Cooperative learning and computer-based instruction

Much published research focuses on the benefits of learning in small groups. However, little research has differentiated small-group learning methods or considered the implications of related research for designing instructional software. In this article, the origins of small-group learning are traced, and one method, cooperative learning, is distinguished from other small-group learning methods. The instructional and social benefits of cooperative learning are examined and theoretical explanations for the effects of grouping are presented. Finally, issues relevant to designing instructional software for cooperative learning are examined and suggestions for future research are made.Thanks are extended to Jim Klein for his review of an earlier version of this paper.     

Cooperative learning in computer-based instruction

High equipment and materials costs, limited access to computers for instruction in many schools, and the success of cooperative learning strategies in traditional classroom instruction have prompted researchers to examine the potential of cooperative computer-based instruction (CBI). In this article, recent research on cooperative CBI is reviewed and findings related to achievement, patterns of study, social interchange, motivation, and gender are discussed. In addition, guidelines on the implementation of cooperative CBI that have been gleaned from the literature are presented.This paper was prepared with partial support from MECC/University of Minnesota Center for Study of Educational Technology, and presented at the AECT Annual Convention, January 31–February 4, 1990, Anaheim, CA.     

Learner preferences and prior knowledge in learner-controlled computer-based instruction

This study examined the effects of prior knowledge, learner preference for control, and type of control (learner or program) on the achievement of middle-school students in a computer-based instructional program on adding and subtracting integers. Students were blocked by preference-for-control scores and randomly assigned to either a learner-control or program-control version of instruction. A significant three-way interaction (prior knowledge × preference scores × type of control) revealed that students with high prior knowledge achieved better on the posttest when their preference for control was matched with the type of control they received, whereas students with low prior knowledge achieved better when their preference was mismatched. A significant three-way interaction on attitude reflected the same pattern found in the interaction for achievement scores. The overall results indicate that matching learner preference to the type of program they receive is an effective strategy for high-prior-knowledge students but not for those with low prior knowledge.

Selective use of animation and feedback in computer-based instruction

The effects of two computer-based instructional strategies—visual display and feedback type—were investigated in the acquisition of electronic troubleshooting skills. Animation was used to simulate the functional behaviors of electronic circuits and to demonstrate the troubleshooting procedures. The first hypothesis tested was that animated visual displays would be more effective than static visual displays if animation was selectively used to support the specific learning requirements of a given task. Results supported this hypothesis by showing that college students in the animated visual display condition needed significantly fewer trials than those in the static visual display condition. The second hypothesis was that the effectiveness of intentionally mediated feedback (knowledge of results or explanatory information) would be minimal if natural feedback—the system's automatic functional reaction to external inputs—was available and the subject had the basic knowledge needed to understand the system functions. The results supported this hypothesis. Overall, this study implies that instructional strategies, including visual displays and feedback, should be applied selectively based on the specific learning requirements of a given task. he works at ARI as a research fellow of the Universities of the Washington Metropolitan area. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not express or imply the views of the U. S. Army Research Institute or the Department of Defense. The authors would like to thank Eric C. Neiderman and Reginald Hopkins for their assistance with this study.     

Visual presentations to parents

Visual presentations to parents are useful in building positive pathways to home and school communication. Parental concerns and demands are prevalent and persistent. Parents are expressing loud and clear their desire to be involved.Rose Merenda has taught four and five year olds for twenty years and recently received a grant to study parental communication. Joan Bloom, first grade encourages parental participation in her classroom. Ann J. DiOrio directs the Growing Child School in Narragansett, R.I. All are Assistant Professors at the Henry Barnard Laboratory School, Rhode Island College.     

Evidence for confounding in computer-based instruction studies: Analyzing the meta-analyses

A thirty percent sample of the computer-based instruction (CBI) studies meta-analyzed by Kulik et al was examined for evidence of confounding. The purpose of the analysis was to explore the validity of competing claims about the contribution of the computer to measured achievement gains found in CBI studies. Some of these claims propose that CBI effects are overestimated and others argue that CBI effects are underestimated. The result of the analysis strongly suggests that achievement gains found in these CBI studies are overestimated and are actually due to the uncontrolled but robust instructional methods embedded in CBI treatments. It is argued that these methods may be delivered by other media with achievement gains comparable to those reported for computers. Construct validity cautions are offered for those who wish to use meta-analytic results as evidence for implementing CBI in schools and for the design of future CBI research.     

