Teacher interventions in small group work in secondary mathematics and science lessons

Abstract

Collaborative problem solving, when students work in pairs or small groups on a curriculum-related task, has become an increasingly common feature of classroom education. This paper reports a study of a topic which has received relatively little attention: how teachers can most usefully intervene when students are working in a group, but have encountered some sort of problem. The data used comes from a large-scale interventional study of mathematics and science teaching in secondary schools in south-east England, in which interactions between teachers and students were recorded in their usual classrooms. We identify the typical problem situations which lead to teachers' interventions, and describe the different ways teachers were observed to intervene. We examine the different types of intervention, and consider how effective they are in helping group work proceed in a productive manner. Finally, we offer some conclusions about the practical implications of these findings.

Teacher interventions in students’ collaborative work in a technology‐rich educational makerspace

“…Our study echoes earlier research indicating that the teachers' habitual responses to classroom situations, such as the need for control and order in classrooms, are difficult to change (Hofmann & Mercer, ; Rainio, ). To transform their customary teaching activity and to develop professionally, the facilitating teachers need new competencies to handle the pedagogical and technological infrastructure of makerspaces proficiently.…”

“…Despite the educational potential of makerspaces, so far little research attention has been directed to the role of the teacher in facilitating students’ learning activities in makerspaces. However, teacher interventions and involvement in student‐centred learning activities (such as during collaborative group work situations) has been found to be important in furthering students’ productive disciplinary engagement and learning opportunities (see eg, Hofmann & Mercer, ). These findings have also been echoed in recent research on making in museums and in schools that suggest that teacher facilitation is a key issue.…”

Collaborative Learning Based on Harry Potter for Learning Geometric Figures in the Subject of Mathematics

“…Furthermore, it facilitates the acquisition of mathematical contents related to geometry, which does not directly affect the students' grades because, although those of the experimental group are better than those obtained by the control group, the differences between the two are minimal.However, for the inclusion of alternative and innovative learning methods in the teaching-learning process to be appropriate, an effort is needed, both from those responsible for managing the educational centres [13] and from the teachers themselves [14], who must rethink the teaching processes [15] and where information and communication technologies are a means to achieve such innovation [16][17][18].Among the various pedagogical actions considered innovative and that have demonstrated effective results in improving student learning [19][20][21] are collaborative teaching methods. These have become a more common practice in recent times in the processes of teaching and learning [22], thanks to their high educational potential [23].We can define collaborative learning as learning that is carried out by two or more people [24], where-at certain times-resources are shared [25] or the different skills of the group members are required to be put into practice [26] to achieve academic achievements through interaction [27], exchanges of experience [28], or changes in roles within the group [29], as the actions of all members have an impact on the achievements of the rest [30]. The collaborative group requires mainly group projects [31], joint problem solving [32], discussions [33], and study teams [34], among others.Certain studies show that social interactions do not emerge in the moment, but require a period of time in order to develop adequately [35], in addition to prior pedagogical training by teachers [36].…”

“…Among the various pedagogical actions considered innovative and that have demonstrated effective results in improving student learning [19][20][21] are collaborative teaching methods. These have become a more common practice in recent times in the processes of teaching and learning [22], thanks to their high educational potential [23].…”

Early childhood problem-solving interaction: young children’s discourse during small-group work in primary school

“…Another issue that needs clarification is how the teacher may construe his or her role while the children are working in small groups. It is widely recognized that the teacher plays an important role in stimulating children's group discourse before, after and during episodes of small-group work (Dawes, Mercer, & Wegerif, 2000;Hofmann & Mercer, 2016). However, in contrast to the episodes that precede and follow the peer interaction, less research has been carried out on the episodes during small-group work, as pointed out by Webb (2009).…”