Back to CRME Home
PageCollaborative Group for Research in Mathematics Education
The Role of Friendship Groups as Mediators of Effective Mathematics Learning
Project leader: Julie-Ann Edwards
Project team includes: Keith Jones
This project was supported by University of Southampton Research Award, A2004/6
Teaching methods designed to increase the participation of learners in classrooms include the use of small group or paired working and this raises questions about the nature of these groups and who should choose them. Friendship groups, based on social relationships, are one option for this increased participation and their use in secondary school learning situations is currently often based on teacher preference.
At undergraduate level, and in adult education, there is a consensus (both from research studies and anecdotal evidence) that friends make good learning partners. Yet questions remain about whether friendship groups enhance the effectiveness of group work or impede learning at the secondary school level. As many of the studies undertaken at secondary school level are in curriculum areas other than mathematics, particularly science, there is very limited research evidence about friendship groups and their impact on learning in mathematics classrooms. This study identified some of the aspects of the use of friendship groups in mathematics classrooms which improve and enhance pupils' experiences of mathematics learning.
Publications (in date order)
Edwards, J. (2007), The language of friendship: developing socio-mathematical
norms in the secondary school classroom. In D. Pitta-Pantazi & G.
Philippou (Eds), European Research in Mathematics Education V (pp
1190-1199). Nicosia, Cyprus: University of Cyprus. ISBN: 9789963671250.
Click here for
full article in pdf format..
Edwards, J. (2006), Exploratory Talk in Friendship Groups. In: Novotná, J., Moraová, H., Krátká, M. & Stehlíková, N. (Eds.), Proceedings 30th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME30), vol 1, p248. [extended abstract]
Edwards, J. (2005), Exploratory Talk in Peer Groups: exploring the zone of
proximal development. European Society for Research in
Mathematics Education IV (CERME4).
Click here for
full article in pdf format.
Edwards, J. (2004), Friendship Groups and Socially-constructed
Mathematical Knowledge, Proceedings of the British Society
for Research into Learning Mathematics, 24(3),
7-14.
Click here for
full article in pdf format.
Conference Presentations
5th Biennial Conference of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME5), Cyprus, February 2007.
30th Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, Prague, 2006
4th Biennial Conference of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education (CERME4), Spain, February 2005.
Conference of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics, University of Sussex, November 2004.
Related CRME Projects
The Role of Pupil-Pupil Talk within
Collaborative Group Work in Developing
Mathematical Reasoning
This project was supported by ESRC awards K00429713511 and R00429834557
Selected Bibliography
Barnes, D and Todd, F (1977) Communication and Learning in Small Groups, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Barnes, D and Todd, F (1995) Communication and Learning Revisited, Portsmouth, NH, Heinemann.
Cohen, E. (1994) Restructuring the Classroom: conditions for productive small groups, Review of Educational Research, 64, 1-35.
Cohen, E. (1994) Designing Groupwork: strategies for the heterogeneous classroom. New York: Teachers College Press. 2nd edition
Edwards, J. (2004), Friendship Groups and Socially-constructed
Mathematical Knowledge, Proceedings of the British Society
for Research into Learning Mathematics, 24(3),
7-14.
Click here for
full article in pdf format.
Edwards, J. (2005), Exploratory Talk in Peer Groups: exploring
the zone of proximal development. Paper presented at the 4th
Conference of the European Society for Research in Mathematics
Education (CERME4), 17-21 February 2005, Sant Feliu de
Guíxols, Spain.
Click here for
full article in pdf format.
Edwards, J. and Jones, K. (2001), Exploratory Talk within
Collaborative Small Groups in Mathematics, Proceedings of the
British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics, 21(3),
19-24.
Click here for
full article in pdf format.
Mercer, N. (1995). The Guided Construction of Knowledge: talk amongst teachers and learners, Clevedon, Multilingual Matters.
Mercer, N. and Fisher, E. (1997) The Importance of Talk. In R. Wegerif and P. Scrimshaw (Eds) Computers and Talk in the Primary Classroom, Clevedon, Multilingual Matters.
Zajac, R. J. and Hartup, W. W. (1997), Friends as Co-Workers: research review and classroom implications, Elementary School Journal, 98(1), 3-13.
Page updated 26 March 2008
Back to CRME research projects