Situational Interest within the Reciprocal Teaching Style: Roles of Dyad Composition and Students' Personal Variables

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Sport Pedagogy
• Motivation in Learning

Background:

• Situational interest (SI) is crucial for understanding student motivation in task engagement.
• Reciprocal teaching style offers a framework for examining student interaction and motivation.
• Previous research has not fully explored the impact of dyad composition on SI within reciprocal teaching.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the roles of dyad forms (self-selected vs. ability), relatedness, and perceived competence in eliciting students' SI.
• To compare the effectiveness of self-selected versus ability dyads in fostering SI within a reciprocal teaching context.
• To examine the influence of feelings of relatedness and perceived competence on SI in self-selected dyads.

Main Methods:

• Two consecutive studies were conducted with students in physical education (PE) units.
• Study 1 compared self-selected and ability dyads using repeated measures of SI, perceived competence, and relatedness (n=99).
• Study 2 focused on self-selected dyads, analyzing the roles of relatedness and competence using MANOVAs and cluster analysis (n=99-109).

Main Results:

• Self-selected dyads yielded higher scores for SI, perceived competence, and feelings of relatedness compared to ability dyads.
• In self-selected dyads, feelings of relatedness had a stronger positive effect on SI than perceived competence.
• Perceived competence showed a small but significant effect on SI within self-selected dyads.

Conclusions:

• Teachers should prioritize self-selected dyads to enhance students' situational interest within the reciprocal teaching style.
• Creating learning environments that promote positive peer relationships is essential for increasing student SI.
• Self-selected grouping in PE is an efficient strategy for fostering student engagement and relationships.