How do social interaction and group-level regulation shape task perceptions in collaborative learning task?

This study explored patterns of social interaction and group-level regulation in terms of co- and socially shared regulation in collaborative learning and their relation to learners' metacognitive task perceptions. 72 secondary school students performed collaborative physics tasks in small groups over multiple 90-minute sessions. Video recordings (∼148.5 h) of collaborative interactions and pre- and post- situated self-reports of learners' task perceptions were collected. The collaborative sessions were clustered and collaborative interaction patterns were examined. Finally, learners' task perceptions in the clusters were investigated. The results showed different collaborative interaction patterns and differences in learners' task perceptions between the clusters. The main finding is that continuous active participation in socioemotional interactions alongside cognitive-focused interactions and appropriate group-level regulation of learning positively influence learners' perceived task understanding. These findings add to current understanding of collaborative interactions as temporal processes and contribute to practical implications for supporting collaborative interactions to enhance metacognitive skills.