Book Reviews
Social Interaction in Learning and Instruction: the Meaning of Discourse for the Construction of Knowledge.
Helen Cowie and Geerdina van der Aalsvoort (2000) (Eds.)
Oxford:
Pergamon
ISBN:
0 08 043597 1
This book, in the 'Advances in Learning and Instruction' series, grew out of collaborative work within the Special Interest Group on social interaction based in the European Association for Research in Learning and Instruction (EARLI). Chapters come from an international community of scholars, to include: Frits Harinck, Michèle Grossen, Ed Elbers, Raymond Brown, Peter Renshaw, Gabrielle Ivinson, Paul Naylor, Paul Leseman, Judith Ireson, Kristiina Kumpulainen, Carla van Boxtel, Jos van der Linden, Rupert Wegerif, Neil Mercer and Sylvia Rojas-Drummond. The book is of interest to those who would like to understand more deeply the role of discourse in the construction of knowledge and demonstrates how this complex phenomenon may be investigated through a range of innovative research methods.
The
contributors examine how knowledge is socially constructed
and shared through discursive interactions within the classroom
community. Each author addresses the meaning of the cognitive,
emotional and social discourse that exists between teachers
and learners, and suggests how teachers can create an effective
learning environment partnership to stimulate and inspire
children to learn in school contexts. The book also considers
how young people in turn construe the curriculum and how they
perceive the ground rules and peer relations within the classroom
community of primary schools.
The authors aim to overview key theoretical perspectives and to synthesise the methods currently being developed for measuring social interaction in learning and instruction. The discussion presents a list of qualitative standards that can be applied by researchers when investigating social interaction.
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