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Special Issue of Theory Into Practice IASCE Executive Board member Angela O’Donnell was recently guest editor for a special issue of the journal Theory Into Practice devoted to the theme of Promoting Thinking through Peer Learning. Here is information on the articles in the issues. At the bottom is information on a special offer for IASCE members who wish to purchase this issue and an earlier one on cooperative learning. De Lisi, R. (2002). From marbles to instant messenger? The implications of Piaget’s ideas about peer learning. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 5-12. [delisi@rci.rutgers.edu]Piaget’s theory is properly associated with educational practices that encourage students’ active participation in the teaching-learning process. This paper describes some of Piaget’s ideas about peer relationships. Professional educators might find these ideas useful for classroom applications. Any educational practice, including peer learning, should be systematically examined and evaluated. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for such an evaluation using Piaget’s theory as a basis. After describing two important goals of peer learning, the point is made that teachers need to be mindful of the socio-moral context in which peer learning occurs. Teachers also need to consider the impact of peer learning on students’ thoughts and feelings about school work and classmates. Finally, toward the end of the paper peer interactions and peer learning using modern technology are discussed. Webb, N. M., Farivar, S. H., & Mastergeorge, A. M. (2002). Productive helping in collaborative groups. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 13-20. [webb@ucla.edu] The past 20 years has seen a tremendous increase in the use of peer-directed s mall group work to give students an opportunity to learn from each other. Students can learn from each other in many ways, for example, by giving and receiving help, by recognizing and resolving contradictions between their own and other students' perspectives, and by internalizing problem-solving processes and strategies that emerge during group work. This paper focuses on the mechanism of helping behavior, specifically the exchanging of explanations about the content being learned. We describe several conditions that must be satisfied for help given to be effective, and we describe the responsibilities of the help-seeker, the help-giver, and the teacher to make helping productive for learning. Our examples are drawn from a study of a semester-long program of peer learning in middle school mathematics classrooms. The cooperative learning program was conducted in six 7th-grade classes for three four-week phases spread out over the course of the semester, with each unit corresponding to a curriculum unit (decimals, fractions, percents). Prior to each phase, classes participated in activities designed to help students work effectively in small groups. Although students were given instruction and practice in developing communications and helping skills, their group work was fairly unstructured. At the beginning of each class period, the teacher introduced the whole class to the day’s material and solved a few example problems with the class. The teacher then assigned problems for students to solve in small, heterogeneous groups. Students were reminded to work together and help each other, to make sure that they agreed on their answers, and to consult each other before asking the teacher for help. Groups were tape recorded as they worked and were tested on the material (individual test) several weeks later. Donovan, B. (2002). An illustration of theory in search of practice. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 21-25. [donovanb@tcd.ie] This paper is written from the perspective of a classroom teacher in a secondary, vocational (ages 13-17) school in Dublin, Ireland. The school is located in an inner-city area with significant amounts of social disadvantage and all of the educational consequences that such an environment implies. The paper will briefly describe the social area in which the school is located, the situation within the school and classrooms that militate against learning taking place, and then explores how a theory of peer learning was used to address the problems. More specifically, the effort made, influenced by peer learning and other educational theories, will be placed in the context of seeking to extend the literacy skills of first year students. The goal of the paper is to examine how theory can contribute to solving problems of practice in the school, and do so in such a way as to help motivate all students to become engaged learners. The first section will describe the social circumstances in which this particular school exists and then look at problems experienced with the students and the goals of instruction within the school. The next section will describe one teacher’s efforts at working with students as a group, encouraging all students to work together on issues of perceived relevance to their lives as students. While looking at literacy extension within the school and democracy as a peer-orientated device, this section will offer hope that students can work together discussing such issues, and offer constructive suggestions for the entire school. Finally, the conclusion will look at the theory that provided the path the teacher was looking to explore. The conclusion will show that an effort was made in which students did engage, but that more theory-informed practice is needed. Palincsar, A. M., & Herrenkohl, L. R. (2002). Designing collaborative learning contexts. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 26-32. [annemari@umich.edu] As this special issue entitled, Promoting Thinking through Peer Learning attests, the social aspects of learning command considerable attention in contemporary discussions of schooling. Consistent with the emergence of social constructivist learning theories, concomitant with educational reform efforts that aspire to shape classrooms as learning communities, and spurred on by the design of new technologies that lend themselves to collaborations within and across contexts, there has been a burgeoning of interest in the role that interactions with others play in academic engagement and learning. Despite this enthusiasm, orchestrating productive peer learning remains an enormously complex undertaking. In this article, we summarize lessons learned across two programs of research, each of which featured peer collaboration for the purpose of promoting advanced literacies, including text comprehension and scientific reasoning. King, A. (2002). Structuring peer interaction to promote high-level cognitive processing. