Complex adaptive system behaviours in small group interaction: A year 4 classroom case study of learning as ‘emergence’

Knight, Benjamin

Abstract

Depictions of classroom teaching and learning in politics, policy and media tend to be over simplified and mechanistic. Insights from research on classroom learning draw largely on the ‘what works’ paradigm, which presents learning as directly caused by teaching. ‘What works’ approaches dominate education discourse, despite their failure to capture the complex, interactive dynamics and ‘messy’ topography of classrooms. This study sought to generate novel insights about small group and classroom learning by acknowledging, rather than ignoring, their complexity.
Using complexity thinking (a heuristic drawn from complexity theory) as a conceptual frame, this thesis presents findings from original classroom-based research exploring the emergence of learning in small group activity. Mixed method data, including social network analysis, pupil self-reporting, interviews and observation, were collected during one week in a year four classroom of a UK primary school. Data integration revealed interesting and otherwise tacit insights about antecedents of group and individual learning. Findings suggest that learning has emergent qualities and that individuals exert influence on collective learning due to emergent system dynamics, including social status, personality and knowledge states. Contributions to knowledge include insights about the interplay of top-down and bottom-up organising principles in small group and classroom systems. The thesis also evaluated the usefulness of complexity thinking as an analytical frame for understanding group learning, with mixed conclusions.
The study has the potential to offer novel contemporary interpretations of classroom teaching and learning from a systems perspective.

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Feb 17, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 24, 2022
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9030663
• Award Date: Jun 24, 2022