Interdisciplinarity in the CSCL community: an empirical study

In previous work the CSCL community was analysed with respect to its scope, development, continuity and connectivity (Hoadley 2005, Kienle & Wessner 2005, Kienle & Wessner 2006). Main insights included a relatively low but stable continuity of individuals in the community, increasing international participation and increasing connectivity across different countries. Concerning the disciplines involved in CSCL and the disciplinary backgrounds of CSCL community members it was found that a variety of disciplines are represented in the community. A detailed analysis of the way these disciplines contribute to the progress of CSCL, the way members with different disciplinary backgrounds collaborate is still missing. In this paper we report an analysis of the CSCL community with respect to the disciplinary background of its members and the interrelation of various disciplines in CSCL. The analysis is based on a survey among members of the CSCL community actively involved in the CSCL 2007 conference (reviewers and authors of accepted contributions). The paper reports and discusses main results of this analysis with respect to disciplinary background of CSCL community members as well as links between the disciplines. In addition it provides insights into motives for interdisciplinary collaboration, beneficial and hindering factors. The results should help to sharpen our view of the CSCL community, contribute to a shared understanding about what CSCL (currently) is (and what is it not) and point out perspectives for future development of the CSCL community.