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 33-39. [aking@csusm.edu] High level cognitive processing involves making inferences, drawing conclusions, synthesizing ideas, generating hypotheses, comparing and contrasting, finding and articulating problems, analyzing and evaluating alternatives, monitoring thinking, and the like. The focus of this article is on the kind of peer learning that demands high-level cognitive processing. Peer learning tasks that require critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making can be challenging for both teacher and students. However, there are ways to structure peer learning so as to ensure that learners engage in high level cognitive processing. van Boxtel, C., van der Linden, J., & Roelofs, E. (2002). Collaborative concept-mapping: Provoking and supporting meaningful discourse. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 40-46. [C.vanBoxtel@fss.uu.nl]In this article we discuss the potential of collaborative concept-mapping tasks. In our research, we used a concept-mapping task in three experimental studies. Participants in the studies were 15 to 16 years old students from physics classes in intermediate general secondary education. The students collaborated in pairs on a concept-mapping task that functioned as the introduction to a new course about electricity. In each study we manipulated the task design and compared the student interaction that emerged in the different task conditions. In all studies, we videotaped and transcribed the student interactions and analyzed the transcripts. We concluded that concept-mapping, as a collaborative learning activity, is successful in provoking and supporting a student discourse that contributes to the appropriation of physics concepts. Students in the three studies in which we used concept mapping as a group task showed significant learning gains. It appeared that the learning outcomes were related to the quality of the student interaction. The more talk about physics concepts and the more elaborative that talk, the higher the learning outcomes. We present our experiences with the concept-mapping tasks that we used in our research. We try to identify the features of the concept-mapping task make the task successful in provoking and supporting a productive student discourse. Hoffman, J. (2002). Flexible grouping strategies in the multiage classroom. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 47-52. [johoffman@eclipse.net] In a multiage classroom, children of different ages and ability levels are taught together without division into grade designations. The age range of the students is commonly three or more years. Curriculum and teaching practices are such that children can approach tasks according to their developmental levels. Some grade-specific teaching may occur because of state mandated curricula and testing, but cross-grade teaching is the norm. In this kind of educational setting, frequent instructional opportunities for peer learning are planned. The children often work in collaborative small groups that are teacher or student-led. Multiage teachers understand the important role that social interaction and collaborative learning plays in the classroom. In fact, due to the broad range in ages and abilities, collaborative peer learning contexts are necessary. A variety of arrangements for peer learning are utilized in a multiage classroom depending on the task. This article will focus on peer learning contexts that typically occur in multiage classrooms. The first part of the article will illustrate some of these flexible configurations and discuss how different perspectives and theories of peer learning are required to account for their intended effects. A classroom example is provided as an illustration for each context discussed. The second half of the article provides a more detailed example as an instructional strategy in one multiage classroom is described wherein the teachers designed a collaborative context for solving word problems in math. Providing a specific example such as this one illustrates how peer learning theories influence decisions in the classroom. Cooper, S. M. A. (2002). Classroom choices for enabling peer learning. Theory Into Practice, 41(1), 53-57. [mcooper@immaculata.edu] Weekly television schedules attest to the enduring popularity of home remodeling and craft programs among the American public. Viewers watch in fascination to see precision tools transform raw materials into objects of usefulness, beauty, and sometimes even elegance. As many a do-it-yourselfer has found to his/her chagrin, however, outcomes are not guaranteed. The best tools offer their most positive results in the proper supportive structure and under the guidance of those who know their power, and exercise the wisdom and self-discipline to use them within their limitations. The image applies well to the tools of education. This paper looks at one powerful and versatile tool, peer learning, and considers supporting structures and strategies for its optimum application. Purchase the Winter 2002 (41:1) issue of Theory Into Practice, "Promoting Thinking Through Peer Learning," guest edited by Angela O'Donnell and get the Spring 1999 (38:2) issue, "Building Community Through Cooperative Learning," guest edited by Margarita Calderon and Robert Slavin for $6.00 (a 50% discount) plus shipping. For ordering information, visit the TIP web site at www.coe.ohio-state.edu/TIP and click on the "Ordering Information" link. And be sure to mention code IASCE702 to receive the discounted price. The table of contents for Spring 1999 (38:2) follows: Making Cooperative Learning Work David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson Comprehensive Approaches to Cooperative Learning Robert E. Slavin Complex Instruction: Equity in Cooperative Learning Classrooms Elizabeth G. Cohen, Rachel A. Lotan, Beth A. Scarloss, Adele R. Arellano Building a Culture of Collaboration Through Hybrid Language Practices Kris D. Gutierrez, Patricia Baquedano-Lopez, Hector H. Alvarez, Ming Ming Chiu Teachers Learning Communities for Cooperation in Diverse Settings Margarita Calderon A Middle School Venture Into Cooperative Learning: Successes and Dilemmas Carmen Jemente Stearns Cooperative Learning in Israel’s Jewish and Arab Schools: A Community Approach Rachel Hertz-Lazarowitz |
