A growing body of research indicates that the effectiveness of collaborative, computer-based learning groups is related to the kinds of elaborated verbal interactions that take place during group processing. At the same time, most spontaneous student-student verbal interactions appear to be limited to low level informational exchanges. In this study, instructional methodology incorporating structure and training (designed to increase the level of elaborated interactions) was investigated with a sample of regular and at-risk seventh-grade social studies students engaged in a nine-week program of collaborative, computer-based learning. Training led to increased rates of giving explanations and higher self-esteem, while structure (with or without training) resulted in improved content area achievement.
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