In an Effort to Assess the Impact of Collaboration on Learning

Multiple Choice

In an effort to assess the impact of collaboration on learning, a researcher assigns one group of seventh-graders to work with a partner in designing and conducting a science experiment and another group to do the same assignment alone. The researcher then evaluates the quality of the experiments and interviews the children about the scientific concepts they were asked to test. What was the independent variable in this study?

A) the answers the students gave during the interview
B) whether the children worked alone or with a partner
C) the quality of the experiment
D) grade level of the children