The influence of collaborative learning on students' understanding of mathematics and literacy content.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This case study documents the experiences and interactions of twenty-three fifth grade students during collaborative learning situations in the content areas of literacy and mathematics. The major purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the impact of collaboration on student learning, including children with special needs. This study also examines how teacher research assists the teacher in developing a deeper understanding of what really happens during student collaborative work during literature circles and mathematical problem solving activities.
This study illustrates the powerful impact that collaborative learning has on the development of children's mathematical and literacy understanding. However, the level of learning that occurs during groupwork is heavily influenced by students' social skills as well as students' level of understanding of the particular activity. Moreover, the development of these skills takes time, and the teacher must scaffold students' learning of these skills. The students participating in this study developed these interactive skills in the following progression: emergent interactions, competent interactions, and an advanced level of scaffolding and intersubjectivity.
This study concludes that if we want students to acquire an understanding of academic content while working in collaboration with others, students must be prepared how to function as effective group members. Furthermore, the needs of students with learning disabilities can be met more effectively when their teacher and peers are properly prepared. Another important conclusion of this study is that teacher research enables teachers to think about their students and the way they learn in new ways. As such, curriculum can be informed each day by observing and listening to students. Teacher research enabled the teacher of this study to support and meet the needs of all students participating in this study. In particular, teacher research assisted the teacher to become more aware of how children with special needs are impacted in collaborative groups.