Resource interdependence,student interactions and performance in cooperative learning

Two studies were carried out during university workshops, and analyzed the effects of resource interdependence on student‐student interactions, and the impact of these interactions on performance. Students worked cooperatively, either on complementary information (positive resource interdependence) or on identical information (resource independence). In Study 1, analysis of videotaped interactions revealed that working on complementary information produced more positive interactions; however this was not sufficient to prevent students who had no direct access to the information from being disadvantaged, because of informational dependence. In Study 2, with simpler texts allowing better information transmission, performance was favored when students worked on complementary information. Moreover, working on identical information not only enhanced confrontations of point of views, it also elicited competence threat. Further analysis revealed that competence threat mediated resource interdependence effect on performance. Discussion provides insights into the conditions in which different cooperative methods can benefit learning.     

Self-efficacy, task complexity and task performance: Exploring interactions in two versions of vocabulary learning tasks

The present study aimed for better understanding of the interactions between task complexity and students?? self-efficacy beliefs and students?? use of learning strategies, and finally their interacting effects on task performance. This investigation was carried out in the context of Chinese students learning English as a foreign language in a university in China. The participants were 78 second-year university students (mean age?=?20.9?years). This study used a repeated-measures design with task complexity as the within-participants factor, and task sequence as the between-participants factor. Results indicated a significant task effect for self-efficacy beliefs and task performance, and a significant interaction effect of sequence with task complexity for learners?? self-efficacy beliefs in learning for both task versions, learners with higher self-efficacy beliefs had better task performances than learners with lower self-efficacy beliefs. The results also revealed a strong correlation between self-efficacy and the use of learning strategies for both tasks.     

Creativity in a cooperative group setting

This study was to determine whether cooperative small groups would stimulate creativity of fith and sixth grade students more than an individualized learning environment. Student aptitudes for creative and academic work were assessed on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A), analysis of student created electrical circuit diagrams, and a batteries and bulbs prediction test. A measure of student perceptions was also used to indicate any changes in attitudes toward the science activity and learning environment. A posttest control group design was used with 11 I fifth and sixth grade students. Half of the population worked by themselves, while the other half (experimental) worked in a student-structured environment on the same science activity which involved creating as many different types of electrical circuits from a given set of batteries and bulbs as possible. An overall conclusion is that fifth and sixth grade students working within small cooperative groups can be more creative as measured by a figural creativity test with electrical circuits than students working alone. The implication of this study is that small cooperative groups as well as individualized groups should be used in elementary science classes when creativity is one of the instructional objectives.     

基于任务驱动的小组合作教学模式在生物化学教学中的探究

生物化学是医学类专业的一门重要专业基础课,本文将基于任务驱动的小组合作教学模式运用于高职检验专业的课堂教学中,通过学期末对实验班和对照班进行问卷调查,研究结果显示,基于任务驱动的小组合作教学模式能有效地提高学生的综合学习素质     

Effects of cooperative learning on performance,attitude, and group behaviors in a technical team environment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cooperative learning strategies on performance, attitude toward working in teams, and group interaction behaviors in a technical training context. Participants were 274 engineering employees enrolled in a required training class that focused on communicating technical procedures in plant operations. Participants were divided into small groups and cooperative teams. Instruction was the same for all participants. Only the practice portion of the lesson reflected cooperative strategies versus no process direction. Results indicated that the practice conducted in a cooperative manner had a significant effect on performance and group behaviors. Participants in the cooperative teams performed better on the posttest, enjoyed working in teams, perceived more accomplishment, and displayed higher levels of social and cognitive interaction than participants who worked in unstructured small groups. Implications for integrating cooperative strategies into technical team training are provided.     

Communication on a problem solving task in cooperative learning groups

Summary There is some evidence from this study that reflectivity within cooperative learning groups develops over time. Preliminary observations suggest that Slavin's third and fourth levels of skills, those of reflection and reasoning and reconception and reformulation and Kempa and Ayob's higher levels of explanation and insight appear more advanced in groups strategically managed by teachers for such outcomes. Later analyses will permit more detailed accounts of the relationships between the teacher's management strategies, and reflection within groups of different gender composition. Specializations: science teacher education. Specializations: studies in twentieth century science education in Australia, teacher education.     

Inquiry and groups: student interactions in cooperative inquiry-based science

Science education research has recommended cooperative inquiry based science in the primary science context for more than two decades but after more than 20 years, student achievement in science has not substantially improved. This study, through direct observation and analysis, investigated content-related student interactions in an authentic inquiry based primary science class setting. Thirty-one upper primary students were videotaped working in cooperative inquiry based science activities. Cooperative talk and negotiation of the science content was analysed to identify any high-level group interactions. The data show that while all groups have incidences of high-level content-related group interactions, the frequency and duration of these interactions were limited. No specific pattern of preceding events was identified and no episodes of high-level content-related group interactions were immediately preceded by the teacher’s interactions with the groups. This in situ study demonstrated that even without any kind of scaffolding, specific skills in knowing how to implement cooperative inquiry based science, high-level content-related group interactions did occur very briefly. Support for teachers to develop their knowledge and skills in facilitating cooperative inquiry based science learning is warranted to ensure that high-level content-related group interactions and the associated conceptual learning are not left to chance in science classrooms.     

