Toward the evaluation of the small instructional group in the secondary biology classroom
Abstract
The analysis of interaction within small instruction groups promises to be a useful technique for the understanding of group processes. It has been demonstrated that classroom, group, and student characteristics modulate interaction within a group which in turn can predict student academic, social, and socioemotional gains. Student on-task engagement, cognition, helping behavior, and group structure are readily characterized by studying interaction. It follows then, that many of the pending questions about small instructional groups in the secondary biology classroom might lend themselves to small group interaction analysis. The study was designed to address the following questions: (1) Does the contemporary understanding of small group instruction, which is almost exclusively set in the elementary and/or non-biology classroom, apply to the secondary biology classroom as well? (2) Is group structure a useful predictor of student gain? (3) Are cognitive-level descriptions of interaction useful for predicting student gain? (4) How are student and group characteristics related to the frequency, type, quality, and distribution of interaction within the small instructional group? Take engagement and peer helping behavior, operationally defined by student verbal interaction, were found to predict instructional gain. However, the cognitive level of student interaction was neither predicted by ability nor did cognitive-level predict achievement. The lack of correlation between cognitive-level and achievement is explained by the low frequency (4.4%) of interaction coded as "higher than knowledge level". Also, it was not established that the criterion instruments are valid measures of higher cognitive learning. Some group structure indices (hierarchization, disorder, and integration), defined by the distribution of student verbal interaction within the instructional group, were found to correlate with group ability composition. Hence, ability composition predicted the characteristic interaction structure developed by groups over instruction. Similarly, an index of the individual student's "influence" on group interaction structure was found to be correlated with student ability. Finally, the extroversion/introversion subscale of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was found to correlate with student interaction. Extroverted students contributed more verbal interaction than did introverted students. However, introverted students were proportionally more often task-engaged than extroverted students.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Kahle, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching|Science education|Secondary education
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