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Verbal Interaction (verbal + interaction)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	25%

Selected Abstracts

The effects of animations on verbal interaction in computer supported collaborative learning

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 5 2008
M. Sangin
Abstract This paper focuses on the interaction patterns of learners studying in pairs who were provided with multimedia learning material. In a previous article, we reported that learning scores were higher for dyads of an ,animations' condition than for dyads of a ,static pictures' condition. Results also showed that offering a persistent display of one snapshot of each animated sequence hindered collaborative learning. In the present paper, further analyses of verbal interactions within learning dyads were performed in order to have a better understanding of both the beneficial effect of animations and the detrimental effect of the presence of persistent snapshots of critical steps on collaborative learning. Results did not show any differences in terms of verbal categories between the two versions of the instructional material, that is, static versus animated pictures. Pairs who were provided with persistent snapshots of the multimedia sequences produced fewer utterances compared to participants without the snapshots. In addition, the persistent snapshots were detrimental both in terms of providing information about the learning content and in terms of producing utterances solely for the purpose of managing the interaction. In this study, evidence also showed that these two verbal categories were positively related to learning performances. Finally, mediation analyses revealed that the negative effect of persistent snapshots was mediated by the fact that peers of the snapshots condition produced less information providing and interaction management utterances. Results are interpreted using a psycholinguistic framework applied to computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) literature and general guidelines are derived for the use of dynamic material and persistency tools in the design of CSCL environments. [source]

Principles and practical grouping for the use of drill and practice programs

JOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 2 2001
A. Jackson
Abstract A previous paper showed that young children performed better when working as individuals rather than in pairs on a drill and practice program. This paper reports an analysis of behaviour and talk for individuals and single sex pairs using a computer-based drill and practice activity to explain differences in performance. Results indicated that individuals were more likely to be task-focused and to complete tasks successfully than children working in pairs. Differences were found in off-task activity, behaviours and type of talk. Grouping and verbal interaction are discussed in relation to the type of task/program that children are asked to undertake, and how both task and peer presence may constrain the child's task focus and performance when reinforcing pre-existing knowledge. [source]

The advocate as gatekeeper: The limits of politeness in protective order interviews with Latina survivors of domestic abuse

JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 4 2001
Shonna L. Trinch
Within institutions that provide assistance to victims of domestic violence, professionals and volunteers work as advocates for their clients at the same time that they act as gatekeepers for their agencies. While the labor of advocacy consists of empowering clients and validating their concerns and feelings, the task of gatekeeping entails making judgments about them in order to dole out goods and services. Thirty protective order interviews and their resulting affidavits form the data for this study. These interviews take place in a district attorney's office and in a pro bono law clinic. This micro-level analysis of the verbal interaction between protective order application interviewers (both paid and volunteer) and their Latina clients investigates what positive politeness strategies can reveal about how interviewers construct the conflicting discursive identities of advocate and gatekeeper. I examine what interviewers say to clients as well as how interviewers allow clients to give their accounts of abuse. The study points to specific linguistic techniques that may leave victims feeling unaccompanied in the sociolegal system. I suggest that one consequence of the gatekeeping required of interviewers is that victim-survivors may perceive a ,second assault' by the institutions meant to serve them. Linguistic phenomena particular to Latina women in the United States are also brought to light. [source]

Describing clinical teachers' characteristics and behaviours using critical incidents and repertory grids

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 7 2006
Praminthra Chitsabesan
Context, Completion of a rating questionnaire is the method used most frequently to evaluate a teacher's performance. Questionnaires that largely assess ,high-inference' teaching characteristics, such as ,enthusiasm' and ,friendliness', require the observer to make a judgement about the teacher but do not describe what the teacher actually did and so have limited use in providing feedback. Measures of ,low-inference' teaching behaviours (i.e. those that are concrete and observable), such as frequency, amount or types of verbal interaction, do not demonstrate how these are linked to good teaching. Objectives, To describe high-inference teacher characteristics and define the associated low-inference behaviours. Methods, A purposive sample of consultants, postgraduate and undergraduate students, nurse lecture practitioners and patients were selected for semistructured interviews using repertory grids and critical incidents to elicit preferred characteristics and behaviours of clinical teachers. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and then content-analysed using a framework to pair teachers' characteristics and their behaviours. Results, We identified a variety of preferred high-inference characteristics and their associated observable and recordable low-inference behaviours. Discussion, We carried out a study that included all participants in clinical teaching and found that participants differed in their preferred characteristics and behaviours. It is important for future research to look at behaviours interdependently, rather than alone, and to take into account the evidence that participants tend to infer characteristics rather than think in terms of behaviours. This information will be used to inform the development of a formative tool for evaluating clinical teaching. [source]

