The effects of sentiments and co-regulation on group performance in computer supported collaborative learning

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is a widely acknowledged method to improve learning performance. Successful collaborative learning is closely associated with sentiments and inherently a group's coregulatory capabilities in joint academic activities. This study explores the relationship between CSCL and sentiments, as well as the connection between CSCL and regulation, where we aim to establish that the quantitative estimates of these links in order to predict group performance. We conducted a study to examine the relationships among sentiments, co-regulation, and group performance in a synchronous, online, collaborative learning environment. The results show that insightful sentiments are positively related to group performance and, as a co-regulation strategy, orientation predicted group performance to a higher degree. We discuss the implications of our findings and practice in fostering productive online collaborative learning. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.