The purposes of this study were to categorize the type of student-student interaction and analyze the pattern of group interaction by cognitive level in interactive science inquiry experiments. For this study, two homogeneous and two heterogeneous gro...
The purposes of this study were to categorize the type of student-student interaction and analyze the pattern of group interaction by cognitive level in interactive science inquiry experiments. For this study, two homogeneous and two heterogeneous groups by cognitive level were selected. Social interactions during group discussions were audio/video taped. The types of student`s interaction were classified as intellectual and emotional aspects. Intellectual aspects were consisted of asking question, response, making suggestion, receiving opinion and then further coded by interaction level. Emotional aspects were consisted of relevance to behavioral participation, relevance to students` feeling, reaction to opinion. Interaction frequency in the intellectual and emotional aspect between homogeneous and heterogeneous group were compared to analyze interaction pattern. The results of this study showed that in intellectual aspect the frequency and quality of interaction in homogeneous group was higher than that in heterogeneous group. In emotional aspect, homogeneous group more showed such negative attitude as lack of confidence and dissatisfaction than heterogeneous group, on the other hand showed acceptable mood to be able to accept or object to peer`s opinion. Some educational implications were drawn.