PERC 2020 Abstract Detail Page
Previous Page | New Search | Browse All
| Abstract Title: | Examining the Social Dynamics of Small-Group Discussions |
|---|---|
| Abstract: | Group work provides valuable opportunities for students to actively participate in classroom conversations. Instructors often emphasize generating and sharing ideas in group work, but how these ideas are shared in small-group discussions can be complicated by social dynamics within that group. In this project, we applied techniques from Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to analyze the interpersonal meanings in students' discourse in a college physics lab section. By examining how students socially positioned themselves in the episode, we found that students steered the group's conversation not only by explicitly offering ideas, but also by positioning as not-knowing, raising questions, and appealing to authority. This episode provides another example to a growing body of research describing the consequential role of social dynamics in how physics students contribute to small-group discussions. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
| Session Time: | Poster Session I |
| Poster Number: | 1.E5 |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Muxin Zhang University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Eric Kuo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Gloriana González, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
