1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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 ( , blue nodes are male, orange nodes are female.
Quantitative representation -> Qualitative interpretation
Orlando, April 4th, 2011

5. 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

6. Nature and milestones of the study
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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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. Department of Science Education
Orlando, April 4th, 2011

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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, Eagle, N., Pentland, A., & Lazer, D. (2009). Inferring friendship network structure using mobile phone data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science , 106, 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, Sneppen, K. (2009). Networks. Networks . Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice Learning, Meaning, and Identity (17th ed.). Cambrigde University Press.
Orlando, April 4th, 2011