The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between the communication status in group and the semantic network of science gifted students. Seven small groups, 5 members in each, participated in small group activities, in which they discussed the calculation of earth density. Both the communication status in group and the semantic network of science gifted students were analyzed using KrKwic, Ucinet 6.0 for Windows. As a result, the semantic network of prime movers in group represented more frequently used words, lesser rate of component, and higher density than that of out lookers. It means that the prime movers have coherent knowledge compared to out lookers, and they output more knowledge for problem solving than out lookers. Therefore, the results of this study may be applied to evaluating the cognitive level of science gifted students and group organization for small group activity.
Keywords: small group activity, science gifted students, communication status, semantic network |