An analysis of interactive discourse strategies in cooperative groups

This study was conducted to analyze the infrastructure of socially constructed interaction that occurs in the cooperative learning process to see what skills develop over time as a result of the interaction. Of additional interest was the effects of the interaction when using cooperative learning with a Chapter I student.; Three third grade students formed the cooperative group studied. The teacher was also involved in the study as she gave whole group instruction to introduce the lessons and interacted with the students during their cooperative group.; The dialogue from four cooperative learning lessons comprised the data used for analysis. The data were gathered using ethnographic methods. Once the data were gathered a discourse analysis approach for sociolinguistic ethnography was used so that the descriptions of the interactive conversation, as well as the social and linguistic dimensions of the setting could be analyzed.; The most significant and consistent finding across time was that the majority of the communication used by the teacher and students was of the factual level or type. Another significant finding was that the amount of communication among the students during cooperative group work did not increase.; A surprising finding pertained to role fulfillment by the teacher. The students were given little instruction in cooperative learning skills.; An important concept related to this study is that there must be certain fidelity to previous studies and groundwork concerning cooperative learning when applying the methods in the classroom for students to develop socially and academically.