As with much of chaos theory, a phenomenon that was formerly beyond our ability to control is now manageable. But over the course of a few weeks, the group becomes accustomed to this new form of discourse. Managing a class in this new arena is not easy. A new teacher in a traditional classroom may not feel comfortable for several years, and the same is true of the CSCL classroom. There is much value, however, in the CSCL classroom.
Students are more active and therefore are more likely to learn.
But the point here is how difficult it is to discover those values using a typical evaluation approach. It should be clearer now how large a step it is to move to a CSCL classroom, and how long it may take a teacher to become adept in it. To re-conceptualize a concept as basic as coherence takes time, patience, and imagination. It often means going back to the basic assumptions about teaching and what learning goals one is trying to achieve. In attempting to evaluate a CSCL class, then, we may indeed have to compare apples and oranges.