Jesper Bruun Department of Science Education Mixed analysis of student relations using the science of networks and communities of practice Jesper Bruun Department of Science Education Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Main points During this presentation, I will focus on showing: Department of Science Education Main points During this presentation, I will focus on showing: How networks can be used for analyzing the structure of classroom interactions between students How classroom interaction categories can be constructed from theory and data, reformulated as questions, and validated by confronting them with students. Candidates for communities of practice (CoP) may be found through analysis of classroom network data based on interaction categories Before anything else, say: Imagine a physics classroom filled with students. During the week they interact with each other during school hours and perhaps out of school. Imagine that we could map the structure of these interactions while preserving the nature of them. It might look like this (click) Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Up next: Getting a sense of what a classroom network is! Department of Science Education Up next: Getting a sense of what a classroom network is! Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Quantitative representation -> Qualitative interpretation Department of Science Education Week 1 Week 3 These are maps of self-reported interactions. The circles (nodes) represents students, the arrows (links) represent a self-reported interaction. An arrow from a student, A, to a student B, if A mentions an interaction with B. The layout has been determined from a computeralgorithm treating the links as springs and finding an equillibrium for all nodes. The sizes of nodes are proportional to their Page-rank (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank) , blue nodes are male, orange nodes are female. Quantitative representation -> Qualitative interpretation Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Motivation for combining communities of practice (CoP) with networks Department of Science Education Motivation for combining communities of practice (CoP) with networks Overall interest: Relation between individuals and groups in learning processes McCormick, et. al (2010) have coupled ideas from network science with CoP, but not with a quantitative aspect. Dawson (2008) uses networks to study students sense of community relating it to social capital. CoP (Wenger, 1998) is an influential socio-cultural learning theory Provides a language and ideas (dualities, learning dimensions, negotiation of meaning) Is difficult to operationalize for quantitative purposes Meaning but little structure Network science quantifies relations between entitites Provides opportunities for computing and calculating various measures on the network Defining nodes and links are the essential prerequisite Structure but not inherent meaning Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Nature and milestones of the study Department of Science Education Nature and milestones of the study Students from Danish upper secondary physics class Measurement: Self-reports on who students interacted with and the nature of the interaction Students from a Danish upper secondary physics class. Asked to report who they interacted with during the preceeding week Pilot project (4 weeks, 1st year) where students indicated who they interacted with and explained the nature of the interaction in writing Development of interaction categories and reformulation for questionnaires questions Main data collection (4 months, 2nd year): Online questionnaires roughly bi-weekly Validation session I: Student perceptions of questions Validation session II: Confronting students with their own perceptions All of this done in class and during school hours Analysis of data in the light of these validation sessions Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Developing and reformulating categories Department of Science Education Developing and reformulating categories Student answers coupled with an understanding of the subject of physics and with an understanding of communities of practice leads to categories: ”We worked with [parallel and series] connections, on-line and text book problems. She helped me with some of the on-line problems on connections” Learning physics viewed as learning to use different forms of representation (Dolin, 2002) Learning dimensions (dualities), modes of belonging, identity Subject relevant communication Subject affective communication Social communication In/out of school Teacher/student initiated Example: We communicated on how one solves a particular task in physics. (How to perform calculations, which formulae to use, how to read graphs, and the like) Examples of student answers from pilot project Working on problems: ”We worked with [parallel and series] connections, on-line and text book problems. She helped me with some of the on-line problems on connections” Discussing concepts: ”She and I worked together to find a way of simulating an amperemeter and a voltmeter in a simulated circuit.” Affective:”She and I both suck at physics, so we work together often.” Coupling this with understanding of physics Coupling this with understanding of CoP Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Nature and milestones of the study Department of Science Education Nature and milestones of the study Students from Danish upper secondary physics class Measurement: Self-reports on who students interacted with and the nature of the interaction Students from a Danish upper secondary physics class. Asked to report who they interacted with during the preceeding week Pilot project (4 weeks, 1st year) where students indicated who they interacted with and explained the nature of the interaction in writing Development of interaction categories and reformulation for questionnaires questions Main data collection (4 months, 2nd year): Online questionnaires roughly bi-weekly Validation session I: Student perceptions of questions Validation session II: Confronting students with their own perceptions All of this done in class and during school hours Analysis of data in the light of these validation sessions Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Identifying a candidate for a community of practice Department of Science Education Identifying a candidate for a community of practice In the pilot project we find a tightly knit group of boys On what levels do they communicate? Are they a community of practice? Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Department of Science Education Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Visualizing (the evolution of) classroom networks Department of Science Education Visualizing (the evolution of) classroom networks What are the nature of nodes? What are the nature of links? What travels on links? Using the networks to tell a story Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Main points I have hoped to show: Department of Science Education Main points I have hoped to show: How networks can be used for analyzing the structure of classroom interactions between students How classroom interaction categories can be constructed from theory and data, reformulated as questions, and validated by confronting them with students. Candidates for communities of practice may be found through analysis of network data based on interaction categories Orlando, April 4th, 2011

Department of Science Education Some references Dolin, J. (2002) Dawson, S. (2008). A study of the relationship between student social networks and sense of community. Educational Technology \& Society , 11, 224-238. Eagle, N., Pentland, A., & Lazer, D. (2009). Inferring friendship network structure using mobile phone data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science , 106, 15727-15278. Liben-Nowell, D. (2005). An Algorithmic Approach to Social Networks. MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY. McCormick, R., Fox, A., Carmichael, P., & Procter, R. (2011). Researching and Understanding Educational Networks. New York: Routledge. Rosvall, M. & Bergstrom, C. T. (2007). An information-theoretic framework for resolving community structure in complex networks. PNAS, 104, 7327-7331. Sneppen, K. (2009). Networks. Networks . Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice Learning, Meaning, and Identity (17th ed.). Cambrigde University Press. Orlando, April 4th, 2011