Collaborative Reasoning (CR) is a peer-led, small group discussion approach that aims to promote intellectual and personal engagement in elementary school classrooms. In CR, students read a text that raises an unresolved issue with multiple and competing points of view. Students are expected to take positions on a big question, support the…

Findings are reported from a year-long evaluation of the effectiveness of the SPRinG programme relative to a control group. SPRinG aimed to address the wide gap between the potential of group interaction to promote learning and its limited use in schools. The project involved working with teachers to develop strategies for enhancing pupil group…

This microgenetic study examined social influences on children's development of analogical reasoning during peer-led small-group discussions of stories about controversial issues. A total of 277 analogies were identified among 7,215 child turns for speaking during 54 discussions from 18 discussion groups in 6 fourth-grade classrooms (N = 120; age…

CoBackground: Research has shown the importance of careful teacher support during collaborative group work to promote productive discourse between students (Webb, 2009). However, this research has traditionally focused on face-to-face communication. The role of online teacher guidance of small-group computer-mediated discussions has received…

Interactive whiteboards have been rapidly introduced into all primary schools under UK Government initiatives. These large, touch-sensitive screens, which control a computer connected to a digital projector, seem to be the first type of educational technology particularly suited for whole-class interaction. Strong claims are made for their value…

Emergent leadership was examined in 12 discussion groups in 4 fourth-grade classrooms. Children's leadership moves were coded from transcripts of 10 free-flowing, open-format discussions of each of the 12 groups. The transcripts encompassed 26,000 turns for speaking, including 22,000 child turns of which 1,700 were judged to serve one of five…