Matching and Multiple-Choice Cloze Tests

Abstract

Few reliable and valid measures of reading achievement are available to evaluate programs for elementary English-as-a-second-language (ESL) pupils. Four variations on the cloze procedure, which has been previously used with disadvantaged and ESL elementary pupils, were evaluated using randomly assigned groups of fourth and fifth grade students. Matching and multiple- choice variations were selected for comparison because they are in greater consonance with current psycho- linguistic theories of the reading process than are other types of reading comprehension measures. Although the overall results were quite similar for the four cloze variations examined, the matching cloze procedure seems to be preferable for elementary ESL students since these tests produced better item characteristics and were more easily constructed.     

The Effects of Cooperative and Competitive Background Experiences of Students on the Play of a Simulation Game

Abstract

Sixty fifth and sixth grade subjects were randomly assigned to cooperative (Coop) or competitive (Comp) conditions and involved with identical inquiry-related social studies lessons and reward payoffs over a period of 18 days. Coop subjects worked together in randomly assigned groups of six, but Comp subjects worked individually. Afterwards, Coop groups and Comp groups (subjects randomly assigned) played the simulation game Seal Hunt undertdentical conditions, including options of "winning" in cooperative and/ or competitive fashion. Analysis of video tapes of game play revealed that even in the absence of a pre-structured cooperative or competitive environment, Coop subjects, more than Comp subjects, continued to manifest such cooperative behavior as instituting and implementing group strategies and rendering assistance to one another (p .05)     

The Residual Effects of Cooperative-Learning Experiences: A Two-Year Follow-Up

Abstract

The author investigated how training in small-group and interpersonal behaviors affected children's behavior and interactions as they worked in small groups 2 years later. The authors assigned 52 fifth graders, who had been trained 2 years previously in cooperative group behaviors, to the trained condition and 36 fifth graders, who had not previously been trained, to the untrained condition. Both were reconstituted from the pool of students who had participated previously in group activities. The results showed a residual training effect, with the children in the trained groups being more cooperative and helpful than their untrained peers.     

A Statistical Prediction of High-School Success for Purpose of Educational Guidance

ABSTRACT

In the learning environment, teacher–student interaction plays a major role in influencing the cognitive and affective development of students. Teacher–student interaction is also an important parameter of educational quality. Teachers’ and students’ preferences of teacher interpersonal behavior are linked to their individual characteristics and styles. The author examined students’ and teachers’ thinking styles and their preferences for teacher–student interpersonal behaviors. A total of 325 students and 146 teachers from 2 secondary schools were involved in this study. The results show that there were divergences between students’ and teachers’ thinking styles and their preferences of teacher interpersonal behavior. Convergences between students and teachers were also found, as both had preferences for cooperative teacher interpersonal behavior.     

Effects of reward pedagogy on spelling scores and prosocial behaviors in primary school students in Singapore

Abstract

Effects of reward pedagogy (competitive, cooperative, individualistic, cooperative-competitive, and cooperative-individualistic) on spelling scores and prosocial behavior in Singapore students were examined alongside its interplay with ability level. A total of 1005 Primary 3 and 4 students were randomly assigned to one of the five reward pedagogies, with students rewarded based on their spelling scores. An ABABA design (A?=?implementation; B?=?withdrawal) was used for each reward pedagogy. Results revealed an interaction between reward pedagogy and ability level on both spelling scores and prosocial behavior, such that different pedagogies were more effective for different ability levels. One promising way forward, however, draws from the finding that cooperative-competitive reward pedagogy was effective for both outcomes across all ability groups.     

3—6岁幼儿合作学习的水平与特点

本研究采用实验方法对3—6岁408名幼儿合作学习的水平与特点进行了研究,得出以下结论：幼儿期各年龄阶段都有合作行为存在,但4岁左右合作行为发展最快;幼儿期合作学习水平呈现出先提高后略微下降的趋势;女孩比男孩更倾向于合作;合作学习小组的构成人数对合作学习效果有一定的影响。     

A jigsaw cooperative learning application in elementary science and technology lessons: physical and chemical changes

Cooperative learning is an active learning approach in which students work together in small groups to complete an assigned task. Students commonly find the subject of ‘physical and chemical changes’ difficult and abstract, and thus they generally have many misconceptions about it.

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the effects of jigsaw cooperative learning activities developed by the researchers on sixth grade students’ understanding of physical and chemical changes.

