Dialogic Interactions and Collaborative Digital Problem Solving: Exploring Power, Relationships, and Participation

• In Event: 43.079 - Sheraton Roundtable Session Six - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 43.079-10 - Topics in Adult Education

Abstract

This study reports findings from research conducted in collaboration with an urban public library. The study examined the digital problem solving skills that adults possess to meet their personal, civic, social, and workforce goals. The paper examines the collaborative nature of problem solving as dyads and triads were grouped together to solve digital problems using online resources. Findings address the nature of collaborative talk and three interrelated categories of themes that emerged from a discourse analysis of dyads’ and triads’ discourse: 1) power, 2) relationships, and 3) participation. Implications from this research suggest ways to design collaborative activities and support dialogic interaction among adult learners in formal adult education settings or informally in libraries and other settings where collaboration occurs.

Authors

• Jill M. Castek, University of Arizona

• Gloria E. Jacobs, Portland State University