1. Effects of Instructional Elements in a Cooperative Learning Setting.
- Author
-
Klein, James D.
- Abstract
The effects of orienting activities and practice on performance and student behaviors in a cooperative learning environment were studied with 80 graduate education majors in an educational psychology course. A 2 x 2 factorial design was used, with orienting activity (advance organizer versus objectives) and type of practice (verbal information versus intellectual skill) as the independent variables. Dependent variables were achievement and student behaviors. Students in the treatment groups (combinations of organizers and practice) received instructional television lessons with workbook activities. Helping and on-task individual and group behaviors were observed. The type of practice had a significant effect on performance, with those receiving skills practice performing better than those receiving information practice. Practice alone did not influence knowledge acquisition, but it was influenced by a combination of practice and orienting activity, with students receiving information practice and objectives outperforming all subjects on the knowledge section of the posttest. Orienting activity and type of practice also influenced student behaviors. Implications for instructional technologists are discussed. (Contains 15 references.) (SLD)
- Published
- 1994