The present study examined the social dynamics of interpersonal immediacy, a manifestation of social support, during collaborative small-group discussions. The temporal sequence of three forms of immediacy behaviors identified from 24 discussions in two fifth-grade classrooms were analyzed using statistical discourse analysis. The preliminary…

It is commonly observed that during classroom or group discussions some students have greater influence than may be justified by the normative quality of those students' contributions. We propose a 5-component theoretical framework in order to explain how undue influence unfolds. We build on literatures on persuasion, argumentation, discourse, and…

The construction of multi-link causal reasoning chains was investigated in 24 collaborative discussions involving 160 underserved fifth-grade children. The effects of group features and individual characteristics on seven causal chain models were tracked in the discussions. Children's basic English proficiency, talkativeness, and perceived…

Background: Cooperative learning activities provide active participation of students leading to better learning. The literature suggests that cooperative learning activities need to be structured for a more effective and productive interaction. Purpose: This study aimed to test the differences among three instructional conditions in terms of…

Student-run literature circles within the classroom setting have been well documented in recent years. This past year the author was given the opportunity to have her fifth grade library class for an additional library period each week to devote to literature circles. For their program, the goal was to expand the student's pleasure in reading and…

Literature discussion groups are a widely used practice in many classrooms. Creating literature discussions that are both effective and engaging can be a rewarding experience for both the students and the teacher. As a part of a larger study examining the scaffolding that took place during literature discussions, this article focuses on the…

How should a teacher respond when a student makes off-base guesses about meaning in a literary text because that learner is trying to genuinely understand the story rather than find the "right" meaning? Aukerman argues that when teachers jump in to correct students' interpretations, they short-circuit students' processes of reading and thinking.…

Is it feasible to hold concurrent, small-group, peer-managed discussions in large elementary school classes? We sought an initial answer to this question in a fifth-grade class in Hefei, China. The 52 students in the class were divided into seven small groups. The seven groups held four simultaneous discussions without immediate supervision or…

When literacy specialist Jennifer Allen agreed to meet weekly with five boys who wanted to share their out-of-school writing with her, the weekly all-boys lunch-time writing group was born at Albert S. Hall elementary school in Waterville, Maine. She had intended to run the group as a writers' workshop and teach mini-lessons. But from the…