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Workshop

workshop 3: Mutual Modeling

Detailed Programme

Context: This workshop stems from our Swiss National Science Foundation project entitled "The Effects of Mutual Modeling on Collaborative Learning". This project addresses the cognitive mechanisms of maintaining a representation of one's partner during a collaborative process. In line with our project, the objectives of the workshop are twofold :

  • First, to enable a better and deeper understanding of the mutual modeling process. When working and learning together, group members construct and continuously update a representation of their partners' knowledge, beliefs, goals, needs and understanding. This mutual model can be viewed as playing a crucial role in the emergence of a shared understanding. Moreover, knowing “who knows what” and “who is likely to do what” may help a team of interdependent workers solve problems more quickly and easily. It may also be that learners do not build an individualized model of each of their partners, but rather a global model of the group (or both). In each case, this modeling activity could lead collaborative partners to think more deeply about the task and hence to improve their performance and knowledge.
  • Second, to explore new methodologies and tools for investigating mutual models. Measuring modelling activity poses methodological problems that must be considered in future research. There are two traditional ways to capture mutual or group representations. It is possible to ask questions about the partners' behaviours either during (on-line test) or after the collaboration (off-line test). The intrusive (on-line) method may however introduce attention biases, the second (off-line) method, memory biases. Tools offered by CSCL environments can now enable us to develop methods that would be useful to provide better insights on mutual/group modelling. For instance, replay functions can be used to conduct various types of stimulated recall interviews. Another approach is to use eye-tracking tools in order to investigate when learners focuses their attention on what their partners do in a CSCL workspace, and also what kind of information they pick up about the others.

Scope: The workshop will focus on the mutual modeling process (in all its definition, i.e., intersubjectivity, audience design, transactive memory, perspective taking, team mental model, etc.).

We encourage contributions that: (a) help to understand how a group member builds a representation of what his/her partner knows, understands, or wants to do, (b) describe the content of mutual/group models, and/or (c) investigate the impact of mutual/group models on collaborative interactions and potential learning outcomes. Particularly welcome are also contributions about new research tools or methodologies that could be used to apprehend partner(s)/group models in various contexts.

Format: The workshop will start on Monday 22 January at 8:30 am and will end on Tuesday 23 at 18:30. The daily timetable includes two coffee breaks and a break from 12:30 until 16:30 for lunch and then for skiing or other leisure activities.

The workshop will consist in a session of invited presentations. Each workshop contribution will be a 20 min talk + a 20 min discussion during the session.

Participants: Researchers and doctoral students. A preliminary list of interested participants include Michael Baker, Kristine Lund, Susan Fussell, William Horton, Christian Stamov-Roßnagel, Daniel Richardson, Raïja Hamalaïnen, Béatrice Cahour, Pascal Salembier, Justine Cassell, Richard Moreland, Rainer Bromme, Darren Gergle.

Other interested participants are invited to send a position paper (2 pages) to the workshop coordinator (see contacts) no later than September 22, 2006. Notification of acceptance or rejection will be sent to participants by October 15.

Organizers: Gaëlle Molinari, Mirweis Sangin (Mirweis.sangin@epfl.ch), Nicolas Nova (nicolas.nova@epfl.ch).

Contact: Gaëlle Molinari is the workshop coordinator (gaelle.molinari@epfl.ch).
For organisational issues, you may contact Florence Colomb (Florence.Colomb@epfl.ch) or +41 21 693 22 75.