Peer feedback on college students’ writing: exploring the relation between students’ ability match,feedback quality and essay performance

There does not appear to be consensus on how to optimally match students during the peer feedback process: with same-ability peers (homogeneously) or different-ability peers (heterogeneously). In fact, there appears to be no empirical evidence that either homogeneous or heterogeneous student matching has any direct effect on writing performance. The current study addressed this issue in the context of an academic writing task. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, 94 undergraduate students were matched in 47 homogeneous or heterogeneous reciprocal dyads, and provided anonymous, formative peer feedback on each other’s draft essays. The relations between students’ individual ability or dyad composition, feedback quality and writing performance were investigated. Neither individual ability nor dyad composition directly related to writing performance. Also, feedback quality did not depend on students’ individual ability or dyad composition, although trends in the data suggest that high-ability reviewers provided more content-related feedback. Finally, peer feedback quality was not related to writing performance, and authors of varying ability levels benefited to a similar extent from peer feedback on different aspects of the text. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for the instructional design of academic writing assignments that incorporate peer feedback.     

Distinguishing teaching interactions of physically abusive from nonabusive parent-child dyads

Researchers using a variety of behavioral coding instruments have demonstrated differences between the interactions of physically abusive parent-child dyads and those of nonabusive pairs. Despite fair consistency among these findings, there remains controversy regarding the value of observation of parent-child interaction to the clinical evaluation of child abuse. This study was an investigation of the ability of child protective service workers to distinguish videotaped interactions of physically abusive parent-child dyads from interactions of nonabusive dyads. The interactions occurred as part of a teaching task and were nondisciplinary. The child protection workers achieved a 76% rate of accuracy in identifying the abuse status of the dyads based on observation of only three minutes of semi-structured videotaped interaction. Of the workers, 40% were accurate in classifying 100% of the dyads observed. Increased protective service experience was not associated with increased accuracy, but subjects with no experience in protective service performed at chance level only. The results of this study show that experienced professionals can detect interactional differences in nondisciplinary parent-child interchanges of abusive as compared to nonabusive dyads. This suggests that clinical observation of parent-child interaction may be one important diagnostic tool within a comprehensive evaluation of families suspected of physical child abuse.     

Children's aesthetic understanding of photographic art and the quality of art-related parent-child interactions

This research was designed to examine the quality of children's aesthetic understanding of photographs, observe social interactions between parents and children in this aesthetic domain, and study whether qualitatively different dyadic interactions were associated with children's own aesthetic understanding. Parents and children (7-13 years; 40 dyads) individually completed measures of aesthetic understanding and jointly selected photographs for a souvenir scrapbook. Parents' artistic experience varied widely and was associated with their own performance on aesthetic understanding measures. Children's performance on the individual aesthetic tasks was related to age, but not to parents' art experience nor to the qualities of parent-child discussions of aesthetic concepts. Among both parents and children, artistic experience was associated with aesthetic preferences for photographs.     

Constructing a Joint Story-Writing Space: The Dynamics of Young Children's Collaboration at Computers

This study explored kindergartners' and first graders' collaborative processes to understand the nature of peer collaboration and the learning opportunities afforded by peer discourse. Data were drawn from 6 dyads who participated in a computer writing project for 2 school semesters. Children's videotaped interactions were analyzed with the focus on understanding how children's collaborative roles and patterns changed over time. Examination of video data and children's computer products revealed that (a) children's interaction patterns changed from a more independent style toward a more integrative style, as shown in their distribution of control over mouse and keyboard and in the written outcomes of their collaboration; (b) a shift in role patterns emerged across repeated instances of peer collaboration so that children began alternating the roles of leader and observer, and less competent children began carrying out more important tasks; and (c) the computer served as an object of reference for children to sustain their interaction and stay on task.     