Sample

Participants in the study were 61 sixth grade students in a public elementary school in Izmir, Turkey.

Design and methods

A pre-test and post-test experimental design with a control group was used, and students were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. Instruction of the subject was conducted via jigsaw cooperative learning in the experimental group and via teacher-centered instruction in the control group. During the jigsaw process, experimental group students studied the subjects of changes of state, changes in shape and molecular solubility from physical changes, and acid–base reactions, combustion reactions and changes depending on heating from chemical changes in their jigsaw groups.

Results

The concept test results showed that jigsaw cooperative learning instruction yielded significantly better acquisition of scientific concepts related to physical and chemical changes, compared to traditional learning. Students in the experimental group had a lower proportion of misconceptions than those in the control group, and some misconceptions in the control group were identified for the first time in this study.

Conclusions

Jigsaw cooperative learning is an effective teaching technique for challenging sixth grade students’ misconceptions in the context of physical and chemical changes, and enhancing their motivation, learning achievements, self-confidence and willingness in the science and technology lesson. This technique could be applied to other chemistry subjects and other grade levels.     

Goal structure effects on social interaction: nondisabled and disabled elementary students

This study compared social interaction behavior between nondisabled and disabled students, as a function of the way tasks were structured during a peer integration program. Of the eight pairs of students, four pairs were assigned to an individualistic goal-structured condition; the other four pairs, to a cooperative condition. For nondisabled students, the cooperative condition was associated with more social interaction during activity and free play sessions. For disabled students, the cooperative condition was associated with more social interaction during activity sessions, but not during free play sessions.     

A Pilot Study in the Field of Professional Further Education — Cooperative Learning in a Multimedia Learning Environment

ABSTRACT

Based on cooperative learning models, the present study investigated the specific effects of performance, interpersonal relations and affective variables in a computer‐based cooperative learning environment. Subjects were male and female adults who studied a multimedia learning program as a professional training task. After randomization 50 subjects worked in cooperative settings, while 25 subjects worked individually as a control group. In keeping with our assumptions, the subjects benefited from being paired. Further advantages for cooperative learning seem likely if instructions are modified and cooperative strategies used.     

Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Tour Thesis,Book, or Article.

Underlined by the belief that teachers' critical awareness of their actions is a vital issue in education, this study examines the insights that evolved from a long-term collaboration among seven doctoral students. To prepare for our comprehensive examinations, we collaborated as a study group for one and one-half years. Adopting the dual roles of listener-researcher and narrator-participant, we engaged in dialogue and narrative to convey to each other the meaning of our collaborative experiences. From grounded theory analysis, four elements of collaboration emerged: logistics, social dynamics, empowerment, and change. In order to convey the meaning of our experiences, we create a multiplicity of meanings based on our diverse and lived personal narratives. Finally, our collaborative process challenges academic administrations to examine how well their current policies encourage personal autonomy and cooperative learning approaches for students involved in preparing for their comprehensive examinations.     

Issues Related to Judging the Alignment of Curriculum Standards and Assessments

Abstract

A process for judging the alignment between curriculum standards and assessments developed by the author is presented. This process produces information on the relationship of standards and assessments on four alignment criteria: Categorical Concurrence, Depth of Knowledge Consistency, Range of Knowledge Correspondence, and Balance of Representation. Five issues are identified—but not resolved—that have arisen from conducting alignment studies. All of these issues relate to making a decision about what alignment is good enough. Pragmatic decisions have been made to specify acceptable levels for each of the alignment criteria. The assumptions are described. The issues discussed arise from a change in the underlying assumptions and from considering variations in the purpose for an assessment. The existence of such issues reinforces that alignment judgments have an element of subjectivity.     

Relationship Between Peer Orientation and Achievement in Cooperative Learning-Based Research Methodology Courses

Abstract

The capability of the relationship between peer orientation and achievement to remain in research methodology courses when cooperative learning techniques are introduced was investigated. Participants comprised 159 students enrolled in 7 sections of a graduate-level research methodology course at a southern university over 2 semesters. The students, who were administered a learning-style instrument, were enrolled in sections in which cooperative-learning groups were formed to undertake the major course requirements. Findings revealed a small but statistically significant relationship between peer orientation and achievement; students who were more oriented toward cooperative learning attained lower levels of achievement than did those who did not have an orientation toward cooperative learning. Further research is warranted.     

