2004 Volume 44 Issue 2 Pages 47-58
Functional differentiation of understanding activities in cooperative learning has been suggested as one means of making learners perform cognitive activities more efficiently. But a teaching method that aims at making learners activate their scientific communication by enabling them to differentiate the various functions of learning activities hasn't been investigated concretely. The purpose of this study is to propose eleven hours of class using "Circulatory styled questions and answers-critical learning" in order to make children activate their scientific communication by teaching them to differentiate the functions of learning activities. Another purpose of this study is to evaluate this program was useful by analyzing the conversations of children and a teacher through a questionnaire survey. The criterion of evaluation was the degree activation of the children's communication. In this case, the program proved useful as a teaching method in that children improved both in their meta-communication and in their ability of scientific communication with each other.
