Group work does not necessarily equal collaborative learning: evidence from observations and self-reports

Situative and sociocognitive analyses were combined to examine engagement in high-level collaborative learning and its relationship with individuals’ cognitions. Video footage of 53 science university students’ (nine groups) collaborative learning interactions as they worked through a case-based project was analysed in combination with students’ appraisals and reflections on the activity. Sizeable group differences in amount of high-level discussion of learning content were revealed. Individual high-level contributions were positively correlated with overall unit performance. Motivation at task onset predicted amount but not depth of content-related group discussion. Interviews with participants suggested that groups’ divergent patterns of engagement with content could be related to different perceptions of the notion of collaborative learning. Results are discussed in terms of implications for collaborative learning research and educational practice.     

Developing beliefs about classroom motivation: Journeys of preservice teachers

This paper examines the developing beliefs about classroom motivation of eight preservice teachers during teacher education. The framework conceptualises the contexts in which preservice teachers participate and the filtering effect of prior beliefs. Qualitative analyses of multiple data sources reveal two distinct trajectories in the development of beliefs about classroom motivation. The findings highlight the importance of filtering prior beliefs, alignment and conflict of ideas, significance of self-motivating factors and power of emotions in developing beliefs about classroom motivation. Implications emphasize the importance of enabling preservice teachers examining existing beliefs and integrating these with learning during teacher education.     

High-level co-regulation in collaborative learning: How does it emerge and how is it sustained?

This article examines the nature and process of collaborative learning in student-led group activities at university. A situative framework combining the constructs of social regulation and content processing was developed to identify instances of productive high-level co-regulation. Data involves video footage of groups of science students working on a case-based project. Striking group differences in types of interactions were revealed. Regularities in the emergence of high-level co-regulation and features of interactions that contributed to the maintenance of productive collaboration were also identified. The importance of fostering students' development as co-learners is highlighted.     

Foreign and International Media

Allan M. Winkler's The Politics of Propaganda: The Office of War Information, 1942-1945 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978—$11.95)

46. Mass News Media and the Third World Challenge by Leonard R. Sussman (80 pp.)

49. International News and the American Media by Barry Rubin (71 pp.)

Kees Van Der Haak and Joanna Spicer's Broadcasting in the Netherlands (London and Boston: Routledge &; Kegan Paul, 1977—$7.95, paper)

Tomo Martelanc, et al. External Radio Broadcasting and International Understanding: Broadcasting to Yugoslavia (Paris: Unesco/ New York: Unipub, 1977—$2.75, paper)

John A. Lent's Asian Mass Communications: A Comprehensive Bibliography-1977 Supplement (School of Communications, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pa. 19122—$25.00 1 paper)     

Children seek help based on how others learn

Do children consider how others learned when seeking help? Across three experiments, German children (N = 536 3-to-8 year olds, 49% female, majority White, tested 2017–2019) preferred to learn from successful active learners selectively by context: They sought help solving a problem from a learner who had independently discovered the solution to a previous problem over those who had learned through instruction or observation, but only when the current problem was novel, yet related, to the learners' problem (Experiment 1). Older, but not younger, children preferred the active learner even when she was offered help (Experiment 2), though only when her discovery was deliberate (Experiment 3). Although a preference to learn from successful active learners emerges early, a genuine appreciation for process beyond outcome increases across childhood.