Situational Effects in Computer-Based Problem Solving

摘要

Possible bases of peer facilitation of children's learning are explored, drawing upon concepts from developmental psychology. Against this background, studies of social aspects of children's computer use in school are reviewed. A series of experimental studies is described in which pairs of children are found to perform better than individual children when faced with novel computer-based problem-solving tasks. Peer benefits are associated with patterns of verbal interaction in some degree, but facilitation by the presence of one or more partners even occurs in the absence of direct verbal interaction. Gender differences in performance are shown to be highly software dependent and also prove to be sensitive to the gender of the partner, even (in fact, especially) when there are no opporunites for interaction. The contextual sensitivity of performance is discussd in terms of situational constraints on cognitive performance. It is argued that the important dimensions of context extend beyond direct interpersonal interactions to encompass wider social processes.