Socializing Interpersonal Immediacy in Collaborative Small-Group Discussions

• In Event: 32.082 - Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 32.082-9 - Advances in Cooperative Learning

Abstract

The present study examined the social dynamics of interpersonal immediacy, a manifestation of social support, during collaborative small-group discussions. The temporal sequence of three forms of immediacy behaviors identified from 24 discussions in two fifth-grade classrooms were analyzed using statistical discourse analysis. The preliminary results showed that each type of immediacy behavior was predicted by the same type of immediacy behavior in the previous turn. Teachers’ and students’ immediacy behaviors differed in terms of their effectiveness in prompting for more immediacy behaviors from students. These results contribute to a scientific understanding of small-group social dynamics and their relationships to students’ social development, and underscore the importance of teachers’ monitoring and purposeful use of specific immediacy behaviors.

Authors

• Irina V Kuznetcova, The Ohio State University - Columbus

• Tzu-Jung Lin, The Ohio State University

• Seung Yon Ha, The Ohio State University

• Jing Chen, The Ohio State University - Columbus

• Narmada Paul, The Ohio State University