In such interactions, students do not play roles, but are equals in the production and assessment of ideas. In the FOSS Models and Designs Module , teams of students are challenged to construct a model of the interior of a sealed black box. Students bring their various prior knowledges to bear equally on the task, comparing and exchanging, testing and debating, assessing and providing evidence for ideas. In this situation, collaboration brings about a resolution or set of possible resolutions to the task better than an individual could in attempting the task alone. Preliminary research suggests that students improve their language arts skills through this arrangement due to the social relationships within the group.
Students explore and communicate with others.
They test ideas, hypothesize, evaluate results, record data, keep journals, and write reports. Non-whole group structures open the possibility for other types of effective instruction, but teachers must know other ways to teach to use these arrangements effectively. Research that examines the reduction of class size when teachers use non-whole group arrangements with appropriate instructional skill, consistently shows positive, significant gains in learning. Expert teaching is flexible. Expert teachers have a range of instructional repertoire and know when to use each type.