Patterns of Collaborative Actions in a Body-Based Mathematics Task

• In Event: Characterizing How Students Learn Through Collaborative Activity

Abstract

In this study, we investigated whether students use common patterns of actions while undertaking a series of collaborative, body-based mathematics tasks. We examined 20 third and fourth grade students working with a partner to complete three different body-based tasks supported by the Kinect for Windows. Each task was designed to develop understanding of angle measurement. We analyzed log data of students’ actions and identified three common patterns of collaborative actions: mirroring, leading, and following. We found that some students used predominately the same strategy throughout the activities, while others experimented with multiple strategies. Implications for teaching and researching body-based tasks are discussed.

Authors

• Carmen Petrick Smith

• Barbara Anne King, Florida International University

• Diana Gonzalez, University of Vermont

• Tegan Garon, The University of Vermont

• Kiersten Barr, The University of Vermont

• Jessica Craft, The University of Vermont

• Samuel Scrivani, The University of Vermont