Classroom Learning Theories - Book Report/Review Example

Learning in the room - A Report Based on a Review of Two Psychology Papers Introduction: Learning theories that include the general learning techniques, methods and strategies of teaching, learning experience etc are abundant. However, there has been limited focus in the various studies and researches on the more explicit and elementary aspects of learning and teaching within the classrooms, including those elements which involve classroom interaction and socialization such as class groupings. This nature of the researches in classroom learning has been the explicated by certain important analyses which take up the challenge in initiating a greater focus on such elements that were often neglected in classroom groupings. "Studies of teaching and learning within classrooms rarely consider the multilayered effects of social context, especially involving within-class groupings. Yet, all pupils in classes are placed in some form of grouping throughout their classroom life and this will have an impact on their learning" - thus states one such effort initiated by Peter Kutnick et al (2002) which "seeks to move forward the understanding of within-class groupings in real classrooms." Another remarkable study by J.G. Nixon & K.J. Topping (2001) makes it clear that "[c]lassroom arrangements to enhance opportunity, resources, modelling, purpose and motivation in the emergent writing of children in their first year of schooling include writing stimulus and resource areas, home bays exemplifying the uses of literacy, an 'author's chair' and displays of written products. These are frequently recommended, but rarely evaluated." In this report which reviews these two psychology papers, an attempt will be made to bring out the key issues as explored in them, the aim and rationale of their authors in these explorations, summing up the main findings of these papers and analyzing their validity. A description and evaluation of the methodologies used by the papers will also focus on assessing their strengths and weaknesses. Learning theories that are relevant to the papers such as that of Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bruner will be discussed which will enhance the scope of this report. Such a structure and nature of the report is followed in order to effect a significant evaluation of the psychology papers and contribute to the further researches in the area. An Overview: Both the psychology papers, i.e. 'Pupil Groupings in Primary School Classroom: sites for learning and social pedagogy' by Peter Kutnick et al (2002) as well as 'Emergent Writing: the impact of structured peer interaction' by J.G. Nixon and K.J. Topping (2001) are important contributions to the broader area of learning and to the more specific area of student' social interaction and group experience within classroom. The Kutnick article, as mentioned in the introduction, the article makes a profound attempt in initiating the reader's conception of classroom groupings and their effects in the social context. The article identifies five core themes central to students' group experience such as group size, group composition, learning tasks, within group interaction and adult presence, based on which the authors accumulate information on classroom groupings by means of an original classroom 'mapping' survey. The findings of the study are based on the data collected from the survey which included teachers in 187 classrooms from Years 2 and 5 who carried out mapping during the normal classroom work time. When the research data were analyzed, especially connecting the data of group size and composition with learning task and interaction type, several key findings were brought out. These findings point out that "teachers may not think strategically about the size and composition of groupings in relation to the tasks assigned. Adult presence is associated with control of knowledge and behaviour, and different types of adults are associated with the support of groupings at different levels of ability. Teachers provide little training for children to develop group work skills, and offer little opportunity for these skills to be practised in the promotion of learning." (Kutnick and Blatchford). The article also clarifies that the social pedagogy of pupil grouping is an innovative and genuine concern and recommends for further research in the area. Therefore, the ultimate aim of the article is to promulgate a social concern in learning especially as it relates to classroom groupings. To clarify the point, it aims at providing a representative, methodical and multidimensional account of student groupings and social academic advantages of such groupings in primary classrooms at Key Stages 1 and 2 and at discovering relations among the themes of grouping size, composition, types of learning tasks assigned to various groupings, models of pupil-pupil and pupil-teacher interaction within groupings, and types of adult support presented to groupings. Similarly, the article 'Emergent Writing: the impact of structured peer interaction' by J.G. Nixon & K.J. Topping (2001) is concerned with an evaluation of the classroom arrangements such as writing stimulus and resource areas, home bays exemplifying the uses of literacy, an 'author's chair' and displaying of written products which aim at enhancing opportunity, resources, modelling, purpose and motivation in the emergent writing of children in their first year of schooling. More significantly, the article also aim at evaluating the greater impact of structured peer interaction in pair writing between a division of the emergent writers and older children with writing delay, while controlling for time on task at writing. "Pre-post assessment of independent writing products indicated significant improvement for all the emergent writers, but significantly greater gains for those also experiencing the structured peer interaction. Qualitative and observational data supported this finding." (Nixon and Topping). The research paper discuses these results with regard to the discontinuities in emergent writing experiences between home and school. Therefore, the paper aims at assessing the results of adapted classroom arrangements that are devised to overpass home-school discontinuities and facilitate children in building upon their pre-school writing competencies, while enhancing opportunity, resources, modelling, purpose and motivation for writing. A Description and Evaluation of the Methodologies As the main aims and outcomes are clearly presented, it is pertinent now to assess and understand how these various aims and results are achieved by the paper on the basis of an evaluation of the methods adopted by both the papers. The Kutnick article adopted a method which helps is a comprehensive, representative description of naturally occurring groupings within classrooms rather than experimentally structured groupings and this was used in examining the central themes. The methodology made use of an approach that characterises groupings, compositions and tasks across a range of teachers and year levels. The article employs the method of field study analysing the samples collected at the school on the basis of which pertinent conclusions are arrived at. The field study experiment with independent measures between groups provided the research with effective tools for assessment and interpretations. The samples of the study were collected in the classrooms with the assistance