From the logbook to the forum: how to reinforce collaborative learning for a better student's autonomy?

Résumé En

This article reports on a study involving MA psychology students at a French university. For the fourth consecutive year the students were asked to work on a flexible language learning system combining e-learning on a virtual learning environment, pair-work and counselling appointments. The use of this system has been studied for four years, both quantitatively and qualitatively, following the tradition of action-research. For the fourth population a logbook has been integrated in order to favour a metacognitive approach by the students and to enable them to go a little further towards autonomy. Our research question was to know if the use of logbooks helped the students to progress towards autonomization in their learning of English. Moreover, the study of the logbooks could enable us to improve the use of the forum which had already proved successful to solve technical problems, and which could now be used to make the students' learning strategies evolve. In this aim we carried out a questionnaire to study the students' perception of the system, as well as a content analysis of the logbooks. This analysis helped us to point out the problems encountered by the learners in the learning process. The purpose of the study was to guide them more efficiently in their use of the forum which could perhaps enable them to ask more precise questions concerning their learning strategies, to which their peers and their teachers could answer. It would help develop collaborative learning strategies and encourage the students to use strategies which they would primarily not have thought of. This study may lead to a higher degree of learners' autonomy.