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Task design as an influence on dialogue and learning: primary school group work with object flotation
Author(s) -
Tolmie Andrew,
Howe Christine,
Mackenzie Mhairi,
Greer Karen
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
social development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.078
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1467-9507
pISSN - 0961-205X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9507.1993.tb00013.x
Subject(s) - psychology , task (project management) , object (grammar) , group (periodic table) , work (physics) , group work , primary education , task group , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , mathematics education , computer science , artificial intelligence , engineering , mechanical engineering , systems engineering , chemistry , engineering management , organic chemistry
Previous studies suggest that group work would yield conceptual gains in physics if tasks specifically promoted dialogue about the factors which determine observed outcomes. This might be done by constraining task items to present critical tests of the effects of individual factors; and, additionally, by requiring participants to generate or select explicit rules about those effects. In order to test this hypothesis, groups of primary school children were asked to work on one of four versions of a task concerning object flotation: Random (i.e. a control in which there were no task constraints), Critical Tests, Rule Generation, and Rule Selection. Learning was assessed via change between a pre‐test and two post‐tests. Although the effect was delayed, children from the Random and Rule Generation conditions showed an increased awareness of relevant factors which was strongly related to prior group activity. This gain was absent in the Critical Tests and Rule Selection conditions. The results indicate that group dialogue can be productively shaped by task design, but also that its effects may take time to appear, and are negated by overmuch external direction of attention.