of teachers and these samples were, then, processed and analyzed to make the ultimate conclusions of the study. This method was successful in foreseeing the difficulties and probable failings of the study and efforts which were not laborious to the teachers and at the same time would bring about intended results were made use of. For example, collecting complete information on pupil grouping would require constant scrutiny through the days of investigation which would be expensive and complicated to analyse. However, a plain questionnaire would not offer enough specifications and would restrict the teachers in reporting what they were doing with regard to grouping in their classrooms. Thus, the methodology required the teachers to draw a map of their classrooms at one of the five pre-specified points, i.e. 9.45 am, 11.05 am, 11.45 am, 2.00 pm and 2.40 pm, during normal classroom work time. This was important in achieving the proposed result. Similarly, in the field experiment method, the questionnaires were handed out across the five time points which enabled the teachers only describe the number and type of groupings in their class during the pre-planned lesson, not teacher-preferred or typical lessons. The maps were marked with data on individual pupils and each pupil grouping. In this way every step to enable the best analysis of the study was adopted. The pre-pilot observations and pilot studies were used for analysis and the result was therefore balancing the overall process of study. The demographics that are presented in the tables have been very significant in the observations and findings. These demographics include central data regarding group size in relation to group composition, detailed data of group size as well as tables of adult presence and interrelation type in relation to curriculum area and task type and a summary of relationships between group size and predominant features of composition and task variables. These data have been important in the analysis and findings. The studies relating to the Nixon article were carried out in a primary school concentrating on the entry performance and the difference that is achieved at the end of the observation period. The method of study adopted has been field study and the samples of the study were collected from the primary classes with the help of the teachers and other authorities. All the precautionary measures were taken to minimise the problematic situations to the result of the study. The selection of the number of students and the grouping were directed with utmost care to affect the correct results. Thus, the interaction of students of the same age group as well as that of the groups which combined students of different age category was analysed. The tutors themselves were able to gather advantages of the situation which in turn resulted in the best results of the group experience and the tutoring method. The article presents with the results of paired writing method, pre-post percentage response to teacher questions, and other significant details and these are central to the research findings. The validity of both the articles becomes clear when the methodology and the results of these articles are analyzed. They set the development of the paper in a way as they arrive at the results as expected. The face validity of the papers can, remarkably, be found in the research results these produce in relation to the predicted findings of the study. The variables of the studies are significant in the sense that they predict the results proving the criterion validity of the papers. Therefore, in a general analysis of the papers, it becomes very clear that the validity of the papers is proved by the very method of investigation. Summary and Conclusion Both the papers presented with significant findings and results which also call upon further researches and studies in the area of classroom learning and grouping in relation to interaction in social contexts. The Kutnick article presented with descriptive results for five core themes such as group size, group composition, learning tasks, within group interaction and adult presence and more importantly with an analysis of relationships between group size and the other four core themes. The study needs to be regarded as an initiation for further research on the social pedagogy of pupil groupings within authentic classrooms based on field of research. The Nixon article presents with the results of pre-post intervention in the structured peer interaction which showed greater improvement compared to others. The results of the study also suggested a significant improvement in the performance due to the strategy followed. Both the research findings point to the application of more significant learning theories of social interaction. The articles are of central contribution to the efforts in the analyses of the role of social context and interaction in learning and classroom grouping process and this proves the validity of the articles. The theories of Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bruner are very much applicable to both the articles as both the articles as well as these theories ultimately clarifies the significance of social interaction and group learning in the classrooms. Both the articles evidently respond to the Vygotsky's theory which stresses that social interaction is the fundamental element in the development of a child's cognition. "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (inter-psychological) and then inside the child (intra-psychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." (Vygotsky, p 57). Similarly, corresponding theories of Piaget and Bruner have relevant application in the study conducted. "Vygotsky asserts that the most fruitful experience in a child's education is his or her collaboration with more skilled partners. Vygotsky explains that the more experienced partner provides help in the way of an intellectual scaffold, which allows the less experienced learner to accomplish more complex tasks than may be possible alone Piaget considers the most critical factor in a child's cognitive development to be interaction with peers. Interaction lends opportunities for the child to have cognitive conflict, which results in arguing or debating with peers. This type of interaction requires children to decenter, or considers another person's point of view Bruner observes that the process of constructing knowledge of the world is not done in isolation but rather within a social context. The child is a social being and, through social life, acquires a framework for interpreting experiences." (Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bruner). The central concern of both the articles, evidently, is the same need for interaction and social learning in the classrooms. This points not only to the articles' relation to the theories but to the significance and validity of the papers as well. Works Cited Kutnick, Peter., Blatchford, Peter, and Pupil Groupings in Primary School Classrooms: Sites for Learning and Social Pedagogy London: Ed Baines British Educational Research Journal. 2002. Vol. 28, No. 2. Nixon, J. G. & Topping, K. J. Emergent Writing: the Impact of Structured Peer Interaction. Educational Psychology. 2001. Vol. 21, No. 1. Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bruner. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. 14 Apr. 2008. . Vygotsky, L.S. Mind in Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978. Read More