The rhythmic structure of mother-infant interaction in term and preterm infants

The purpose of this study was to quantify social interaction rhythms in 3- and 5-month-old term and preterm infants and their mothers. Infant-mother dyads were videotaped in a 3-min face-to-face paradigm. For each second of the interaction, separate scores were assigned to infant and mother indicating levels of affective involvement, creating 2 180-sec time series. Spectral and cross-spectral techniques were used to quantify periodicities in each member of the dyad and to estimate the synchrony or coherence of interactional rhythms between each infant and mother. Results showed the existence of periodicities in the behavior of each infant and mother at 3 and 5 months, with most subjects showing spectral peaks between .022 and .10 Hz. Increases from 3 to 5 months in behavioral periodicities were found for infants and mothers as well as for the coherence between infant-mother dyads. Term dyads showed higher coherence than preterm dyads at both 3 and 5 months. Term infants more often led the interaction at both ages. These results were taken as evidence that behavioral periodicities, which may be biologically based, underlie early mother-infant interaction and provide a temporal structure for the organization of cognitive and affective experience. Differences in synchrony between term and preterm infants may explain later reported differences in language between these groups.     

The Use of Textbooks as a Tool During Collaborative Physics Learning

The study examined how features of student interaction, and the way an individual student contributes to that interaction (his or her participation), relates to the improvement of conceptual understanding within the domain of physics. The study also investigated how textbooks are used during collaborative work and how that use affects the quality of student interaction and outcomes. The participants were 56 students aged 15 or 16. The students worked in dyads on a concept-mapping task that functioned as an introduction for a new course about electricity. A condition in which the students were provided with 2 textbooks was compared with a condition without the availability of textbooks. The use of textbooks had a negative influence on the amount of elaboration and coconstruction in the student interaction. Individual learning outcomes were positively related to the amount of collaborative elaboration in the student interaction.     

The Role of Centering for Interaction of Level 1 Variables in Multilevel Structural Equation Models

This article examined the role of centering in estimating interaction effects in multilevel structural equation models. Interactions are typically represented by product term of 2 variables that are hypothesized to interact. In multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM), the product term involving Level 1 variables is decomposed into within-cluster and between-cluster random components. The choice of centering affects the decomposition of the product term, and therefore affects the sample variance and covariance associated with the product term used in the maximum likelihood fitting function. The simulation study showed that for an interaction between a Level 1 variable and a Level 2 variable, the product term of uncentered variables or the product term of grand mean centered variables produced unbiased estimates in both Level 1 and Level 2 models. The product term of cluster mean centered variables produced biased estimates in the Level 1 model. For an interaction between 2 Level 1 variables, the product term of cluster mean centered variables produced unbiased estimates in the Level 1 model, whereas the product term of grand mean centered variables produced unbiased estimates for the Level 1 model. Recommendations for researchers who wish to estimate interactions in MSEM are provided.     

Reflections as Part of a Problem-Solving Delivery Service

The purpose of this study was to describe the nature of the social interactions during a cooperative writing structure and explore how interactions relate to the quality of the written stories. During a 12-week period, Mexican American and Anglo American students with learning disabilities were videotaped while they wrote stories in ethnically heterogeneous and homogeneous dyads using a simple word processing program. In general, the data suggest that both groups of students were skilled in maintaining positive and assertive reciprocal interactions during writing together, whether paired with a partner of the same or different ethnicity. The students helped one another with spelling; however, there was a negative relation between the total initiation-response exchanges and the length and coherence of the stories. Implications for instruction of second language learners and students with learning disabilities are discussed.     

Associations between school absence and academic achievement: Do socioeconomics matter?

This study examined the extent to which the association between increased student absence and lower achievement outcomes varied by student and school‐level socioeconomic characteristics. Analyses were based on the enrolment, absence and achievement records of 89,365 Year 5, 7 and 9 students attending government schools in Western Australian between 2008 and 2012. Multivariate multi‐level modelling methods were used to estimate numeracy, writing and reading outcomes based on school absence, and interactions between levels of absence and school socioeconomic index (SEI), prior achievement, gender, ethnicity, language background, parent education and occupation status. While the effects of absence on achievement were greater for previously high‐achieving students, there were few significant interactions between absence and any of the socioeconomic measures on achievement outcomes. The results of first‐difference regression models indicated that the negative effect of an increase in absence was marginally larger for students attending more advantaged schools, though most effects were very small. While students from disadvantaged schools have, on average, more absences than their advantaged peers, there is very little evidence to suggest that the effects of absence are greater for those attending lower‐SEI schools. School attendance should therefore be a priority for all schools, and not just those with high rates of absence or low average achievement.     