Survey of Actual and Preferred Use of Cooperative Learning Among Exemplar Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported relative use of cooperative learning among exemplar teachers. Comparisons were made of teacher-reported actual versus preferred use of cooperative learning, along with actual and preferred use on each of the 4 elements of cooperative learning delineated by D. Johnson, R. Johnson, E. Holubec, and P. Roy (1984). Several teacher characteristics also were examined to determine whether individual characteristics were associated with relative use. Survey results indicated a significant disparity between overall reported actual and preferred use, as well as a significant discrepancy between actual and preferred use on each of the 4 elements of cooperative learning. Of the 6 teacher characteristics examined, only participation in staff development for cooperative learning was associated with relative use. Follow-up analyses indicated that staff development was related to greater relative use only for the element of individual accountability.     

Why Have Policies on Private Education Been Slow to Make Progress? Observations from the Perspective of Organizational Behavior and Decision Making

Abstract

Private education in our country is a novelty that has grown up outside the public education system, and the formulation and implementation of policies on private education often involves several government departments, in an act of cooperative decision making between multiple government departments. As a result, the effectiveness of the formulation and implementation of policies on private education is, in a certain sense, dependent on the degree of coordination between various government departments, while also being subject to the impact of whether timely adjustments have been made to existing regulations. This characteristic of policies on private education is suited to analysis from the perspective of organizational behavior and decision-making models. The slow progress on the three private education policies related to reasonable returns, independent colleges, and categorized management is a typical example of organizational behavior and decision-making models.     

Cooperative Learning: A Motivational Tool to Enhance Student Persistence,Self‐Regulation,and Efforts to Please Teachers and Parents

ABSTRACT

The effects of cooperative group learning on students’ persistence, self‐regulation, and efforts to please teachers and parents were examined. Eighty‐one high school geometry students were randomly assigned to either a cooperative learning or traditional lecture group. Twenty‐seven students received cooperative group instruction for nine weeks and then received traditional classroom instruction for nine weeks. Twenty‐five students received traditional instruction for nine weeks and then received cooperative group instruction for nine weeks. Twenty nine students received traditional classroom instruction for 18 weeks. Participants completed pre, post, and post‐posttest motivation questionnaires at each phase of the project. Students in the cooperative group classrooms exhibited significantly greater gains in persistence, self‐regulation, and efforts to please their parents and teacher. The implications of these findings for motivation theory and cooperative group structures are discussed.     

The impact of cooperative learning on self-directed learning abilities in the computer applications technology class

ABSTRACT

This article reports on an explorative study into the relationship between the implementation of cooperative learning strategies and students’ self-directedness in learning. Participants in this study were first-year Computer Applications Technology student teachers. Students completed a self-directed learning questionnaire at the beginning of the module and again after completion of the module. We used cooperative learning strategies during contact sessions over 12 weeks. After completion of the module, interviews were also conducted with randomly selected students. We concluded that the cooperative learning experiences in the Computer Applications Technology class appear to have an effect on students’ perceived readiness for self-directed learning only in cases where students do not have perceived high self-directed learning skills.     

A Cross-Linguistic,Longitudinal Study of the Foundations of Decoding and Reading Comprehension Ability

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the moderating role of orthographic consistency on the development of reading comprehension in four language groups (English, n = 179; Spanish, n = 188; Czech, n = 135; Slovak, n = 194) from kindergarten to Grade 2. In all languages, early variations in phoneme awareness/letter knowledge, rapid automatised naming, and emerging decoding skills, but not oral language, predicted variations in decoding skills at the end of Grade 1; these in turn predicted reading comprehension in Grade 2. For the three consistent orthographies (Spanish, Slovak, and Czech), kindergarten language skills were another significant predictor of Grade 2 reading comprehension. This effect was absent in the English sample, where variations in decoding skills were a more powerful predictor. These results provide the first longitudinal evidence for effects of orthographic consistency on the development of reading comprehension and provide support for the simple view of reading.     

The Effect of a Competitive and Cooperative Environment on the Comprehension of a Cognitive Task

Abstract

Six hundred fifty-two Ss were divided alphabetically into cooperative and competitive sets of eights. Each S was given a play booklet with 12 targets from which to develop rules for placing the target correctly. After 20 minutes, play booklets were collected and a 30-item matrix test was administered in which each S was to identify if the targets were correctly placed. Comparisons of the results observed between groups were made by ANOVA. It was found that a cooperative learning environment is not more conducive to the learning of a mental task than is a competitive learning environment.