A strengths-based conceptualization of student roles in lab groups

Student roles in laboratory groups are often characterized using specific tasks and responsibilities. Yet, the process of working in a collaborative group is more nuanced than just the tasks taken on by individuals. In this talk we make a case for considering collaboration as the coordination of complementary strengths. Using group observations from second-semester University Physics lab activities and data from follow-up interviews, we show how students leverage - and sometimes suppress - their strengths in response to the needs of individuals and to the needs of the group. Seeing the different ways that individuals come together to coordinate strengths offers a new narrative for why some groups are more or less collaborative and can inform future group work interventions.