Bera Booklet 2005 - Teaching and Learning Research Programme

Paper 3The impact of collaborative group work in primary classrooms within urbanand rural schoolsPresenters: Andrew Tolmie and Donald Christie, University of Strathclyde; KeithTopping, University of Dundee; Christine Howe, University of Strathclyde; AllenThurston, University of Dundee; Emma Jessiman, University of Strathclyde; KayLivingston, University of Strathclyde; Caroline Donaldson, University of DundeeAbstract: This paper outlines key findings from the ScotSPRinG project, which was fundedas a TLRP Scottish Extension linked to the Phase II SPRinG Project. The project involvedthe participation of pupils and teachers in 28 primary schools in eight local authorities acrossScotland.Experimental work has documented the cognitive gains produced by collaborative work,and has traced these gains to the exchange of ideas that takes place provided activitybuilds on suitable social and task-related foundations. It has also often been argued that thisexchange of ideas has benefits that extend to classroom relations and self-confidence. Theaim of the present research was to generate relevant evidence on both points in realclassroom settings by evaluating the impact of collaborative group work in science in asample of Scottish primary schools. Participating classes were selected to cover bothcomposite and single-age classes in urban and rural schools, in order to explore the effectsof pre-existing variation in classroom social dynamics.Approximately 660 upper primary stage pupils (three-quarters intervention, one-quartercontrols) were involved in the study. A two-phase intervention designed to fostercollaborative group work, using similar approaches to those devised by the SPRinG Projectteam, was carried out in four categories of class derived from the combination of urban vsrural location and single age vs composite (mixed age) pupils. The first phase of theintervention involved social and communication skills training activities. The second phasefocused on collaborative group work in two primary science topic areas: evaporation andforces. A battery of pre- and post-intervention assessments was implemented using a rangeof cognitive, affective and social measures, including a sociometric instrument designed totap into the different patterns of social relationships characterising the four categories ofclass. In addition, systematic classroom observations were conducted during the differentphases of the study.Analysis of cognitive outcomes revealed systematic positive impacts from the interventionacross all sections of the sample that were directly attributable to the group workintervention. In particular there were significant gains in attainment in the two specificscience topics, which regression analysis showed to be related to indices of the quality oftask management and collaborative dialogue during group work. No overall differences werefound between composite and single-age classes or urban and rural schools, but there wassufficient variation in the incidence of productive collaborative work to track whether this hadknock-on effects on within-class relations and individual self-esteem. In general, group workled to significant increases in the number of class members with whom children liked bothworking and playing, but overall change in levels of self-esteem was not significant.However, individual improvements in this, as well as the gains in classroom relations, were allconsistently predicted by children’s observed levels of group-work skills, indicating directsocio-emotional benefits of productive collaborative exchange. Evaluative feedback obtainedfrom teachers was highly positive in terms of the impact of the intervention on both pupillearning and their own professional practice.12