ON RESOURCING A CONCERN FOR COLLABORATION WITHIN PEER INTERACTIONS

Although peer-based work is encouraged by theories in developmental ps ychology and although classroom interventions suggest it is effective, there are grounds for recognizing that young pupils find collaborativ e learning hard to sustain. Interpretations of this observation are di scussed; it is suggested that these interpretations have been preoccup ied with possible discontinuities in collaborative skill during develo pment. Consequently, theory and research have neglected situational co ntinuities between formal and (more successful) informal collaboration s. An argument is developed for attending more carefully to the enviro nments of joint problem solving and how they may be fashioned to resou rce the interactions of collaborators. The place of new educational te chnology within this enterprise is considered.