Chapter 15 page 372
Researchers have found that students learning in classrooms with Group Investigation outperform control
groups of students learning in classrooms that did not use participate in Group Investigation (Lazarowitz &
Karsenty, 1990; Shachar & Fischer, 2004; Shachar & Sharan, 1994; Y. Sharan & Sharan, 1989/1990,
December). The studies conducted span a variety of ages and subject matters.
Here is an example of a Group Investigation from a class of eighth graders (adapted from Y. Sharan
& Sharan, 1992). The teacher has offered the following the recommendations using group investigation
procedures. First, the teacher posed the general topic (Arizona Native Americans) as a question, “In what
ways do the Native Americans in Arizona differ from Native Americans in other states?” The class
generated a list of possible subtopics. Five students were interested in one of these subtopics, “How did
Native American tribes adapt their dwellings to the environment?” and so they formed a group to
investigate this question. Following is the transcript in which the students begin planning how to investigate
their subtopic:
Elliot: Should we read about every ... tribe?
Nancy: Each one of us could take a different tribe...
Bob: But there are so many, and they live in such different
places.
Jean: We don’t have to read about every tribe. Let’s take those
who live in totally different surroundings.
Shel: I’d like to know why the ancient [Native Americans]
lived the way they did.
Elliot: Well, should we stick to the tribes of today or study the
ancient tribes, too?
Jean: We have a lot of material on the Navajo... (adapted
from Y. Sharan & Sharan, 1992, p. 77)
The students are focused well on laying
out a plan of investigation.Jean makes an interesting point that that
the most interesting analyses would
contrast tribes that were most different.
Shel identifies a particular learning goal.Jean notes a useful practical consideration.The groups then complete a group planning form that lays out their plan (see Figure 15.7). Note that the
students have assigned themselves roles. We will discuss roles in more detail later in this chapter; for now,
the key point is that students with different roles have different tasks that they are to especially focus on.
For instance, in the group who wrote the plan in Figure 15.7, Jean and Nancy have taken the role of
resource persons. This means that they are responsible for identifying good resources and collecting them
for the group. In taking the role of coordinator, Bob is responsible for monitoring that everyone does their
work in a way that it will fit together well in the end. The students spend multiple classes locating their
information and preparing a presentation for the class.
Group Investigation has been used successfully in grades ranging from early elementary through high
school. In all cases, this method gives students a great deal of control over their learning. Because the tasks
are open-ended and complex, students must learn and use an impressive range of self-regulatory strategies
in order to manage their group tasks.