Learning outcomes of exploratory talk in collaborative activities

How effective are collaborative activities for students’ learning? Among the many studies whichsuggest an answer to this question, a considerable number proposes one important condition: the use of exploratory talk. Over the last decades significant UK experiments on this matter have been repeated, refined or elaborated upon in other countries. As direct replicator studies are an important means to generalise results in different contexts, a similar study was set up in Flanders, the Flemish part of Belgium.During a two-year quasi-experiment groups of eleven and twelve year old primary school students were taught the basic principles of exploratory talk and put these into practice in group assignments for eight consecutive weeks. Pre- and post-tests included measurement of reasoning and problem solving skills.The results confirm the original UK study as described in Mercer et al. (1999) as well as other, similar studies: students of the experimental group improved their reasoning and problem solving skills at group level significantly, whereas control groups made no such progress.