Posts

Featured post

Finding learning value in working with others

-
Image
Manal Raoui  |  manalraoui.com This motivational regulation strategy helps a student who sees little learning value in group work look within the task for a personal learning gain they could achieve through interaction. They may want to understand a different method, test an explanation, notice something overlooked, or receive feedback that improves understanding. They choose a benefit that matters to them and participate in ways that allow them to pursue it. This is our proposed classroom formulation. The cited studies did not test it in this form under this name. It draws on motivational regulation research, which describes learners' active efforts to influence their reasons for engaging or persisting (Wolters, 2003), and positive interdependence research, which shows how the organization of work can connect individual outcomes with others' efforts and contributions (Johnson et al., 2014). Why the strategy matters A student may understand the task and know tha...
Post a Comment
Read more

Checking progress to help the group adjust its approach

-
Image
Manal Raoui  |  manalraoui.com Checking progress means identifying what has been achieved and what remains, then comparing the current state with what the group is meant to achieve and with the criteria and plan guiding its work. If the approach remains suitable, work continues. If a meaningful gap appears, the student identifies what needs review, makes the observation available to classmates, helps coordinate an adjustment, and monitors its effect. This is our proposed classroom formulation. The cited studies did not test it in this form under this name. It draws on metacognitive monitoring and adaptation in socially shared regulation. Monitoring compares what is happening with what should be happening. Adaptation occurs when information from that comparison informs changes to learners' actions when needed (Malmberg et al., 2017; Sobocinski et al., 2020, 2022). Why the strategy matters Members can appear occupied with the task: some exchange information, other...
Post a Comment
Read more

Using relevant resources to help the group move forward

-
Image
Manal Raoui  |  manalraoui.com When group progress stops, this strategy helps a student identify the obstacle and the specific need, find a relevant resource, and contribute to using it. The resource might be a classmate's knowledge, an earlier explanation, an instruction, a previous example, or an available tool. The learner checks whether using it has enabled the work to resume. If available resources are insufficient, they identify what is still missing before seeking outside assistance. This is our proposed classroom formulation. The cited studies did not test it in this form under this name. It draws on research on transactive memory systems and socially shared regulation of learning. A group's accessible knowledge includes what members know about others' expertise and how to access it when needed. Noroozi and colleagues (2013) show how recognizing and coordinating distributed expertise can turn it into a resource for joint work. Why the strategy matters ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Evaluating alternatives against shared criteria

-
Image
Manal Raoui  |  manalraoui.com Evaluating alternatives against shared criteria helps a student move from preferring an option to judging how well it fits what the group wants to achieve. The learner identifies what the decision should accomplish, contributes to clarifying the criteria, uses them to examine alternatives and supporting evidence, and revises their judgment when the comparison reveals new information. They can then contribute to a defensible group decision. This is our proposed classroom strategy, rather than the name of a strategy tested in this exact form. It draws on structured decision making and socially shared regulation of learning. Structured decision making emphasizes clarifying what a decision should achieve, identifying criteria and alternatives, evaluating the alternatives against those criteria, using evidence, and considering trade-offs before selecting an option. Research on shared regulation highlights monitoring and adjusting the decisi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Building on other people’s thinking

-
Image
Manal Raoui  |  manalraoui.com Building on another person's thinking means treating their idea as a resource for changing or developing one's own. The student tries to understand what a classmate means, clarifies the supporting reasons when needed, connects the idea with prior knowledge or task information, and considers what to do with it. They might extend, refine, or test it, challenge an aspect with reasons, or combine it with another contribution to build a more developed understanding. This formulation draws on transactivity, which concerns how far learners engage with one another's reasoning rather than simply present independent contributions. Weinberger and Fischer (2006) distinguish externalizing one's own idea from questioning, integrating, modifying, or challenging a partner's contribution. These forms differ in the extent to which a contribution works with preceding thinking. Transactivity describes the relationship between contributions in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Aligning an initial approach with classmates’ ideas for shared planning

-
Image
Manal Raoui  |  manalraoui.com The strategy involves forming an initial view of how to move from the shared goal to the required result, then making that view available for discussion. The student compares anticipated steps with classmates' proposals, examines differences against task demands, and revises their thinking when a more suitable approach emerges. In doing so, they contribute to a shared plan. The learner's initial proposal is a contribution to planning, rather than the final group plan. Discussion may reveal unnecessary steps, dependencies another member noticed, or a sequence better suited to the time and resources available. “Aligning an initial approach with classmates’ ideas for shared planning” is our classroom formulation of this regulatory process, rather than the exact label used in the studies. It fits the distinction between regulating one's own contribution, regulation supported by others, and regulation shared at group level. Students ca...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finding a way into the group activity

-
Image
Manal Raoui  |  manalraoui.com Finding a way into group activity means recognizing what is happening at the present moment and identifying a connection: What could I add? What do I need to understand? The student then chooses a relevant contribution through which to enter the activity and observes classmates' responses to decide whether they have become part of the interaction or need another approach. This account is consistent with Ahola and colleagues' explanation (2024) that regulation in collaborative learning is constructed through individuals' contributions to interaction. Contributions differ in the functions they serve within regulatory activity. An individual initiative alone does not establish shared regulation; the other members' responses allow the process to continue at group level. “Finding a way into the group activity” is our classroom formulation of this regulatory process, rather than the exact label used in the studies. Why the strateg...
Post a Comment
Read more