Effects of gender role and task content on performance in same-gender dyads: Transactive memory as a potential mediator

This experiment was designed to examine the effects of gender role and task content on performance in learning dyads and to test the potential mediator effect of an intragroup process related to transactive memory. A total of 44 same-gender dyads participated in the study and were asked to collaborate on a stereotypically masculine or feminine task in a laboratory setting. Collective performance and transactive memory were measured. As predicted, the results showed an interaction between group gender and task content on group performance, with male dyads showing poorer performance on a masculine task than female dyads. However, contrary to expectations, this moderation effect was not mediated by transactive memory, which appeared as a simple mediator of the relationship between group gender and performance. The results are discussed in the framework of the social role theory, and implications for future research in small learning groups are proposed.     

Effects of Teacher-Student Cognitive Style on Patterns of Dyadic Classroom Interaction

This study investigated the effects of cognitive style matching on interaction patterns in 48 teacher-student dyads. A test of cognitive style—field dependence-independence—was administered to 47 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers and 357 students. From these, 48 teacher-student dyads were formed so that teachers and students were matched or mismatched on cognitive style and sex, in conformity with a 2 X 2 X 2 X 2 factorial design. Each dyad was observed for two hours, from which 31 process measures were derived. Cognitive similarity or dissimilarity in and of itself did not appear to be closely associated with the interaction patterns. Rather, dyadic interaction seemed to be affected by a combination of factors including cognitive style and sex of both teachers and students, as well as certain contextual factors, the most important of which being whole class vs. individual instruction.     

Influence of purpose of an interaction on adult-child planning

Abstract

This study examined whether the purpose of an interaction influences the process and outcome of adult-child planning. Planning interactions of 40 mothers and their 3;6 to 5;6 years-old children, who were either told prior to the interaction or not of subsequent independent planning by the child, were compared. Results indicate that when dyads were aware of the later independent planning, mothers and children shared more responsibility than when dyads were not aware. Older children who planned in dyads that were aware of the later independent trial planned more in advance when planning alone that older children who planned in dyads that were not aware of the later independent trial or younger children in either Awareness condition. These patterns suggest that the puspose of adult-child interaction, in conjunction with child-age, are important influences on how joint problem-solving unfolds     

Longitudinal predictors of developmental status and social interaction in premature and full-term infants at age two

This investigation involved the longitudinal assessment of 30 mother-preterm and 40 mother-full-term dyads from birth to 2 years of age. Measures of maternal attitudes, maternal perception of the infant, and parental functioning were obtained at 1 and 8 months of infant age. Mother-infant interactions were observed at 4, 8, 12, and 24 months. Infant cognitive, motor, and language development was assessed at 4, 12, and 24 months. Results indicated that by age 2 years, no group differences were apparent on any child development, mother-child interaction, or maternal attitudinal measures; the lone exception was that preterms were significantly poorer in motor skills. This similarity in functioning at age 2 years was in marked contrast to earlier findings of major group differences at 12 months. Correlational and regression analyses indicated that the developmental and social interaction outcomes were predicted by different factors in the two groups; moreover, whereas 40%-60% of the variance in preterm infants' social and cognitive outcomes could be accounted for, only 15%-30% was accounted for in the full-term group. These results are discussed in terms of compensatory mechanisms that may characterize the parenting of high-risk infants, and of the applicability of transactional models of development.     

Representational Tools in Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation-Based Learning: How Dyads Work With Constructed and Inspected Argumentative Diagrams

This article investigates the conditions under which diagrammatic representations support collaborative argumentation-based learning in a computer environment. Thirty dyads of 15- to 18-year-old students participated in a writing task consisting of 3 phases. Students prepared by constructing a representation (text or diagram) individually. Then they discussed the topic and wrote a text in dyads. They consolidated their knowledge by revising their individual representation. There were 3 conditions: Students could use either (a) the individual texts they wrote, (b) the individual diagrams they constructed, or (c) a diagram that was constructed for them based on the text they wrote. Results showed that students who constructed a diagram themselves explored the topic more than students in the other conditions. We also found differences in the way collaborating dyads used their representations. Dyads who engaged in deep discussion used their representations as a basis for knowledge construction. In contrast, dyads who engaged in only shallow discussion used their representations solely to copy information to their collaborative text. We conclude that diagrammatic representations can improve collaborative learning, but only when they are used in a co-constructive way.     

