(1), 1-30.