| Summary: | The emphasis in mathematics and science education on children actively constructing their own knowledge, collaborating with each other and in contexts that are technologically rich is resulting in new classroom dynamics. Often portrayed as a series of polite exchanges, this study aims to advance our understanding of the collaborative learning process. It does this by looking at a less frequently reported event, children's disagreements while learning science. Following a proposal for conceptually advancing the field the research questions addressed include: (a) Looking at the importance and nature of children's disagreements during a design and construction task using LEGO/Logo and (b) Using the proposed analytic framework to see what it tells us about the collaborative process during children's disagreements. The findings suggest that looking at a disagreement from a social and cognitive move perspective provides an effective framework for looking at the collaborative process. It revealed that disagreements can be a legitimate form of collaboration and elementary school children's disagreements, while on task, can be both extensive and constructive.
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