The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in the verbal interactions of earth science gifted depending on their communications structures and group status in small group activities. To this end, a small group activity was conducted to measure the density of the earth, and 8 small groups were selected, including 4 coownership type and 4 monopolistics type groups with different communication structures. And then, the framework was developed for analyzing verbal interactions to compare the differences in characteristics between small groups. The results are as follows. First, regardless of the communication structures, there were showing a simple pingpong-type communication structures for all small groups. Second, negative interactions such as ‘restraint’, ‘command’, ‘complaint’, and ‘lack of confidence’ predominantly appeared in all small groups. Third, the students in the status of out-lookers in small groups were mainly verbal interactions, such as instructing the other person, acting against the other person’s actions, and expressing dissatisfaction with the attitudes and abilities of members. Therefore, teachers should guide students to use higher-level verbal interactions in their group activities in small group activities, and engage in students communication to prevent negative interactions from occurring. The teachers also need to check the level of achievement for students in the status of out-lookers in advance and guide them to participate more actively in small group activities. This study is meaningful in that it can be sued to design teaching and learning to improve students’ problem solving and communication skills.

The present study explores the effects of peer intimacy on Korean primary English learners' collaborative group work in terms of writing achievement and peer interaction. Fifty six elementary school students engaged in small group work on English writing tasks. They were grouped in three different types: high intimacy level group, low intimacy level group, and random group. The study results indicated no significant group differences in the students' abilities and attitudes of English writing. However, the three groups differed in the quantity and quality of peer interaction. The high intimacy group produced the largest number of utterance and the most collaborative interactions. The low intimacy group, on the other hand, produced more utterances but less collaborative interactions than did the random group. Overall, the study results suggested that peer intimacy may have no immediate effect on students' learning through small group work but it possibly has delayed effects in prolonged group work by mediating the quantity and quality of peer interactions. Limitations of the study and pedagogical suggestions are provided.

탐구는 과학교육의 본질을 설명해주는 결정적인 특징이다. 최근에는 스스로 문제를 제기하여 탐구하고 그것을 의사 소통하는 능력을 포함한 논증이 강조되고 있는데, 학교 탐구학습 맥락에서는 자율적이고 활발한 상호작용의 측면에서 그 한계가 지적되고 있다. 그래서 대안으로 비형식 맥락에서의 탐구학습이 제안되고 있으며, 이에 본 연구는 국립과천과학관 내 자연사관을 자유 관람하는 중학생 소집단의 대화적 탐구에서 나타나는 상호작용 유형을 밝히고자 하였다. 이를 위해 중학생 13그룹의 탐구적 대화 42사례를 대상으로 탐구요소 및 상호작용 유형을 분석하였다. 탐구요소는 문제제기, 자료수집, 설명의 세 가지로 구분하였고, 상호작용은 대화의 흐름을 화살표로 도식화하여 나타내었다. 문제제기로부터 탐구가 시작된다고 보았으며, 문제제기 이후 후속적인 반응에 따라 유형이 구분되었는데, 총 7가지 유형이 발견되었다. 그 유형은 문제제기 공유, 문제제기-단순응답, 문제제기-단순설명, 문제제기-단순설명-(자료수집)-자료기반 설명, 문제제기-자료수집-자료기반 설명의 5가지로 크게 나누어지고, 가장 많은 빈도를 보인 유형 2는 다시 소극 회피적 응답, 부정확한 응답, 패턴의 반복으로 세분화되었다. 본 연구는 비형식 탐구학습에서 학교 탐구학습과 차별화되는 상호작용 패턴을 파악하였다는 점에서 기존 연구들과 차별성을 가지며, 비형식 탐구학습에서 상호작용 유형을 기술하고 있다는 점에서 비형식 탐구학습 연구를 위한 기초를 제공하였다는 의의를 가진다.