Dyadic instruction for middle school students: Liking promotes learning

•Middle school students were taught computer programming in same-sex dyads.•Each student completed computer skills and partner affinity assessments.•Initial partner affinity positively predicted one's own later computer skills.•Initial partner affinity positively predicted the partner's later computer skills.•Initial computer skills positively predicted the partner's later partner affinity.

This study examines whether friendship facilitates or hinders learning in a dyadic instructional setting. Working in 80 same-sex pairs, 160 (60 girls, 100 boys) middle school students (M = 12.13 years old) were taught a new computer programming language and programmed a game. Students spent 14 to 30 (M = 22.7) hours in a programming class. At the beginning and the end of the project, each participant separately completed (a) computer programming knowledge assessments and (b) questionnaires rating their affinity for their partner. Results support the proposition that liking promotes learning: Greater partner affinity predicted greater subsequent increases in computer programming knowledge for both partners. One partner's initial programming knowledge also positively predicted the other partner's subsequent partner affinity.