Abstract
This study observed interactions among 6th, 7th, 8th grade students in cooperative learning groups by taping and recording conversation. This study addressed the following questions, “Does gender of the students effect the interactions amongst students in a cooperative learning group? Who interrupts the conversation and who is interrupted? Overall, this study sought to obtain a better understanding of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade student’s interactions in a group setting examining the gender dynamics and communications styles of students. Sources of Data One source of data was analyzed: a tally and coding system was used to observe group interactions and their talking time. The methodology employed for this study was qualitative and quantitative methods, which were mixed due to the method of the study. The data collected during observations will be analyzed by summarizing the prevalence of codes, discussing similarities and differences in related codes across groups, and comparing the relationship between one or more codes. The information from the coding will lead to qualitative methods to discover underlying meanings, themes and patterns of relationships in the observations. Conclusions There remains a gender gap throughout elementary classrooms. Examining cooperative groups in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classrooms lead to a gender bias towards males in the group. Males controlled the conversation and lead the females to fewer interactions with the groups. Gender clustering existed in the middle school classes while the looping class proved to have created a learning community in the class.