The effects of animations on verbal interaction in computer supported collaborative learning

In the Enchanted Grove: Financial Conversations and the Marketplace in England and France in the 18th Century

JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL SOCIOLOGY, Issue 3 2001
Alex Preda
The paper examines conversations in the 18th-century London and Paris financial marketplaces. The aim is to highlight the place of conversations as the key form of interaction in the marketplace, and to evaluate financial conversations against the broader cultural background of literary and scientific dialogues of the time. The relevance of this enterprise is that it leads to a better understanding of how the verbal interactions of the marketplace shape transaction outcomes and contribute to forms of rationality specific for financial markets. Grounded in the analysis of empirical material, the paper distinguishes between conversations-qua-transactions and conversations-about-the-world. It shows how they produce and require specific forms of knowledge from the participants; at the same time, they shape the transactions' outcomes. On this basis, the paper argues that the phenomenon of sudden mood swings in the marketplace cannot be entirely explained in irrational, psychological terms, but must be seen as the outcome of a particular conversational system. [source]

Students' and teachers' perceived and actual verbal interactions in seminar groups

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2009
A Debbie C Jaarsma
Objectives, This study set out to examine how much time students and teachers devote to different learning-oriented interactions during seminar sessions and students' and teachers' perceptions about the occurrence and desirability of these interactions. Methods, Students and teachers participating in eight seminar group sessions in Year 4 of an undergraduate veterinary curriculum completed an 11-item questionnaire which asked them to rate, on a 5-point Likert scale, the frequency of occurrence and level of desirability of three learning-oriented types of interaction: exploratory questioning; cumulative reasoning, and handling of conflict about knowledge. The questionnaire also invited positive and negative responses to aspects of group interactions and an overall mark (1,10) for the seminars and group interactions. Four group sessions were video-recorded and analysed using a coding scheme. The amount of time devoted to the different interactions was calculated. Results, Both students and teachers gave scores of 3.0,3.5 for frequency of occurrence of exploratory questioning and cumulative reasoning and < 3.0 for occurrence of handling of conflict about knowledge. The desired occurrences of all interaction types were significantly higher than the actual occurrences according to students and teachers. Teachers were responsible for the majority of the interactions (93%). The percentages of session time devoted to teacher-centred cumulative reasoning, exploratory questioning and handling of conflict about knowledge were 65.8%, 15.6% and 3.1%, respectively. Conclusions, Group interactions in seminar groups are dominated by the posing of questions by teachers to students. The moderate occurrence of group interactions as perceived by students and teachers may be explained by the inadequate preparation of teachers and students to stimulate group interactions. [source]

How should trainees be taught to open a clinical interview?

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 5 2005
Alex Walter
Aim, To characterise the opening of secondary care consultations. Method, We audio-taped 17 first consultations in medical clinics, transcribed them verbatim, and analysed verbal interactions from when the doctor called the patient into the consulting room to when she or he asked clarifying questions. Results, The interviews did not open with the sequence, reported by previous researchers, of ,doctor's soliciting question, patient's opening statement, interruption by the doctor'. Doctors (1) called the patient to the consultation; (2) greeted them; (3) introduced themselves; (4) made a transition to clinical talk; and (5) framed the consultation. They used a referral letter, the case notes, computer records and their prior knowledge of the patient to help frame the consultation, and did so informally and with humour. Conclusion, These 5 steps could help trainees create a context for active listening that is less prone to interruption. [source]