PROCEEDINGS OF THE 21ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2018
San Diego, California
Assessing Group Learning Opportunities in a First Semester Calculus Course
Page: 1400
The purpose of this study was to examine how undergraduate calculus students positioned themselves within group work and how that positionality influenced their own and others’ learning opportunities. Using qualitative methods, this study examines the specific group social interactions and positionalities that led to productive and unproductive group problem solving. The study used a sociocultural lens to identify productive group work and learning. The findings of this paper suggest the roles students assume are very fluid throughout the problem solving process. In addition, the roles that the students assume influenced the learning opportunities. Furthermore, groups that utilized individualistic group practices were not able to build opportunities for conceptual understanding nor have productive group learning.