Socio-cognitive dynamics in dyadic interaction: How do you work together to solve Kohs cubes?

Abstract

This study presents a detailed analysis of collaborative interaction modes employed by 9- to 10-year-old children in a spatial problem solving a task called the Kohs cubes. All the children were videotaped during non-interactive pre-test and post-test sessions (stages 1 and 4) and two types of interactive sessions: (1) novice children training with adults (stage 2); and (2) competent instruction by children, or competent children, interacting with novice children (stage 3). Dyadic sessions between competent and novice children are analysed in more detail to show how children share their involvement with the task and how they manage to solve the problem depending on their level of task competence. Three particular dimensions of these interactive sessions have been studied: (1) making strategies explicit; (2) children's task management; and (3) modes of interaction and their evolution in the course of the task resolution. Through a qualitative case-based analysis of four dyads extracted from the experiment, the results highlight the plurality and complexity of the socio-cognitive dynamics in dyadic interactions. The discussion focuses on the processes of collaborative learning involved in such interactions.