Exploring Interaction Behaviour and Performance of Online Collaborative Learning Teams Thanasis Daradoumis 1 , Fatos Xhafa 2 , and Joan Manel Marqu` es 1 1 Open University of Catalonia, Department of Information Sciences Av. Tibidabo 39-43, 08035 Barcelona, Spain {adaradoumis,jmarquesp}@uoc.edu 2 Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Campus Nord C6 Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona, Spain fatos@lsi.upc.es Abstract. Studying and analysing the collaborative behaviour of on- line learning teams and how this behaviour is related and affects task performance is a complex process. This paper presents an integrated ap- proach that analyzes the participatory attitudes of group members in collaborative learning activities (group functioning) in relation to the in- dividual and group learning outcomes (task performance). To that end, we first provide principled criteria and methods for evaluating collabora- tive problem-solving situations and then we identify different group types in terms of their degree of success at group functioning and task levels. Our objective is two-fold: assessing the effectiveness and adequacy of the evaluation criteria and methods, and exploring the interaction behaviour of different collaborative group types with respect to their performance. 1 Introduction Research in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) explored the types of problems that may result from insufficient group interaction and sup- port (see e.g. [1]). Several research approaches have been developed for observing, analysing and assessing collaborative learning interactions as well as for devel- oping methods and tools that provide guidance and support to on-line learning teams (see [2–4]). Common to the most of these approaches is their development and testing on a rather small sample of on-line learning groups on an experi- mental basis, focusing on the analysis of the participatory and social aspects of collaborative learning processes. Our research proceeds one step further by ex- plicitly distinguishing two evaluation levels: the group functioning and the task performance. The former examines the way a group of students functions as a co- hesive collaborative learning team. The latter assesses students’ individual and group problem-solving capabilities and performance as concerns task accom- plishment. Our work also relies on real, on-line collaborative problem-solving situations that form part of three distance learning undergraduate courses ([5]).