Dialogic approach to the analysis of the meaning-making process in a blended setting - Analysis of blended collaborative learning

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by hdkawk

This paper analyzes meaning-making processes in a blended setting combining face-to-face interaction and a web forum, designed for collaborative learning. The study examines one pair within 14 dyads: two Brazilian female students aged 17–18. A shared theme drives two problem-solving tasks, followed by an episodic interview. Using dialogic thematic analysis, the paper maps centripetal and centrifugal forces, showing how paired collaborative activities support authorial production, reflective meta-analysis, reflexivity, and agency in dialogue.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background of dialogic blended learning

Challenges and digital divide in education

ISSN: 2325-3290 (online) Dialogic approach to the analysis of the meaning-making process in a blended setting Rossana Beraldo Independent Researcher, Brazil M. Beatrice Ligorio University of Bari, Italy Silviane Barbato University of Brasília, Brazil Abstract This paper analyses meaning-making processes in a blended setting—face-to-face interaction and web forum—purposely created for collaborative learning activity. The analysis focuses on one pair out of 14 dyads. The dyad comprises two female students aged 17 and 18 who attended a Brazilian third-year state secondary school. We envisioned intertextuality in a seamless thematic flux using a single theme—about everyday problems in the culture—by two different problem-solving tasks. Task\#1 required discussing two polemic reports published in an online newspaper: one in favour of using digital technologies in class, the other against it. Task\#2 involved perspective-taking, where students should imagine the school in 20 years. Afterwards, the pair participated in an episodic interview focusing on their participation in both tasks. The interactions were video recorded. To map the meaning-making processes, we applied the dialogic thematic analysis looking for centripetal and centrifugal forces. A semantic map was drawn and discussed. Altogether, the paired and grouped collaborative activities in blended learning promoted authorial production. Our dyad achieved reflective meta-analysis when they compared their viewpoints with the perspective of their colleagues by using justifications and explanations grounded in their production, generating reflexivity and agency in dialogue. Keywords: web forums; dialogic blended setting; meaning-making; Secondary Education; dialogic thematic analysis. Rossana Beraldo is currently an Independent Researcher with a double-Doctorate in Development Psychology at the University of Brasilia, Brazil, and Psychology at the University of Parma, Italy. Over two decades, she has been focused on the studies of the semiotic process and meaning-making from a Bakhtinian perspective. Her main interest is related to the issues of discursive practices, critical thinking, intersubjectivity, and authorship in a diversity of blended learning environments. She conducts a longitudinal study from 2020 to 2023 about professors' liminal experience and transition using ICT during and postCovid-19. Silviane Barbato is an Associate Professor at the Department of School and Developmental Psychology, University of Brasília, Brazil, and visiting Professor at the Nacional University of Entre Ríos (UNER), Argentina. She currently leads the Ágora-Psyché Laboratory (CAPESPrInt/UnB) . She studies Dialogic Pedagogy: An International Online Journal | [http://dpj.pitt.edu](http://dpj.pitt.edu) DOI: 10.5195/dpj.2022.499 | Vol. 10 (2022) DT107 Dialogic approach to the analysis of the meaning-making process in a blended setting Rossana Beraldo, Silviane Barbato, M. Beatrice Ligorio conventionalisation in transition processes in undergraduates´ educational trajectories in the Amazon region (PROCAD/FAPEAM/CAPES) and meaning-making dynamics and technologies in education in impact events (COEP/DPI/UnB) . M. Beatrice Ligorio is a Full Professor in Educational Psychology at the University of Bari, Italy. Her research interests concern educational technologies, digital communities, identity, and new theoretical approaches to learning, such as dialogic and trialogical approaches. She is the Department delegate for Elearning. She is vice-president of the inter-university Collaborative Knowledge Building Group (CKBG; [www.ckbg.org/](www.ckbg.org/)) . She is on the scientific committee of many journals in the field. She has more than 200 publications in national and international journals, chapters, and edited texts. ÏÏÒ Introduction New education challenges can potentially expand dialogic teaching-learning processes. The postpandemic scenario in education

FAQs

What blended learning setting does the study examine?

It examines blended collaboration combining face-to-face interaction with participation in a web forum created for meaning-making in collaborative learning.

How were the students’ meaning-making processes investigated?

The pair completed two themed problem-solving tasks and then took part in an episodic interview; interactions were video recorded and analyzed using dialogic thematic analysis with centripetal and centrifugal forces.

What did the study find about students’ collaboration?

Paired and grouped collaborative activities promoted authorial production and enabled reflective meta-analysis, where students compared viewpoints and developed reflexivity and agency through justified, explanation-based dialogue.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by hdkawk