Promoting Functional Literacy through Cooperative Learning

The Effects of Cooperative Learning Strategy Manipulations on the Enactment and Recall of a Medical Procedure Were Explored. One Hundred and Twenty-Three College Students Completed the Experiment. during Training, Participants Were Randomly Assigned to a Dyad in One of Four Conditions: (A) No-Strategy, (B) Baseline Strategy, (C) Prompting Strategy, and (D) Planning Strategy. during Testing, Participants Both Performed and Produced Written Recalls of the Procedure Instructions. Test Order Was Counterbalanced within Dyad. Training and Test Performances Were Videotaped. the Planning Group Produced the Best Recalls and Recalled More Conditions of the Procedure. the Prompting Group Performed Best. Recall of the Procedure in All Groups Was Enhanced by Prior Performance. However, Performance Was Enhanced by Prior Recall in Only Two Groups. the Groups Differed Also in the Nature of the Transition from Training to Testing. Theoretical and Applied Implications of These Findings Are Discussed. © 1988, SAGE Publications. All Rights Reserved

Learning Concrete Procedures: Effects of Processing Strategies and Cooperative Learning

We Examined the Efficacy of a Previously Developed Script for Learning Concrete Procedures with More Complex Procedures Than Had Previously Been Studied. the Experiments Examined the Efficacy of Peer Cooperation in Learning Concrete Procedures, the Effects of Learning About the Necessary Equipment Prior to Practicing the Procedure, and the Retention of Procedural Information over a 6-Week Delay. One Hundred Fourteen Students Participated in One of the Following Groups: No-Script Individuals, No-Script Dyads, Simultaneous-Script Dyads, or Successive-Script Dyads. the Simultaneous Group Performed Better, Described the Procedure More Thoroughly, and Recalled More Information Than Other Groups. Thirty Nine of the Original Participants Completed the Second Experiment, in Which They Again Produced Written Recalls of the Instructions. the Pattern of Differences Observed after the Initial Experiment Was Maintained after a 6-Week Interval

Cooperative Procedural Learning: Effects of Prompting and Pre- Versus Distributed Planning Activities

The Effects of Cooperative Learning Strategy Manipulations on the Enactment and Recall of a Medical Procedure Were Examined. Ninety-Eight Participants Completed the Two-Session Experiment. Four Experimental Conditions Were Used: (A) No-Strategy Individuals; (B) Prompting-Only Dyads, Who Did Not Plan Prior to Practice; (C) Distributed-Planning-With-Prompting Dyads, Who Intermittently Planned How to Perform Prior to Practice; and (D) Preplanning-With-Prompting Dyads, Who Planned the Entire Procedure Prior to Practice. during Testing, Participants Performed and Recalled the Procedure. Test Order Was Counterbalanced. Distributed Planners Performed Best on a Variety of Measures, Including Performance and Oral Communication of the Procedure and Attitude towards their Partners. No Between-Groups Differences Were Found for Written Recall. as Expected, Written Recall of the Procedure Was Enhanced by Prior Performance and Performance Was Enhanced by Prior Recall. Theoretical and Applied Implications of the Results Are Delineated and Discussed in Terms of Prevalent Theories of Skill Acquisition