| dc.description.abstract | This thesis is concerned with the prospects of learning from talking within a small group. The purpose of the study is to add to our knowledge of dialogue through group communication as a social event, based on human relations and seen as a situation where a process of learning takes place. The object is also to see if and how a pedagogical method (the dialogue meeting) affects the process of learning and to describe and sys-tematically analyze such dialogue meetings from different angles and with different methods. The empirical data consists primarily of tape recordings and transcriptions of four group sessions and different forms of interviews undertaken at various stages, both before and after the group conversations. The research design is qualitative. The empirical study is founded on an interactionist perspective, the main theoretical frame of reference is the theory of transformative learning. Learning is defined as a change of assumptions with regard to a given phenomenon. It is the individual who learns, but in group communication this learning takes place in social interaction, where the individuals together may create new knowledge by going beyond the individual perspective of each person. The most important result shows that the more symmetrical the communication in a group meeting is, the higher is the quality of the learning of every individual speaker. Of importance is also the conversational style which can be more or less cooperative or competitive. Both ways of talking are needed if collective learning is to be developed. Before collective learning can occur there is a need for changing and transcending individual perspectives. This demands that the speakers have a capacity for critical reflective thinking. | eng |
