Constructive activity and learning in collaborative small groups.

Webb, Noreen M.; Troper, Jonathan D.; Fall, Randy

doi:10.1037/0022-0663.87.3.406

Cited by 474Innovative Teaching and Learning MethodsMathematics Education and PedagogyMathematics Education and Teaching Techniques

Constructive activity and learning in collaborative small groups.

Webb, Noreen M., Troper, Jonathan D., Fall, Randy·1995·Journal of Educational Psychology

DOI 10.1037/0022-0663.87.3.406

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Abstract

This study identified student behaviors that best predicted mathematics learning in peerdirected small groups among students who needed help. Two behaviors were hypothesized to predict achievement: receiving explanations instead of only the right answer and subsequently carrying out constructive activity (solving or explaining how to solve problems using concepts stated or implied in the explanations received). Six classes of 7th graders participated in 2 sequential instructional units. Students in 4 classes worked in heterogeneous small groups throughout a 3-week unit on operations with decimal numbers (Unit 1); students in all 6 classes worked in groups throughout a 4-week unit on operations with fractions (Unit 2). Analyses of the transcripts of tape recordings of students' verbal interaction confirmed the hypotheses. Level of constructive activity was the strongest predictor of achievement. The level of help that students received predicted level of constructive activity but did not predict achievement directly. One of the most pervasive changes in education in the past 20 years has been the increasing use of peer-directed small groups. School districts, state departments of education, national research organizations, and curriculum specialists have started to recommend or even mandate the use of collaborative and cooperative learning methods of instruction on a large scale (e.g., California State Department of Education, 1985, 1992; Mathematical Sciences Education Board, National Research Council, 1989; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1980, 1989). A primary motivation for putting students into groups is the opportunity for students to help each other learn. Students can learn from other students by giving and receiving help; by recognizing contradictions between their own and other students' perspectives, seeking new knowledge to resolve those contradictions, and constructing new understandings from them; and by internalizing problem-solving processes and strategies that other students use or that are created jointly with others (Bearison, Magzamen, & Filardo, 1986;

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Elaborate explanations were only effective when the receiver was able to apply the explanation in a related task.
“Studies by Webb and Farivar (1999), Webb et al. (1995), and Webb and Mastergeorge (2003), for example, showed that elaborate explanations were only effective when the receiver was able to apply the explanation in a related task.”
From Making the Black Box of Collaborative Learning Transparent: Combining Process-Oriented and Cognitive Load Approaches (2010) · cites this paper as Webb et al. 1995

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Authors: Webb, N. M., Troper, J. D., & Fall, R.
Affiliations: University of California, Los Angeles (US)
ORCID: Webb, Noreen M.
Venue: Journal of Educational Psychology
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1995-09
Volume: 87
Issue: 3
Pages: 406-423
ISSN: 0022-0663 (ISSN-L)
1939-2176
DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.87.3.406
OpenAlex: W1993559702
Cited by: 474
References: 55
Citations by year: 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 19
FWCI: 9.80
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Journal of Educational Psychology (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Applied Mathematics › Mathematics Education and Pedagogy
Social Sciences › Education › Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques
Keywords: cooperative learning, mathematics learning, constructive activity, student help-seeking, verbal interaction, heterogeneous groups, fraction arithmetic, seventh grade students, achievement prediction

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Constructive activity and learning in collaborative small groups.

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