Unresolved Contradiction as a Condition for Promoting Socially Mediated Learning

摘要

In 'Collaborative group work in middle childhood: Joint construction, unresolved contradiction and the growth of knowledge,' Howe [this issue] addressed what appears to be a central, but often untested, assumption in the literature on effects of collaboration on learning; namely, that knowledge growth is achieved (primarily) through one of two means: assimilation of a relatively advanced contribution proposed by one child because it is accepted whole by others (what she refers to as type 2 joint constructions); or assimilation of a joint construction developed in a coordinated fashion by multiple children that results in a relatively advanced whole (type 1). The author considered as a plausible alternative that individual learning from collaboration can be mediated by unresolved contradiction, and this may, in the end, offer a simpler explanation than previous accounts. Reanalysis from three domains of scientific experimentation (motion, cooling, and floatation) provided ample evidence for the plausibility of an account based on unresolved contradiction. Specifically, there were statistically significant correlations between unresolved contradictions and gains from pretest to delayed posttests. The absence of an effect for immediate posttest performance, and its presence in the delayed testing condition reinforced the claim that postgroup processes are at work in fostering conceptual development. Though the specific causal chain cannot be established from this study, this work provides a promising evidentiary base for the hypothesis that the processes by which collaborative experiences operate upon and transform the knowledge of individuals is mediated by unresolved contradictions rather than the assimilation of joint constructions.