GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SMALL-GROUP DISCUSSION IN PHYSICS

The role of group discussion in the development of children's conceptu al understanding in science is widely acknowledged. At the same time, an extensive literature exists on gender differences in participation in dialogue. This paper presents an in-depth investigation of the disc ussion processes of male and female secondary school Greek students wh ile they worked in pairs and fours discussing simple physical phenomen a. The analysis of group dialogue showed gender differences in the way s peers negotiated their ideas in small groups and, especially, in dea ling with disagreements. Peers' discussion processes were investigated with reference to gender composition, group size and students' pre- t o post-test changes in physics reasoning.