• Open Access

Development of the Modes of Collaboration framework

Alanna Pawlak, Paul W. Irving, and Marcos D. Caballero
Phys. Rev. Phys. Educ. Res. 14, 010101 – Published 11 January 2018

Abstract

Group work is becoming increasingly common in introductory physics classrooms. Understanding how students engage in these group learning environments is important for designing and facilitating productive learning opportunities for students. We conducted a study in which we collected video of groups of students working on conceptual electricity and magnetism problems in an introductory physics course. In this setting, students needed to negotiate a common understanding and coordinate group decisions in order to complete the activity successfully. We observed students interacting in several distinct ways while solving these problems. Analysis of these observations focused on identifying the different ways students interacted and articulating what defines and distinguishes them, resulting in the development of the modes of collaboration framework. The modes of collaboration framework defines student interactions along three dimensions: social, discursive, and disciplinary content. This multidimensional approach offers a unique lens through which to consider group work and provides a flexibility that could allow the framework to be adapted for a variety of contexts. We present the framework and several examples of its application here.

  • Received 4 November 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.010101

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

Published by the American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Physics Education Research

Authors & Affiliations

Alanna Pawlak1,*, Paul W. Irving1,2, and Marcos D. Caballero1,2,3

  • 1Michigan State University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Biomedical and Physical Sciences, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
  • 2Michigan State University, CREATE for STEM Institute, 620 Farm Lane, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA
  • 3Department of Physics and Center for Computing in Science Education, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway

  • *Corresponding author. pawlakal@msu.edu

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Issue

Vol. 14, Iss. 1 — January - June 2018

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