Peer interaction and learning: a study of higher education students initiated group work activity

摘要

This study investigates the mediating role of students' initiated study groups. Specifically, the present study looks at how students at a university in Rwanda construct knowledge of their content subjects, through negotiation of meaning in student initiated group work. Interaction Analysis is used to analyse students' naturally occurring verbal and non-verbal communication. Thirty second year students in accounting option participated in this study. They were videotaped while completing an exercise on consignment. Findings suggest that participants in the students initiated informal group work activity engage in negotiation of meaning around the topic under discussion, taking each other's perspective or an opposing view. Negotiating meaning and solving the problems they come across seem to be a collective endeavour towards a shared understanding of the problem under consideration. The study concludes that student initiated group discussion have the potential to promote knowledge construction in content subjects and affords confident students participation.