Characteristics and Roles of Intra-group Dialogue in Science Learning

—Using the Study of “How to Melt Things” in Fifth-grade Science as a Case Study—

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to clarify the characteristics and roles of dialogue in groups in science learning, attempting to verify both the quantity and quality of dialogues using three analytical methods. At the outset, we visualized the state of communication within the group using a “business microscope” system that collects and analyzes behavioral big data and clarified the aspect and amount of communication. Based on the amount of communication, the groups were organized into two groups, and the contents described in the prediction and summary were analyzed using “User Local AI Text Mining”, a text mining tool that quantitatively and qualitatively analyzes and visualizes a large amount of text data from the cloud. It was clarified that intra-group dialogues indeed affect the generation of meaning in individuals. Furthermore, protocol analysis of the high- and low-communication groups revealed the characteristics of utterances that lead to semantic generation. Based on the aspects, which were clarified using the analytical methods described above, we examined the relationship with others that leads to the generation of meaning. The above research results highlight the significance of dialogue within groups in science learning, warranting increased attention as a learning tool