Is There a Right Way? Productive Patterns of Interaction during Collaborative Problem Solving

Joy Zimmerman,Marsha Ing,Noreen M Webb,Eric Burnheimer,Megan L Franke,Nicholas C Johnson

doi:10.3390/educsci11050214

Abstract

Compelling research evidence shows benefits for student learning from explaining one’s ideas and engaging with the ideas of others. However, whether certain patterns of group interaction may engender this productive student participation is unknown. Using data from two third grade mathematics classrooms, and over the course of six days during a five-month span, we investigated how students interacted with each other to solve problems when the teacher was not driving the interaction. We identified multiple profiles of group interaction that yielded highly-detailed participation for some or all students in the group. These profiles varied in terms of whether students interacted in an ongoing, sustained manner or interacted periodically but not continually, whether one or multiple students initiated problem-solving strategies, and whether group members worked jointly or largely separately on their strategies. No single profile of group interaction was either necessary or sufficient to lead to highly-detailed participation for all students in the group.

Highlights

Cooperative learning researchers have made great strides in identifying student participation in peer-led groups that is linked to student learning outcomes
This paper explores how interaction in small groups solving mathematical problems unfolded, and examines how multiple features of the patterns of interaction corresponded to the emergence of highly-detailed participation in the group
The second feature of group interaction we examine is the degree of continuity of the interaction among group members

Summary

Introduction

Cooperative learning researchers have made great strides in identifying student participation in peer-led groups that is linked to student learning outcomes. At the heart of many researchers’ perspectives about interaction among students that is productive for learning are explaining one’s own ideas and engaging in the ideas of others. For example, students offer the relevant information they have and engage critically but constructively with each other’s ideas by jointly considering, evaluating, challenging, and building upon each other’s hypotheses [22]. Explaining one’s own ideas and engaging with others’ ideas can promote learning in multiple ways. Developing and offering ideas to others, being challenged or questioned by others, and attending to others’ thinking all encourage students to rehearse information in their own minds, monitor their own thinking, reorganize and clarify material for themselves, recognize and rectify misconceptions and gaps in their understanding, make connections between new information and previously learned information, reconcile conflicting viewpoints, and acquire new strategies and knowledge and develop new perspectives [23,24,25,26,27,28,29]

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion