CSCL is seen as a socio-technical process which has to be carefully planned by both students and teachers. These processes can be presented as graphical models which serve as maps to guide the students through their collaboration. In an experimental field study, the participatory development of these models was compared to a condition without models. The data shows the advantages of graphical models for the students' planning coordination. Most of the five hypotheses are confirmed in this study. These findings show just how important a technical concept is which helps to integrate the developed models as a means of coordination and navigation into CSCL-systems.