Effects of cooperative learning and need for affiliation on performance,time on task,and satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cooperative learning and the need for affiliation on performance, time on task, and satisfaction. Subjects used either a cooperative or individual learning strategy while receiving information, examples, practice, and feedback from an instructional television lesson. Results indicated that subjects who worked cooperatively spent more time working on practice exercises and reported greater satisfaction than those who worked individually. In addition, results revealed an interaction between instructional method and the need for affiliation. Performance of subjects with a high need for affiliation who worked alone was lower than that of all other groups when subjects were asked to apply what they had learned from the lesson. Implications for employing cooperative groups in settings that were originally designed for individual learning are provided.     

The relationship between task structure and collaborative group interactions in a synchronous peer interaction collaborative learning environment for a course of Physics

Although collaborative group work is used by many instructors as a useful educational tool, there is much room for research on how learning actually occurs within collaborative learning environments. This paper attempts to explore the relationship(if any) between task structure and collaborative group interactions in a synchronous peer interaction collaborative learning environment. For this reason, we used the Cmap during a Physics course for Grade 12 students. This paper compares two groups of students, one studying concept maps with single answer task, and the other studying concept maps with variable answer task. The aim of the study presented in this article is to also investigate the influence of task structure on students’ interactivity according to certain indicators and cognitive performance.     

Gender, task contexts, and children's performance on a computer-based task

Gender differences in response to computers have been widely reported. This study addresses the question of how far the context in which a computer task is presented can affect girls' and boys' on-task performance. In an experimental study involving 60 ten and eleven year-olds, we examine the effects of differential contextualisation on girls' and boys' performance on a computer-based perceptual-motor skills task. Our findings illustrate that even with a single, standard piece of software, children's performance can be substantially affected by the context in which that software is presented. The results suggest that gender differences in children's responses to computer tasks are relatively labile, and highly context sensitive. The implications and possible explanations for these findings are considered.     

Field independence,task ambiguity,and performance on a proportional reasoning task

This study investigated the proportional reasoning abilities of 35 college science students. Using a projection of shadows problem, proportional reasoning was assessed under one of two experimental conditions corresponding to the type of information presented: (a) relevant only, or (b) relevant and irrelevant. Subjects were also measured on the cognitive style of field independence. Results showed that subjects in the relevant only condition performed significantly better than those in the relevant-irrelevant condition. Degree of field independence was related to performance only in the relevant-irrelevant condition. These results indicated an interaction between type of information presented in a task and cognitive style.     

Achievement goals in a presentation task: Performance expectancy,achievement goals,state anxiety,and task performance

The aims of the study were to test the linkages between achievement goals to task performance, as mediated by state anxiety arousal. Performance expectancy was also examined as antecedents of achievement goals. A presentation task in a computer practice class was used as achievement task. Fifty-three undergraduates (37 females and 16 males) were administered self-report questionnaire measures before and immediately following the task performance. As expected, results of regression analyses showed that performance-avoidance goals were positively related to state anxiety. State anxiety was related to poor task performance. The positive relationship between mastery goals and the task score was shown to be independent of anxiety processes. Performance expectancy was related to state anxiety through achievement goals.     

Strategy and performance in cooperative education programs

This study examined the nature of strategic planning practices and their performance effects in 285 cooperative education programs in U.S. institutions of higher education. Consistent with the results of previous research in for-profit firms, involvement in strategic planning was associated with positive performance outcomes on some criteria but not others. Additionally, an examination of performance effects using Porter's (1980) typology indicated that different strategies were associated with different program outcomes.     

Regulation and socio-emotional interactions in a positive and a negative group climate

Collaboration in an online environment can be a socially and emotionally demanding task. It requires group members to engage in a great deal of regulation, where favourable emotions need to be sustained for the group’s productive functioning. The purpose of this cross-case analysis was to examine the interplay of two groups’ regulatory processes, regulatory modes, and socio-emotional interactions that contribute to or are influenced by emotions and socio-emotional climate perceived in the group. Specifically, this study compared a group of 4 students unanimously reporting a positive climate to a group of 4 students unanimously reporting a negative climate after completing a 90-min online text-based collaborative assignment. By drawing on two data channels (i.e., observed regulatory actions and socio-emotional interactions during collaboration and self-reported data about emotional beliefs and perceptions), four contrasting group features emerged: (a) incoming conditions served as a foundation for creating a positive collaborative experience, (b) regulation of emotions during initial planning, (c) negative emotions served as a constraint for shared adaptation in the face of a challenge, and (d) encouragement and motivational statements served as effective strategies for creating a positive climate. Implications for researching and supporting emotion regulation in collaborative learning are discussed.     

