The Negotiation of Dialogue Focus: An Investigation of Dialogue Processes in Joint Planning in a Computer Based Task

Abstract

Examined whether task design is relevant in the context of 88 8-12 yr old children's conceptions of heating and cooling. Tasks were varied according to whether their problem materials were or were not structured to permit critical testing and whether they did or did not incorporate instructions to generate summary rules. Results show the general superiority of tasks that both facilitated critical testing and required rules. The features did not operate additively, however, for there were indications that designs that deployed one feature in isolation were less helpful than designs that deployed none. Detailed analysis of the on-task dialog has clarified why critical testing and rule generation were powerful in combination but not separately, showing that together the 2 features ensured progress at the level of theory and not merely empirical regularity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2002 APA, all rights reserved)