Face On, Face Off, Face Up: Kids discussion in two worlds

Abstract

Abstract for BERA Research on the Paideia Method (a method for discussing a topic) was conducted in 20 classrooms across five schools, of varying socio economic environments (ages 11-13) in Auckland, New Zealand in 2010. The researchers sought to further examine the results from their pilot study of the Paideia Seminar, entitled ‘Talking Allowed: I like it when the teacher lets us talk without telling us what to say’ trialed in 2008 (Sinclair & Davies, 2011). In addition, in order to provide the optimum conditions to prepare the students for the face to face seminars, an online component Moodle (open source software) was added as an alternative medium to assist students in their preparation. What happens to the Nature of Interaction and the Complexity of the Discussion when students participate in a Paideia Seminar and an on-line discussion in preparation for the face to face Seminar? What is the optimal role of the teacher when participating in a Paideia Seminar and an on-line discussion to increase complexity of discussion? This research also revealed the significance of the teacher’s role to the student-to-student responses being at a high complexity of thinking. For both the face-to-face seminars and the on-line Moodle discussion, when teachers provided opportunity and directions for students to garner domain knowledge, the resulting dialogue was higher in complexity. Ongoing challenge to students to provide evidence to support their statements was paramount. Furthermore, the study found that one of the conditions, which fostered this higher complexity of thinking, was in the selection of a highly provocative statement or question, which generated multiple perspectives. The study used a mixed method exploratory design, Cresswell (2003). The data for normative practice, on-line discussion and face to face was sub-divided into two main categories: The Nature of Interaction and The Complexity of the Discussion. The Nature of the Interaction was analysed according to the type of interaction – eg student to student with a question (SSQ). Within the Nature of Interaction, the dialogue in both on-line and face-to-face was analysed according to its complexity, using the five-stages of SOLO (the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes) taxonomy developed by Biggs and Collis (1982). The five stages of SOLO are prestructural, unistructural, multistructural, relational, and extended abstract. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge on how deep learning can be generated through student-to-student interactions, rather than teacher led discussions in both face-to-face and on-line dialogue.