Collaboration on the basis of complementary domain knowledge: observed dialogue structures and their relation to learning success

We present an analysis of dialogues produced in an experimental study on co llaborative learning. In the study, tenth graders were first taught either qualitative or quantitative knowledge of classical mechanics. Afterwards, d yads of students who had been taught different knowledge collaboratively wo rked on problems which were beyond the competence of each student, Qualitat ively instructed students gained significantly more from the information pr ovided by their quantitatively instructed partners than the other way round . Analyses of the dialogues produced by the students revealed that successf ully learning dyads were characterised by coherent dialogue structures and that students who learned most during the collaboration frequently assumed the role of a reflector. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .