Socio-emotional interaction in collaborative learning:combining individual emotional experiences and group-level emotion regulation

Abstract This study explores how groups’ negative socio-emotional interactions and related emotion regulation during a collaborative physics task are interconnected with 12-year-old primary school students’ (N = 37) situated individual emotional experiences. To accomplish this, the study relates group-level video data analysis with students’ self-reported emotional experiences. The results indicate that students’ negative emotional experiences related to the task prior to collaborative working increase the group’s emotion regulation during the collaboration and that negative group interactions negatively affect students’ emotional experiences after the task. The study also shows that even though group-level regulation is more likely to change the valence of the group’s interaction from negative to positive, regulation does not always succeed in making a difference to the students’ overall emotional experiences

All for one and one for all:how are students’ affective states and group-level emotion regulation interconnected in collaborative learning?

Abstract This study explored the interplay between students’ group-level emotion regulation behavior and affective conditions and products of regulation (emotional valence, activation, participation). The participants were 12-year-old students (N = 31, 10 groups) performing a collaborative science task. Conditions, emotion regulation behavior, and products of regulation were captured from video and electrodermal activity data. Results reveal that affective conditions were related to students’ regulatory behavior. Students were more likely to initiate regulation when they indicated a personal need to restore affective grounds. Moreover, regulation was activated to restore participation by targeting regulation to non-participating students. While regulation did not always change conditions for collaboration, the results indicate that it was more influential for students who either initiated or were targets for regulation

The relationship between secondary school students’ situational interest and their collaborative learning interactions

Abstract Situational interest can be a prominent driver for learning, but little is known about how it is connected to the type of interactions students engage in during collaborative learning. To address this gap, we collected data from 94 secondary school students who worked on collaborative tasks during a five-session science course. Students reported their situational interest before and after every collaborative task. The collaborative sessions were videotaped. Based on the differences in situational interest variation, the students were assigned to three situational interest clusters. The differences in the level and trend of interactions were then statistically examined between the clusters. The results showed that the students whose situational interest increased had a higher level of cognitive interaction (U = 6704.5, p = 0.04) and more rapid growth in cognitive (t (196) = − 2.42 and − 3.62, p < 0.01) and socio-emotional (t (196) = − 1.81 and − 3.48, p < 0.05) interaction than other students. Instead, those students whose situational interest decreased showed more rapid growth in off-task interaction (t (196) = 2.59, p = 0.01). To maintain an optimal level of situational interest, the findings also suggest paying attention to off-task interactions during collaboration, in addition to cognitive interaction

The sequential composition of collaborative groups’ emotion regulation in negative socio-emotional interactions

Abstract Research indicates that to adjust a group’s emotional atmosphere for successful collaborative learning, group members need to engage in group-level emotion regulation. However, less is known about the whys and ways regulation is activated at a group level. This research explores what triggers 12-year-old primary school students’ (N = 37) negative socio-emotional interactions during a collaborative science task and whether the nature of the trigger makes a difference to group-level emotion regulation strategies and their sequential composition in these interactions. Groups’ collaborative working was videotaped, and triggers and strategies were analysed. The results reveal that the triggers of negative interactions are linked to the groups’ activated regulation strategies. Motivation control strategies were more represented in situations where negative interactions were triggered by task-related issues, whereas socially related triggers were associated with behavioural regulation strategies. Furthermore, the results illustrate that strategies are concatenated to a series of strategic actions, which mostly begin with sharing an awareness of the trigger. The results indicate a need to focus on the series of strategic actions activated in group interactions. This will help reveal how socially shared regulatory processes build a group’s emotional atmosphere

Exploring groups’ affective states during collaborative learning:what triggers activating affect on a group level?

Abstract During collaborative learning, affect is constantly present in groups’ interactions, influencing and shaping the learning process. The aim of this study was to understand what type of learning situations trigger affective states in collaborative groups, and how these affective states are related to group members’ physiological activation. The participants were 12-year-old primary school students (N = 31, 10 groups) performing a collaborative science task. In the analysis, video data observations were combined with data of group members’ physiological activation. The groups’ situational valence was identified based on the group members’ observed emotional expressions and their physiological activation levels were measured with electrodermal activity (EDA). Results revealed that situations with group members’ simultaneous physiological activation were rare compared with the observable emotional expressions. However, when group members indicated physiological activation simultaneously, they also showed visible emotional expressions more often than in deactivating situations. Moreover, the results showed that socially-related factors were more likely to trigger physiological activation with a mixed group level valence. In turn, task-related factors were more likely to trigger physiological activation with a neutral group level valence. The results of this study imply that by combining different process data modalities revealing the different components of affect, it might be possible to track emotionally meaningful situations that shape the course of the collaborative learning process

Enhancing early childhood educators’ skills in co-regulating children’s emotions:a collaborative learning program

Abstract The aim of this article is to introduce a research-based work-integrated collaborative learning program that focuses on early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals’ skills in co-regulation of emotions. The collaborative learning program draws on the theoretical framework that acknowledges the situated and socially shared nature of regulated learning and emotion regulation as well as years of research highlighting the importance of versatile and sensitive adults in supporting children’s learning of regulation skills during their early years. The program aims to improve professionals’ shared awareness of children’s emotion regulation development and abilities to identify and develop practices that support children in learning these skills, so that professionals can provide conscious and consistent co-regulation of emotions for children in everyday interactions. The design of the program has been developed by considering the aspects of effective collaborative and professional learning. This paper focuses on describing the theoretical grounding and implementation of a 32-week long collaborative learning program for ECEC professionals in Northern Finland (N = 450). Also, the development of a video-stimulated questionnaire (VSQ) for assessment of professionals’ learning during the program will be described. VSQ measures professionals’ abilities to identify and interpret everyday ECEC interactions from the point of view of (co-)regulation of emotions. Developing research-based collaborative programs that increase systematic support for children to learn regulation skills is essential, as these skills affect children’s lives well into adulthood. They set a basis for children’s learning and social skills and general wellbeing

Varhaiskasvatushenkilöstön käsityksiä lasten tunteiden säätelytaitojen kehittymisestä:käytäntöön integroitu koulutus ammatillisen kehittymisen tukena

Tiivistelmä Lapset tarvitsevat aikuisen tukea oppiakseen säätelemään tunteitaan. Jotta varhaiskasvatuksen ammattilainen voi tarjota lapsille monipuolista ja sensitiivistä tunteiden säätelyn tukea osana pedagogista oimintaa, häneltä odotetaan oman roolin tiedostamista lapsen tunteiden kanssasäätelijänä. Lasten tunteiden säätelytaitojen tukeminen pedagogisessa toiminnassa rakentuu kanssasäätelijän teoreettiselle tiedolle ja vaatii sen soveltamista käytännössä. Tässä tutkimuksessa on tarkasteltu, millaisia käsityksiä varhaiskasvatushenkilöstöllä on tunteiden kanssasäätelystä, ja kuinka käsitykset muuttuvat, kun heidän tietopohjaansa tunteiden kanssasäätelystä vahvistetaan työhön integroidun koulutuskokonaisuuden aikana. Tutkimus toteutettiin 11 suomalaisessa päiväkodissa, ja tutkimukseen osallistui yhteensä 36 varhaiskasvatuksen ammattilaista. Tulokset osoittavat, että jo ennen koulutukseen osallistumista varhaiskasvatushenkilöstö piti tunteiden kanssasäätelyä tärkeänä, mutta kuvaukset kanssasäätelyn toteuttamisesta jäivät yleiselle tasolle, eikä tarkkoja perusteluita tai käytännön toimia nostettu esiin. Työhön integroitu koulutuskokonaisuus lisäsi osallistujien tietoisuutta erityisesti läsnäoloon ja vuorovaikutukseen liittyvien käsitysten sekä tunteiden säätelyn tuen osalta. Jatkossa tulisi selvittää, päätyvätkö henkilöstön muuttuneet käsitykset varhaiskasvatusarjen toimintaan.Abstract Children need adults’ support in learning to regulate their emotions. In order for early childhood educators to provide children versatile and sensitive support for emotion regulation, they, in turn, need to be aware of their role as co-regulators of children’s emotions. Especially, awareness and perceptions of early childhood educators about emotion regulation play an important role in shaping the pedagogical activities of day care centers and in providing emotion regulation support for children. This study examines the perceptions the early childhood educators have about co-regulation of children’s emotions and how work-integrated educational training is influencing these perceptions. The study was carried out in 11 Finnish daycare centers and a total of 36 early childhood education professionals participated in the study. The results show that early childhood educators see the importance of supporting children’s emotion regulation skills but at the same time the descriptions of how co-regulation of children’s emotions is implemented remain on a general level and no precise rationale or practical actions are spontaneously mentioned. The results indicate that work-integrated educational training increased the participants’ awareness, especially in terms of perceptions related to presence of adults and interaction between children and adults. In the future, a detailed investigation of how the effects of educational interventions make a difference to the activities of the day care center is needed

Arjen sosioemotionaaliset haasteet oppimistilanteina:4T-toimintamalli lapsen kehittyvien tunteiden säätelytaitojen tukemiseksi

Abstract Emotions and emotion regulation skills play an important role in our everyday lives. These skills influence social relations and general wellbeing, and they are also an inherent part of lifelong learning skills. Emotion regulation covers the abilities to identify emotions and the causes of emotions, and control emotional reactions and emotion-related actions in challenging (learning) situations. The development of emotion regulation skills begins already in early childhood. Children rehearse these skills in their everyday activities and in social interactions. Still, how emotion regulation skills develop is heavily dependent on the support children receive from their meaningful adults. Early childhood education provides a venue to support these skills in a positive way. Everyday challenges that children face in day-care context can provide opportunities to practice emotion regulation skills with the support from early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals. Therefore, it is important to deepen ECEC professional’s understanding of how children’s emotion regulation skills develop and provide them means to support children’s emotion regulation in practice. 4T-model is developed to respond to this need: It helps ECEC professionals to 1) increase their understanding of children’s emotion regulation skills, 2) recognize the key-moments in everyday activities where children can rehearse emotion regulation, 3) acquire more versatile ways to support children in learning emotion regulation skills and 4) monitor children’s abilities to regulate emotions in everyday activities. The 4T-model is a research-based, tested training program, which is openly available for day-care centers to be implemented as a part of their practice. The training module introduces the basis of emotion regulation and connects the theoretical understanding with the day-care practices by providing examples as well as guided observation and discussion exercises. Overall, this handbook provides means and ideas for early childhood education personnel to examine their own and children’s actions in everyday day-care situations. The handbook aims to introduce 1) practical examples of what emotion regulation is and how these skills can be supported in day-care, and 2) how 4Tmodel can be used to support the professional development of early childhood education personnel.Tiivistelmä Tunteet ja niiden sääteleminen ovat suuressa roolissa elämässämme, vaikuttaen oppimiseen, sosiaalisten suhteiden muodostumiseen sekä yleiseen hyvinvointiin. Tunteiden säätelytaidot ovat tärkeitä oppimisen taitoja, joiden avulla ihminen kykenee tunnistamaan, tulkitsemaan ja hallitsemaan omia tunteitaan ja toimintaansa erilaisten tunteita herättävien tilanteiden aikana. Tunteita voidaan säädellä monin eri tavoin, ja tunteiden säätelytaitojen monipuolinen tukeminen kannattaa aloittaa mahdollisimman varhain. Päiväkotiarjessa kohdatut erilaiset sosioemotionaaliset haasteet tarjoavat erinomaisia tilanteita näiden taitojen harjoitteluun yhdessä turvallisen aikuisen kanssa. Varhaiskasvatuksen henkilöstöllä on tärkeä rooli lasten tunteiden säätelytaitojen oppimisessa. Henkilöstön tietoisuuden lisääminen lasten tunteiden säätelystä ja näiden taitojen tukemisesta on tärkeää. Näin voidaan auttaa varhaiskasvatushenkilöstöä syventämään ymmärrystä lasten tunteiden säätelytaitojen kehittymisestä ja tarjota heille entistä monipuolisempia välineitä lasten tunteiden säätelytaitojen tukemiseen käytännössä. 4T-toimintamalli on kehitetty vastaamaan tähän tarpeeseen, eli auttamaan varhaiskasvatushenkilöstöä tiedostamaan, tunnistamaan, tukemaan ja tarkkailemaan lasten tunteiden säätelytaitoja osana päiväkotiarjen oppimistilanteita. 4T-toimintamalli on tutkimukseen perustuva, testattu koulutuskokonaisuus, jonka jokainen päiväkoti voi toteuttaa osana omaa toimintaansa. Koulutuskokonaisuus esittelee monipuolisesti tunteiden säätelyn teoriaa yhdistäen sen päiväkotiarkeen erilaisten esimerkkien sekä havainnointi- ja keskustelutehtävien avulla. Tästä käsikirjasta varhaiskasvatushenkilöstö saa eväitä oman ja lasten toimijuuden tarkasteluun osana päiväkotiarjen tilanteita. Käsikirjan tavoitteena on (1) esitellä käytännön esimerkkien avulla, mitä tunteiden säätely on ja miten näitä taitojen voidaan tukea päiväkodeissa, ja (2) kertoa, mikä 4T-toimintamalli on ja kuinka sitä voidaan käyttää päiväkodeissa varhaiskasvatushenkilöstön ammatillisen kehittymisen tukena

The changes in lower secondary school students’ interest during collaborative learning

Abstract This study explored the situational interest and emotional valence of 13-year-old students (N = 94) participating in a five-session science course. The relationship between students’ situational interest and emotional valence and their individual interest was also studied. During each session, students participated in a collaborative learning task. Before and after each task, students’ situational interest and emotional valence were measured through a single-item self-report questionnaire. Individual interest was measured by the Task Interest Inventory scale at the beginning of the course. Students showed increasing levels of emotional valence after each collaborative learning task; however, they only reported significantly higher situational interest after the first task. Furthermore, the relationship between students’ emotional valence and their individual interest frequently decreased after collaborative learning tasks. The findings suggest that collaborative learning could be a potential factor in changing situational interest. Areas for further research are provided