The work reported on here concentrates on virtual ad hoc expert teams for the integration of learning and working, as ad hoc teams seem to be one way to cope with complexity in a knowledge-intensive society. In order to let ad hoc teams learn and work together, group members require effective communication and shared understanding among each other. Two empirical studies were conducted to study collaborative learning and shared understanding, one exploratory study and one experiment. In the first study, it was explored how virtual design teams work and learn together. Based on conceptual ideas, collaborative learning and shared understanding were observed and assessed in a design team over a period of four months. It was concluded that shared understanding was suboptimal; mainly due to the effect that hardly any questions were raised and answered. The second study elaborates on the need to encourage question-answer patterns and reflective behavior in such teams. A tool was developed that supported questioning behavior. As it was hypothesized that this tool leads to better questioning behavior, which in turn results in more reflective behavior and in increased shared understanding, an experiment was conducted. In the exploratory study, as well as in the experimental study, the perceived shared understanding increased over time. However, in both studies suboptimal questioning behavior and little reflective activity were noticed. The main results of the two empirical studies are compared and discussed.

Virtual team members often face difficulties in their technology-mediated collaboration. Most of these problems can be related to sub-optimal technology or sub-optimal use of this technology. The solution seems to be simple: improve both the technology and its use. We are not the first to notice this. The issue is how we can improve technology and the use of this technology in such a way that it suits virtual teaming. We argue that collaborative design workshops in which prospective team members select their technology are a key to improving both use of technology and technology itself. In the current article, we describe our rationale and experiences on collaborative design workshops, and draw some preliminary conclusions.

Without shared understanding, hardly any group learning takes place. Though much has been written about the essence of shared understanding, less is known about how to assess the process of reaching shared understanding. Therefore, the study focuses on ways of assessing shared understanding. A conceptual framework is described that makes a distinction between the process of reaching shared understanding and the resulting shared understanding. The conceptual ideas lead to a coding scheme for observing the processes of shared understanding and to the definition of product measures, among others a scale to assess perceived shared understanding. Then an empirical study is presented, in which the model is applied. A major conclusion is that it was hard to find reflective utterances in the protocols although the coding scheme provided for them.