We investigated how the level of variance in students' prior knowledge may have influenced their collaborative interactions and science learning in small groups. We examined learning outcomes from 102 groups from seven science teachers' classes and discourse from two contrasting groups: Homogeneous versus heterogeneous. We examined individual and…

Although a growing literature has documented the effectiveness of informal group work during class sessions, virtually no data exist on which students are collaborating. As a result, instructors rarely know whether students are self-sorting in ways that maximize learning. This article explores which undergraduate students worked together on each…

The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of racial and gender diversity on group process and problem solving in an academic setting. The importance of this dynamic is its value in preparing students for the workplace. The supposition is if a group is homogeneous, commitment and performance is improved. Data for the study…

This paper discusses the use of student groups in formal education. A model is proposed which involves the development of student interdependence on common tasks, the use of group incentives which may be earned through competition with a standard or with other groups, and the exchange of student resources in teaching and learning. In contrast to…

A self-report inventory was compared with a situational test as a predictor of the verbal behavior of individual members of small interpersonal skills training groups. As hypothesized, the situational test was a better predictor than was the self-report inventory. A powerful social conformity effect may have operated in both the situational test…