When does gender matter? Interactions during computer-based problem solving

Children worked in pairs or as individuals on a computer-based language pro blem-solving task, and their keyboard activities were monitored along with their discussions of the task. A total of 60 children worked in either sing le-gender or mixed-gender pairings and a further 21 children worked individ ually. Previous investigations have indicated that suggestions and evaluati ons by the children are associated with improved task performance, and that the gender composition of the pairs has also been found to influence perfo rmance. In the present doze task boy-girl pairs showed lower levels of verb al interaction and less keyboard co-operation, but few differences in task performance in comparison with single-gender pairs. All children working in pairs out-performed children working individually. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scien ce Ltd. All rights reserved.