Cognitive, Social/Affective, and Metacognitive Outcomes of Scripted Cooperative Learning

In the Present Study, We Explored the Effects of Manipulations of Cooperative Learning Scripts on the Cognitive, Social/affective, and Metacognitive Outcomes from Initial and Transfer Tasks. We Used Combinations of Free Recall Tests and Subjective Graphing Methods to Assess the Three Kinds of Outcomes. Ninety-Three Participants Completed the Two-Session Experiment. during the First Session, Participants Were Assigned to (A) Scripted Dyads (B) Unscripted Dyads, or (C) a Group of Individuals. Participants Studied the Initial Task in These Conditions. All Participants Were Assigned to New Partners for the Second Task and Worked Together as Unscripted Dyads. They Completed Subjective Graphs for Both Tasks. Dyads Recalled More Than Individuals. Participants Low in Public Self-Consciousness Recalled More Than Participants High in Public Self-Consciousness and Recalled the Information More Accurately. Scripted Dyads Were More Positive About their Second Partners Than Unscripted Dyads, and They Perceived the Situation as Less Anxiety-Provoking Than the Individuals. in Addition, the Scripted Dyads Were More Accurate in Rating their Performance. © 1987 American Psychological Association

Manipulating Cooperative Scripts for Teaching and Learning

To Facilitate their Initial Acquisition of Knowledge from Text Material, We Paired Students with Same-Sex Partners with Whom They Read and Studied Two Passages Describing Technical Equipment. We Tested Three Different Scripts for Cooperative Interactions. in One Group (N = 26), Partners Each Read Only One Passage, Then Taught Each Other the Information They Had Read. in the Second Group (N = 20), Both Partners Read Both Passages, Stopping Periodically to Summarize the Material to Each Other. in the Third Group (N = 25), Each Partner Read Alternate Pages of Both Passages, Stopping to Teach Each Other the Material They Had Read. Free- and Cued-Recall Tests Revealed that Participants using the Cooperative Teaching Script Significantly Outperformed Participants in the Other Groups. Further Analyses Indicated that after Playing a Teaching Role, Students Recalled Significantly More Material for the Passage They Taught. after Playing a Learning Role (I.e., for the Passage They Did Not Read But Were Taught by their Partners), They Did Not Recall Significantly Less Than Those Who Read Both Passages. Although We Discuss Several Possible Explanations for These Effects, Further Experimentation is Needed to Determine their Validity. © 1987 American Psychological Association

The Role of Individual Differences in the Cooperative Learning of Technical Material

Individual Differences in the Recall of Procedural and Structural/functional Information Was Investigated in Situations in Which Students Studied in Dyads or Alone. Three Hundred Undergraduates Completed a Series of Nine Individual Difference Measures and Learned a Four-Step Study Strategy. They Then Studied Passages that Included Both Structural/functional and Procedural Material Either in a Dyad or Alone. They Completed a Free-Recall Test of the Material 2 Days Later. Induction Ability Was Found to Be Significantly Predictive of the Dyadic Recall of Structural/functional Material. Social Orientation Was Negatively Related to the Recall of Procedural Material for Those Who Studied Individually. Furthermore, Those Who Studied in Dyads Recalled Significantly More Than Did Those Who Studied Alone. Theoretical Implications and Practical Applications of the Results Are Discussed

Dyadic Learning of Technical Material: Individual Differences, Social Interaction, and Recall

To Examine the Relationships among Individual Differences, Interaction, and Recall, Students Were Paired with Same-Sex Partners to Read and Study a Passage Describing a Piece of Technical Equipment. This Material Included Both Procedural Information ( How-To Statements) and Structural/functional Information (The Organization and Function of Parts of the Equipment). Both Partners Read the Material, Stopping Periodically to Summarize the Information to One Another. the Verbal Interactions of Each of the Pairs Were Audiotaped. Several Individual Difference Measures Were Administered as Well as Free- and Cued-Recall Tests over the Studied Material. Results Revealed that Verbal Ability and Field-Independence Were Positively Related to the Recall of Structural/functional Information Which Included Pictures of the Equipment. Also, Higher Scores on a Measure of Deep Processing (The Ability to Critically Evaluate and Compare and Contrast Information) Facilitated the Recall of Procedural Information. with Regard to Verbal Interaction, It Was Found that Those Verbal Utterances that Were Directly Related to the Content of the Passage Enhanced Recall of the Information Presented Visually. Several Interpretations and Implications of These Results Are Discussed. © 1990