Interacción entre estudiantes y aprendizaje en grupos pequeños

Resumen

Si bien en los últimos años ha aumentado considerablemente el número de investigaciones acerca del aprendizaje en grupos pequeños en régimen de cooperación, pocos estudios se han centrado en los procesos de interacción que tienen lugar dentro de los grupos. Este trabajo se centra en el papel de la experiencia de los estudiantes en interacción en grupos pequeños durante el aprendizaje. Se examina la investigación que hace referencia a los tres aspectos del aprendizaje en grupos pequeños: 1) la relación entre interacción y resultado, 2) proceso cognitivo y mecanismos socioemocionales que unen la interacción y los resultados y 3) características del individuo, del grupo y de la estructura de recompensa que predicen la interacción en grupos pequeños. Se discuten aspectos metodológicos y sustantivos para evaluar e integrar los resultados de investigaciones previas, y como directrices para futuras investigaciones. La conclusión es que el rol de un individuo en la interacción en el grupo ejerce una importante influencia sobre el aprendizaje, y que la interacción se puede predecir a partir de las características múltiples del individuo, del grupo y de la situación marco.     

Predicting learning from student interaction: Defining the interaction variables

The results of four recent studies of student interaction and learning are summarized and integrated to demonstrate (a) the power of specific student interaction variables and sequences of behavior in predicting achievement in small group settings, and (b) the uninterpretability of results based on general measures or isolated behaviors. Conflicting results from other studies are re‐interpreted in light of the importance of specific variables and sequences of behavior. The implications of these results for the measurement of student interaction are discussed.     

Modification of the Volunteer Functions Inventory for application in youth sports

The purpose of this study was to modify the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) to be specifically applicable to assess volunteer motivation in youth sport settings. Based on a comprehensive review of literature, the VFI items were first modified to reflect the context of youth sports. Testing of measurement properties was accomplished through two studies. In Study One, the modified VFI was administered to volunteers (N = 515) of a nationwide youth soccer organization. Data were randomly split into two-halves: one for exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with principal-axis extraction and oblique rotation, and the other for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with maximum likelihood estimation. In the EFA, six factors emerged which were consistent with the dimensions of the VFI; however, 12 items were eliminated due to double loading or misspecification, resulting in 18 items being retained. The CFA revealed that the data fit the 6-factor model well. In Study Two, the resolved scale was re-validated through a sample of 262 volunteers of local youth sport leagues. Overall, findings of these two studies suggest that the modified VFI for youth sports is a valid and reliable scale. This scale may be adopted to study various volunteer motivation issues associated with youth sport organizations and events.     

How Children Understand Sarcasm: The Role of Context and Intonation

To recognize ironic sarcasm, adults may rely on either of 2 cues: the context in which the utterance is made, or the speaker's intonation. In 2 experiments comparing third graders (8–9 years old), sixth graders (11–12 years old), and adults, we investigated the development of children's ability to use these cues. In the first, children were able to recognize sarcasm when the speakers used sarcastic intonation but failed to do so without the intonation cue, even if the context strongly indicated a nonliteral interpretation. In the second experiment, subjects delivered dialogue with intonation they deemed appropriate—and justified their choices—based on contexts that either suggested sarcasm or not. Young children again appeared largely oblivious to contextually implied sarcasm. These results suggest that children initially depend more heavily on intonation than on context in recognizing sarcasm.     

Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare

Educare is a birth to age 5 early education program designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low‐income families and their more economically advantaged peers through high‐quality center‐based programming and strong school–family partnerships. This study randomly assigned 239 children (< 19 months) from low‐income families to Educare or a business‐as‐usual control group. Assessments tracked children 1 year after randomization. Results revealed significant differences favoring treatment group children on auditory and expressive language skills, parent‐reported problem behaviors, and positive parent–child interactions. Effect sizes were in the modest to medium range. No effects were evident for observer‐rated child behaviors or parent‐rated social competence. The overall results add to the evidence that intervening early can set low‐income children on more positive developmental courses.     

Quality indicators for effective early intervention in literacy and numeracy

Recent research suggests that multi‐strand and interlinked interventions meet the requirements of early primary school intervention programmes more fully than single programmes. A set of quality indicators, which education authorities and schools can utilize to review and evaluate processes and outcomes of such interventions, is derived from the outcome of an evaluation of the implementation of an early intervention programme (EIP) in literacy and numeracy, involving 274 pupils, in three North Ayrshire primary schools. The implications for primary prevention of difficulties in literacy and numeracy are discussed.