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Cooperative Learning (cooperative + learning)
Selected AbstractsAbsent and Accounted For: Absenteeism and Cooperative Learning,DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006G. D. Koppenhaver ABSTRACT In a small section collaborative learning environment where student work teams promote mutual learning about investments, students limit the opportunity to learn from other students if they are absent from class. Absenteeism not only denies the student the opportunity to learn from others but also denies other members of the student's work team the opportunity to learn from the absent student. Other team members' absenteeism should be costly for individual performance if collaborative learning fosters learning and retention. The research finds that while absenteeism is detrimental to the student's own performance, absenteeism of other team members from team activities has a significant negative effect on both individual exam and homework scores. The conclusions validate the benefits of active learning and of encouraging attendance in collaborative learning environments in all disciplines. [source] Structuring the Classroom for Performance: Cooperative Learning with Instructor-Assigned Teams*DECISION SCIENCES JOURNAL OF INNOVATIVE EDUCATION, Issue 1 2003Gary D. Koppenhaver ABSTRACT The main concern is a longstanding one in classroom instruction,the determinants of effective team performance. The paper explicitly examines the effect of teacher-controlled factors on the use and functioning of student teams. From a sample of 500 undergraduate students, data are obtained on aptitude, diversity, instability, motivation, personality style, size, and performance. The regression results suggest that team motivation and instability, which are both partly controlled by the instructor, are particularly important in determining a team's performance. An implication is that instructor decisions about team make-up and incentives can have a significant impact on student achievement. [source] Effects of Cooperative Learning on the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities: An Update of Tateyama-Sniezek's ReviewLEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 2 2002Kristen Nyman McMaster This article reviews research published from 1990 to 2000 examining effects of cooperative learning strategies on the academic achievement of students with learning disabilities. The literature search is described. Fifteen studies are included in the review and are grouped according to the types of cooperative learning strategies that were examined. Sample characteristics, measures, findings, and effect sizes are reported in a table. Achievement outcomes are mixed. Cooperative learning strategies that incorporate individual accountability and group rewards are more likely to improve achievement of students with disabilities. However, design problems across the studies limit conclusions to be drawn about the efficacy of cooperative learning. More research is needed before it may be viewed as an effective strategy for students with disabilities. [source] Problem-based learning: why curricula are likely to show little effect on knowledge and clinical skillsMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 9 2000Mark Albanese Objectives A recent review of problem-based learning's effect on knowledge and clinical skills updated findings reported in 1993. The author argues that effect sizes (ES) seen with PBL have not lived up to expectations (0.8,1.0) and the theoretical basis for PBL, contextual learning theory, is weak. The purposes of this study were to analyse what constitutes reasonable ES in terms of the impacts on individuals and published reports, and to elaborate upon various theories pertaining to PBL. Design Normal theory is used to demonstrate what various ESs would mean for individual change and a large meta-analysis of over 10 000 studies is referred to in identifying typical ESs. Additional theories bearing upon PBL are presented. Results Effect sizes of 0.8,1.0 would require some students to move from the bottom quartile to the top half of the class or more. The average ES reported in the literature was 0.50 and many commonly used and accepted medical procedures and therapies are based upon studies with ESs below 0.50. Conclusions Effect sizes of 0.8,1.0 are an unreasonable expectation from PBL because, firstly, the degree of changes that would be required of individuals would be excessive, secondly, leading up to medical school, students are groomed and selected for success in a traditional curriculum, expecting them to do better in a PBL curriculum than a traditional curriculum is an unreasonable expectation, and, thirdly, the average study reported in the literature and many commonly used and accepted medical procedures and therapies are based upon studies having lesser ESs. Information-processing theory, Cooperative learning, Self-determination theory and Control theory are suggested as providing better theoretical support for PBL than Contextual learning theory. Even if knowledge acquisition and clinical skills are not improved by PBL, the enhanced work environment for students and faculty that has been consistently found with PBL is a worthwhile goal. [source] Sustainability Science Partnerships in Concept and in Practice: a Guide to a New Curriculum from a European PerspectiveGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009A. CRISTINA DE LA VEGA-LEINERT Abstract This paper makes the case for advancing sustainability science partnerships (SSPs) both within universities and through innovative means of integrating universities with external public-private and civil sectors. It links the basic principles of sustainable development with an emerging science of cooperative learning that connects researchers to a wide range of partners. SSPs are specifically designed to be transformational through becoming active agents for societal change. Universities play a special role here because they can act both as communication networks and as laboratories for developing the capability to design and manage SSPs in the creative transition to sustainability. It is gratifying to note that these ideas are beginning to emerge in a number of universities, with European examples being highlighted in this paper. Further steps towards introducing full-blooded SSPs across the university spectrum are suggested. [source] A study of group interaction processes in learning lower secondary physicsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 6 2006Dimitrios Stamovlasis This study explores the effectiveness of a cooperative learning (CL) approach, where students work together and elaborate concepts of physics. The group problem-solving tasks were conceptual questions from physics, where the students had to discuss and provide explanations of some phenomena. The effectiveness of the learning-in-groups approach was validated and correlated with working group interactiveness. Two group variables were assigned: the group performance and the group activity. These variables and the subjects' participation variable were correlated with achievement. Discourse analysis revealed variation in the nature of the interactions and information exchange, and the two roles as learners and learning facilitators. In addition, the study provided evidence for some features of cooperative learning that could characterize it as a nonlinear dynamical process. Implications of the findings are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 43: 556,576, 2006 [source] Effects of Cooperative Learning on the Academic Achievement of Students with Learning Disabilities: An Update of Tateyama-Sniezek's ReviewLEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 2 2002Kristen Nyman McMaster This article reviews research published from 1990 to 2000 examining effects of cooperative learning strategies on the academic achievement of students with learning disabilities. The literature search is described. Fifteen studies are included in the review and are grouped according to the types of cooperative learning strategies that were examined. Sample characteristics, measures, findings, and effect sizes are reported in a table. Achievement outcomes are mixed. Cooperative learning strategies that incorporate individual accountability and group rewards are more likely to improve achievement of students with disabilities. However, design problems across the studies limit conclusions to be drawn about the efficacy of cooperative learning. More research is needed before it may be viewed as an effective strategy for students with disabilities. [source] Comparison of student performance in cooperative learning and traditional lecture-based biochemistry classesBIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY EDUCATION, Issue 6 2005William L. Anderson Abstract Student performance in two different introductory biochemistry curricula are compared based on standardized testing of student content knowledge, problem-solving skills, and student opinions about the courses. One curriculum was used in four traditional, lecture-based classes (n = 381 students), whereas the second curriculum was used in two cooperative learning classes (n = 39 students). Students in the cooperative learning classes not only performed at a level above their peers in standardized testing of content knowledge and in critical thinking and problem-solving tasks (p < 0.05), but they also were more positive about their learning experience. The testing data are in contrast to much of the medical school literature on the performance of students in problem-based learning (PBL) curricula, which shows little effect of the curricular format on student exam scores. The reason for the improvement is undoubtedly multifactorial. We argue that the enhancement of student performance in this study is related to: 1) the use of peer educational assistants, 2) an authentic PBL format, and 3) the application of a multicontextual learning environment in the curricular design. Though educationally successful, the cooperative learning classes as described in this study were too resource intensive to continue; however, we are exploring incorporation of some of the "high context" aspects of the small-group interactions into our current lecture-based course with the addition of on-line PBL cases. [source] | |||||||||||||