The effects of collaborative group work training on transition from primary to secondary school in rural and urban schools

Allen Thurston, Keith Topping, Donald Christie, Andy Tolmie, Pauline Murray, Mary Swan

    Research output: Contribution to conferencePaper

    Abstract

    A previous Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded Teaching and Learning Research Programme project on collaborative learning in primary schools in science(ScotSPRING) preceded the current project. A team from Strathclyde and Dundee Universities worked in 24 schools in 8 local authorities across Scotland. Gains in science understanding and in social and emotional aspects of school life were found. Interesting differences between rural and urban schools emerged. Positive changes over time in quality of interaction in the classroom (evidence of higher quality implementation) were associated with better outcomes. Urban singleage classes tended to start low and make the biggest gains. These findings were previously reported at the 11th Biennial Conference of EARLI in Nicosia. This paper reports findings of a longitudinal research project that followed children involved in the original research as they undertook transition from primary to secondary school. The research was supported by a grant from ESRC and Scottish Executive Education Department. This project looked at the longevity of gains in science attainment and changes in social connections between the pupils. Finding indicated that social gains survived transition from primary to secondary school. Children in the original research project were more likely to have stronger social connections than those who were not. Gains in science attainment originally reported by the previous research were more likely to sustain in children who had undergone transition in a rural, rather than an urban setting
    Original languageEnglish
    Publication statusPublished - 2007
    Event12th Biennial Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction - Budapest, Hungary
    Duration: 28 Aug 20071 Sept 2007
    http://www.earli.org/conferences/EARLI_Biennial_Conferences/previous_Biennial_conferences/earli_2007

    Conference

    Conference12th Biennial Conference for Research on Learning and Instruction
    Abbreviated titleEARLI 2007
    Country/TerritoryHungary
    CityBudapest
    Period28/08/071/09/07
    OtherDeveloping Potentials for Learning
    Internet address

    Keywords

    • Collaborative learning
    • Group work
    • Primary school pupils
    • Secondary school pupils
    • Student transfer
    • Science education

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