Construction and co-construction in cognitive development

• Published in: Psihologija Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 191 - 209
• Main Authors: Jovanovic, Vitomir, Baucal, Aleksandar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Drustvo Psihologa Srbije 2007
• Subjects: dialogue; Raven’s matrices; social interaction; zone of proximal development (ZPD)
• ISSN: 0048-5705; 1451-9283
• DOI: 10.2298/PSI0702191J

The main goal of the research was to study how children develop new competencies within social interaction with more competent peers and adults. The pretestposttest experimental design was used. In the pretest phase 100 Grade 3 students were assessed by the Raven progressive matrices, and based on the results three equal groups for treatment phase were formed (15 students each). In the treatment phase students from the three groups solved 5 items from the zone of proximal development (ZPD) under three different conditions: collaboratively with a more competent peer, collaboratively with an adult, and individually. The post test included assessment by the Raven test after two months. The qualitative analysis showed that all three groups progressed equally, although students who collaborated with an adult were somewhat more successful with items from the ZPD. The qualitative analysis suggested that new competences are developed in different ways depending on with whom student collaborated. The successful peer interaction was marked by higher degree of symmetrical collaboration including higher level of joint critical thinking, and the successful interaction with an adult was marked by higher level of adult guidance as well as more elaborated task analysis, argumentations, and justifications. Based on the results, it is concluded that: (a) children could develop new competences based on both construction and co-construction mechanisms, and (b) the development of new competences through social interaction depends on the partners and the kind of dialog they build during collaboration. .
Osnovni cilj ovog rada je da se ispita u kojoj meri i na koji nacin deca mogu da formiraju nove kognitivne kompetence pod uticajem interakcije sa kompetentnijim vrsnjakom ili odraslom osobom. U istrazivanju je primenjen eksperiment sa paralelnim grupama. Na osnovu pre-testa, u kojem je 100 ucenika III razreda osnovne skole ispitano Ravenovim progresivnim matricama formirane su tri jednake grupe koje su u eksperimentalnoj fazi resavali po 5 zadataka iz zone narednog razvoja pod razlicitim uslovima: zajednicko resavanje zadataka sa kompetentnijim vrsnjakom (N=15), zajednicko resavanje zadataka sa odraslom osobom (N=15) i samostalno resavanje (N=15). Nakon dva meseca ispitanici iz ove tri grupe ponovo su testirani. Kvantitativna analiza pokazuje da su ukupno gledano sve tri grupe podjednako napredovale na post-testu, iako je grupa dece koja je imala interakciju sa odraslima bila nesto uspesnija na zadacima iz zone narednog razvoja. Kvalitativna analiza pokazuje razlicite obrasce zajednickog resavanja zadataka. U okviru vrsnjacke interakcije deca pretezno ostvaruju zajednicku i reciprocnu akciju uz kriticko razmatranje ponudjene argumentacije, dok je interakcija sa odraslima bila karakteristicna po preciznijim i diferenciranijim jezickim formulacijama kojima su odrasli vodili dete kroz analizu zadatka do tacnog resenja. Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata zakljuceno je da deca formiraju nove kompetence i na osnovu konstrukcije i na osnovu ko-konstrukcije i da se u okviru socijalne interakcije novo razumevanje moze konstruisati na razlicite nacine u zavisnosti od partnera i tipa dijaloga koji se formira tokom zajednickog resavanja zadataka. .