#734: Bridging Group and Individual: Transitional Spaces in Collaboration

This study investigates how learning traverses between collective and individual levels in collaborative learning by introducing the concept of Transitional Space, the temporary and interactional zone where collective knowledge constructions outpace or below individual understanding. Using an approach that integrates students’ knowledge complexity levels and participation patterns, we model both group-level dynamics and individual trajectories. Results from two groups reveals that while higher-level engagement often align with increased knowledge at the group level, most individual students within the group deviate significantly from these patterns. These divergence highlights the fragile and contingent nature of transitions, which indicates that students must need a space to reconcile group-generated ideas with their own thinking, the Transitional Space. By identifying occurrence of such divergence, this study makes transitions empirically visible. The findings also contribute to theory by challenging assumptions of a spontaneous internalization and providing a methodological bridge between collective discourse and individual learning trajectories.