Abstract

CASTELLARO, Mariano  and  ROSELLI, Néstor. Collaborative Comprehension of Frequency Tables According to Competence and Gender Symmetry/Asymmetry. Zona prox. [online]. 2023, n.38, pp.154-181.  Epub July 13, 2023. ISSN 2145-9444.  https://doi.org/10.14482/zp.38.324.528.

This article is an expression of the confluence of two Sodo-constructivist trends: studies on peer interaction and studies on the process of appropriation of external representation systems. It aims to analyze the influence of competence and gender symmetry/asymmetry on the dyadic interaction involved in collaborative comprehension of a frequency table in six and seven grade students. It is a one posttest only quasi-experimental design with two independent variables. The first one was the competence symmetry/asymmetry defined by equality or inequality between individual levels of table comprehension (basic or advanced): two participants of basic competence (basic symmetry), two participants of advanced competence (advanced symmetry), and one participant of basic competence with another one of advanced competence (asymmetry). The second one was the gender symmetry/asymmetry, defined by gender equality or inequality between partners: girl-girl, boy-boy, and mixed. The dependent variable was the socio-cognitive interaction involved in the collaborative comprehension of the frequency table. Participants are 240 six or seven years old grade students (120 dyads), selected in a non-probabilistic way. They belonged to four official schools in southern Santa Fe province (Argentina). The mean age was 12,26 years old (SD=0,64), and they were equally distributed by gender (49,2% girls y 50,8% boys). Each dyad solved 12 multiple choice items; each of these assessed one aspect of table comprehension. The collaborative interaction was analyzed according to a system of mutually and exhaustive categories, belonging to three dimensions: contributions directly oriented to task resolution, contributions oriented to the organization of task resolution, and general organizational contributions. The main conclusion is that the most accentuated variations of socio-cognitive interaction are caused by competence symmetry/asymmetry, i. e. by units directly oriented to task resolution (that coincides with literature). On the other hand, gender symmetry/asymmetry show minimal effects on interaction compared to competence symmetry/asymmetry, which coincides with more recent antecedents. The findings are discussed according to psychosocial and developmental implications of the phenomenon, and the value of the study is highlighted as a contribution to a situated view of socio-cognitive interactions between peers.

Keywords : Socio-cognitive interaction; peer collaboration; table comprehension; external representation systems; socio-constructivism.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )