Abstract:

Team projects are a core part of undergraduate computer science education, yet many students struggle to understand how their group is functioning until problems are already full-blown. As part of an early design-based research (DBR) cycle, this paper explores a virtual plant metaphor as a simple and intuitive way to help computer science students monitor their collaborative process. This work proposes a design direction informed by insights from Vygotsky's Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and grounded in observations from classroom practice.

Using CHAT to analyze team activity revealed recurring tensions related to rules, roles, tools, and divisions of labour. These tensions shaped participation patterns, communication habits, and perceptions of fairness within groups. The virtual plant metaphor emerged as a promising way to represent these dynamics at the group level without evaluating individual students. A shared plant that grows when collaboration is healthy, stalls when teams fall out of sync, or droops when tensions intensify can externalize abstract collaboration patterns into a visual form that students immediately understand and can receive as a signal to adjust. Its simplicity makes it well suited for early computer science education, where students benefit from gentle, non-punitive cues that prompt reflection and conversation.

Guided by Design Based Research principles, this paper outlines how CHAT-informed diagnostic insights translate into design conjectures for such a system. These include considerations about what kinds of group behaviors the plant should respond to, how feedback should be framed to maintain positiveness while prompting change, and how group-level indicators can support equitable participation. This work provides a clear, theoretically coherent design proposal that can guide the next iteration of research and development. We highlight how simple visual metaphors such as the virtual plant can help CS students recognize collaboration challenges earlier, and how CHAT can serve as a productive framework for turning diagnostic collaboration tensions into design directions. This contribution lays the foundation for future AI-supported collaboration tools that emphasize group well-being and positive learning outcomes for all.

Keywords:

Problem-based learning, Collaborative learning, Pedagogical Methods and Innovations, Higher Education Trends, Computer science education.