The Effects Of Group Ability Composition On Collaborative Problem-Solving Learning In Geography Of Senior High School Students

With the proposed of the 21 st Century Competencies,collaborative problem-solving(CPS)has become a basic literacy of the modern citizen,which has been included in education reform by many countries.However,there are still many limitations and problems in the collaborative problem-solving in geography class.For example,unreasonable grouping,the results-driven teaching evaluation and so on.Therefore,more attention should be paid to grouping and the process of problem-solving.The study was conducted by the quasi-experimental research method.27 senior high school students were divided into 7 groups to solve a geographical problem.The conversations and answers of the groups were recorded and analyzed so as to find out the relationship between group ability composition,interactive process and pupil understanding on a collaborative problem-solving task.It was found that:(1)Critical features of 7 groups interaction include 3 kinds of instructional talk—continuous high frequency,alternating high and low frequency and continuous low frequency,as well as two types of task management—record while discussing and record after discussing.(2)The heterogeneous groups with a narrower range of ability got the higher score in collaborative learning,the members of which are positive and dedicated,having the habit of checking before the end.During their problem-solving processes,two types of interaction—explanation and answer appear interactively.(3)The interactive performance of the students in collaboration is affected by their own ability and the group ability composition.Students with the same ability level play different roles in different types of groups.(4)There is a significant positive correlation between the pupil understanding and the proportion of correct explanations of one's group.Heterogeneous group with a narrower range of ability is the best choice for most students in collaborative problem-solving learning in geography.Possible suggestions for promoting effective grouping,evaluation and teaching about collaborative problem-solving were proposed.