  Group work is becoming increasingly common in introductory physics
classrooms. Understanding how students engage in these group learning
environments is important for designing and facilitating productive learning
opportunities for students. We conducted a study in which we collected video of
groups of students working on conceptual electricity and magnetism problems in
an introductory physics course. In this setting, students needed to negotiate a
common understanding and coordinate group decisions in order to complete the
activity successfully. We observed students interacting in several distinct
ways while solving these problems. Analysis of these observations focused on
identifying the different ways students interacted and articulating what
defines and distinguishes them, resulting in the development of the Modes of
Collaboration framework. The Modes of Collaboration framework defines student
interactions along three dimensions: social, discursive, and disciplinary
content. This multi-dimensional approach offers a unique lens through which to
consider group work and provides a flexibility that could allow the framework
to be adapted for a variety of contexts. We present the framework and several
examples of its application here.
