The influence of teacher’s orchestration using a novel system for advancing group learning on students’ conceptual learning - the case of a geometry lesson

Learning in groups allows students to develop academic and social competencies. However, students need guidance for an effective collaboration. In this chapter, we present SAGLET, a technological tool designed to support teachers’ real-time orchestration of the work of groups of learners while they are solving mathematical problems simultaneously. This novel practice would be impracticable without the use of dedicated technologies and techniques. We used AI techniques to provide information about critical moments in the groups’ work, such as reaching a solution to a problem, exhibiting idleness, or experiencing technical challenges. These critical moments are presented visually to teachers in real time, hopefully allowing them to monitor several groups simultaneously and to intervene when necessary to guide the group in need. In a previous research, we showed that teachers were able to use the system successfully to intervene in groups when deemed necessary. In the current research, we focus on the effects of the teacher’s interventions on the learning processes of the students. Specifically, we investigate what the students gained from the teacher’s interventions using the SAGLET system. Nineteen students from Grades 5 and 6 participated in the study; each student sat by one computer and collaborated with his peers through written communication in virtual chat rooms, in order to solve challenging geometrical tasks. To analyze the data, we focused mainly on the students’ responses to the teacher’s interventions. We found that these interventions encourage the students to engage in productive learning processes, which enable them to cope with challenging geometrical tasks concerning the inclusion relationship of quadrilaterals.