Language skill and interactive patterns in prematurely born toddlers

Developmental outcomes among preterm infants are highly variable. Research has shown that a potent factor in predicting outcome is some quality of the interactions between infants and caregivers. This study explores specific aspects of interaction that may, in part, account for its remedial influence on development. Videotaped interactions between 20 prematurely born toddlers and their mothers were described within a framework having theoretical relevance for language learning--dyadic joint attention to features of the environment. 3 major results are reported. First, the children could be divided into 2 linguistic groups. Children in the Hi group used word combinations productively and talked about relations between objects and events. Children in the Lo language group produced few word combinations and were limited in the relations they talked about. Second, the Lo language pairs did not share common topics as frequently as the Hi pairs. Finally, we found that no single style was used by Lo language dyads in breaking joint attention. Instead, this group was characterized by a broad range of interactive styles. These results are discussed in terms of the facilitating effect interaction may have for the acquisition of language. The findings underscore the need to recognize that poor outcomes can be brought about in many different ways, and that neither single outcomes nor unitary causes for poor outcomes should be expected in preterm populations.     

Gender and social comparison effects in computer-based problem solving

Gender differences in relation to school children's learning with computers are frequently attributed to a tendency for boys to dominate computer resources in mixed sex settings. However, the evidence relating to children's performance with computers in mixed sex groups is conflicting. This paper reports two experimental studies in which 11- to 12-year-olds worked on a computer-based problem solving task. In the first, 62 children worked in either same or mixed sex dyads, but each child had her or his own computer, and no verbal interaction was allowed. Boys out-performed girls overall, with sex differences becoming significantly more polarised in the mixed sex dyads. The second study involved 96 children, with individual pre- and post-tests, and compared co-action dyads (as in the first study) with interaction pairs, in which the pair members worked together at a single computer, with no restriction on interaction. The polarisation of sex differences in the mixed sex dyads was once again found in the co-action condition, but not in the interaction condition. Results are interpreted in terms of processes of social comparison, which appear to be more potent in this situation than any straightforward domination of resources.     

Collaborative learning tasks and the elaboration of conceptual knowledge

In this article we present the results of an experimental study of the influence of task characteristics on the characteristics of elaboration of conceptual knowledge in social interaction. With a pre-test and post-test we measured individual learning outcomes. We constructed a coding scheme that focuses on the communicative functions and propositional content of utterances and on elaborative episodes. The subjects were 40 students who worked in dyads on a collaborative task about electricity in one of four conditions. We compared a concept mapping task with a poster task and investigated the effect of a phase of individual preparation. The post-test scores were significantly higher than the pre-test scores. Individual preparation created better learning results and the asking of more questions. The concept mapping conditions showed more discussion of electricity concepts, collaboratively elaborated conflicts and reasoning, but no higher individual learning outcomes. In the concept mapping conditions, elaboration was related to individual learning outcomes.     

Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math: Relations with teacher and student outcomes

Social cognitive theory posits that teacher self-efficacy beliefs should be related to not only their own well-being outcomes but also classroom processes and student outcomes in the general ecology of the classroom environment. However, little research has directly examined the associations of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs with these teacher and student-level outcomes simultaneously. The present study proposes and tests an integrative model of the relations of teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching math with their job satisfaction and student math achievement both directly and indirectly via interaction quality as a critical dimension of the quality of classroom processes. Additionally, student level relational and motivational predictors of math achievement, including individual perceptions of student-teacher interaction quality and math self-concept, are included per the ecology of the classroom environment. Based on data from over 6000 4th grade students and 450 teachers, results of multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching math were positively associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and class levles of math achievement and interaction quality. At the individual student level, individual levels of math self-concept were positively associated with math achievement, and individual perceptions of interaction quality were positively associated with math self-concept. However, a negative association between residualized interindividual perceptions of interaction quality and math achievement was observed.