Computer support for peer-based methodology tutorials

This payer reports on a study that was designed to explore computer support for peer-based learning in methodology tutorials. In particular, software was developed to organise group discussion, with the aim of leaving student s free to concentrate on the more productive elements of group dialogue, an d in particular discussing their ideas. Forty-three undergraduate psycholog y students in groups of 3-4 were given a series of computer-supported metho dology tutorials designed to structure their discussion around issues conce rning the design of their Honours dissertation. Students gave individual ra tings of their reactions to both the software and the tutorial sessions mor e generally. A sample of their discussions was videotaped and the dialogues analysed. The written assignments in which they detailed their proposed em pirical work (the 'Design Exercise') were blind marked and compared to a sa mple of similar assignments from the previous year. The results demonstrate d that the computer-supported tutorials resulted in better quality Design E xercises, that the students' dialogues were overwhelmingly task-focussed an d substantially transactive, and that their expressed satisfaction was gene rally high but with a desire for more preparation time before and between t utorials. The implications of the study for the use of computers to support groupwork are discussed.