Dynamic engagement patterns during collaborative reasoning discussions and their relations to adolescents’ individual reasoning

Background Collaborative Reasoning (CR) is a dialogic, learner-centered instructional approach shown to promote learners’ higher-order thinking. However, existing research has paid less attention to how learners engage in CR processes and how the temporal dynamics of engagement relate to the development of individual reasoning. Aims To address this gap, this study investigated the temporal development of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement during CR discussions and examined how evolving engagement patterns were associated with subsequent individual reasoning. Sample The participants were 29 seventh-graders from a middle school in China. The students formed four discussion groups, and each group participated in seven CR discussions. Methods The 28 discussions were video-coded for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral interactions (6868 codes). Process mining and epistemic network analysis were used to model shifts in engagement patterns. Individual reasoning was assessed through post-discussion essays. Results Engagement patterns shifted dynamically over time, moving from socially shared regulation to sustained knowledge co-construction. Groups differed in the timing and trajectory of this transition: some groups shifted earlier, whereas others engaged in prolonged regulatory exchanges. The group characterized by later transitions produced fewer basic argumentative elements but more advanced elements in their individual essays. Conclusions This study highlights dynamic engagement patterns as an important link between collaborative processes and learning outcomes and underscores the importance of understanding temporal configurations of regulation and knowledge co-construction in collaborative learning.