Conceptual change strategies and cooperative group work in chemistry

This study conducted at a suburban community college tested a method of conceptual change in which treatment students worked in small cooperative groups on tasks aimed at eliciting their misconceptions so that they could then be discussed in contrast to the scientific conceptions that had been taught in direct instruction. Categorizations of student understanding of the target concepts of the laws of conservation of matter and energy and aspects of the particulate nature of gases, liquids, and solids were ascertained by pre- and posttesting. Audiotapes of student verbal interaction in the small groups provided quantitative and qualitative data concerning student engagement in behaviors suggestive of the conditions posited to be part of the conceptual change process (Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog, 1982). Chi-square analysis of posttests indicated that students in treatment groups had significantly lower (p < 0.05) proportion of misconceptions than control students on four of the five target concepts. Students who exhibited no change in concept state had a higher frequency of verbal behaviors suggestive of “impeding” conceptual change when compared to students who did change. Three factors emerged from qualitative analysis of group interaction that appeared to influence learning: (a) many students had flawed understanding of concepts that supported the target concepts; (b) student views towards learning science affected their engagement in assigned tasks, (c) “good” and “poor” group leaders had a strong influence on group success.     

The relation between metastrategic knowledge,strategy use and task performance: Findings and reflections from a numerosity judgement task

In the research literature several positions concerning the role played by metacognition in adaptive strategy choice can be distinguished. While many authors adhere so-called metacognitive models of strategy choice and strategy change, others have questioned the extent to which metacognitive factors are associated with strategy choice and task performance and have proposed alternative theoretical frameworks wherein strategy choices are described in terms of associative models. In the present article we report data coming from a larger research project on the development of children’s numerosity judgement strategies and skills. The experimental task involved judging numerosities of colored blocks presented in a rectangular grid. Participants were 59 second grade and 50 sixth grade children, whose strategic performance data — obtained by means of a systematic analysis of their response-time patterns — were compared with interview data collected at the end of the experiment. The major result of this comparison is that not only the children from the oldest age group, but also the children from the youngest age group showed clear evidence of metacognitive awareness and understanding of different aspects of their strategic performance.     

A multilevel study of self-beliefs and student behaviors in a group problem-solving task

Relationships among self-construal, self-efficacy, and group behaviors during a group problem-solving task with friends and acquaintances were hypothesized. The sample comprised 126 students in Grades 8–11, from 5 randomly selected government high schools, organized into 42 groups. Data collection involved self-reports and observations. Self-report data measured self-construal, self-efficacy for working with friends, and self-efficacy for working with acquaintances, and the observational data captured salient student behaviors. Data were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and multilevel modeling. Self-efficacy for working with acquaintances was related to the development of ideas and also the critical review of ideas in groups. This study provides insights into the relatively underexplored phenomena of group work with friends and acquaintances.     

Writing evaluation: rater and task effects on the reliability of writing scores for children in Grades 3 and 4

We examined how raters and tasks influence measurement error in writing evaluation and how many raters and tasks are needed to reach a desirable level of .90 and .80 reliabilities for children in Grades 3 and 4. A total of 211 children (102 boys) were administered three tasks in narrative and expository genres, respectively, and their written compositions were evaluated in widely used evaluation methods for developing writers: holistic scoring, productivity, and curriculum-based writing scores. Results showed that 54 and 52% of variance in narrative and expository compositions were attributable to true individual differences in writing. Students’ scores varied largely by tasks (30.44 and 28.61% of variance), but not by raters. To reach the reliability of .90, multiple tasks and raters were needed, and for the reliability of .80, a single rater and multiple tasks were needed. These findings offer important implications about reliably evaluating children’s writing skills, given that writing is typically evaluated by a single task and a single rater in classrooms and even in some state accountability systems.     

Peer victimization and depression in children with and without motor coordination difficulties

Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a chronic disability that impacts children's performance of everyday motor‐based activities and is associated with the development of secondary social and mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to investigate peer victimization and depression in children who were and were not at risk for DCD. Selected from a population‐based sample, 159 at‐risk fifth graders were matched for age and gender to 159 controls. Children completed measures of depression and frequency of peer victimization. Results showed that children at risk for DCD reported more symptoms of depression and more frequent verbal and relational victimization than their peers. Being at risk for DCD and being bullied more frequently, especially relationally, significantly predicted increased depression symptoms. Findings highlight the importance of school psychologists remaining aware that children with DCD are at increased risk of experiencing bullying and depression. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.