Using elaboration strategies training in computer-based instruction to promote generative learning

Use of subject-generated elaborations, taught via embedded and detached training strategies, was compared with experimenter-provided elaborations or no elaborations (control) on a CBI training unit on computer professional development. Subjects were 80 administrative assistants (20 per treatment) at a large corporation. Results showed advantages for one or both subject-generated elaborations strategies relative to the control treatment on measures of recall and application learning; the experimenter-generated group did not differ significantly from any other group. Additional analyses indicated that the embedded-training elaborations group gave more personal and paraphrased elaborations than did the detached-training group. Results are interpreted as favoring the use of elaborations strategies, particularly when taught by embedded training, for promoting generative learning.     

Naturalistic inquiry and computer-based instruction: Rationale,procedures, and potential

The naturalistic paradigm offers exceptional promise for gaining the detailed, context-bound information necessary to understand the effectiveness of computer-based instruction (CBI) as it is experienced in classroom settings. Such an understanding is critical to the development of principles for designing courseware that meets the needs of the teachers and students who are its ultimate consumers. In this article, the author discusses the most significant theoretical assumptions of the paradigm as they relate to the nature of CBI and to the current needs of the field. Also described are several methods of naturalistic data collection and analysis that can be operationalized in an investigation of students' and teachers' interactions with instructional dimensions of courseware. The author suggests the kinds of insights the naturalistic paradigm can yield and the ways in which those insights can be incorporated into empirically based principles of courseware design.     

Research on the effectiveness of computer-based instruction: A review

This article reviews the research on the effectiveness of computer-based instruction (CBI) conducted over the past two decades. Using student achievement as a dependent measure, research on CBI is reviewed under the headings of evaluative studies, summaries of the proportion of studies favourable and unfavourable to CBI (‘box-score reviews’) and meta-analyses. Conclusions are drawn as to the effectiveness of CBI with regard to academic and social achievement. Finally, a cost-analysis of CBI is provided.     

The relative effectiveness of learning options in multimedia computer-based fifth-grade spelling instruction

The study examined the effectiveness of learning options in two researcher-designed interactive multimedia instructional spelling programs, one offering predominantly behaviorist-visual learning options of the type employed by many current commercial spelling instructional programs and one offering predominantly cognitivist-phonological learning options of the type recommended by spelling research. The pretest-posttest control group study lasted one school month with students working each day for 10 minutes with their assigned computer program. Although both treatment groups demonstrated significant increases in spelling ability, there was no significant difference in adjusted posttest performance between the two groups. Examination of the influence of individual learning options in the two programs demonstrated that Spot It, a behaviorist-visual option, and Word Crunch, a cognitivist-phonological option, appear to account for most of the power in their treatments. The authors discuss how clusters of learning options affect performance and consider possible explanations for differences in relative effectiveness among learning options.This article reports Dr. Susan C. Goodling's dissertation work under him.     

Uses and effects of learner control of context and instructional support in computer-based instruction

The present study examines uses and effects of learner-control of the context or theme of practice examples on a statistics lesson in combination with learner control of the number of examples examined. Subjects were 227 undergraduate students assigned to 15 treatments formed by crossing five context conditions (learner control, education, business, sports, no-context) with three instructional support conditions (learner-control, maximum, minimum). No differences in achievement were attained as a function of either treatment variable. Findings showed, however, that learners who received preferred contexts (i.e., learner-control-context subjects) selected a greater number of examples than those who received prescribed contexts. In addition, achievement was positively related to the frequency with which subjects varied the number of examples selected across lessons. Despite the absence of achievement benefits, the learner-control-context strategy elicited highly favorable student reactions as a learning orientation.     

Learner control over full and lean computer-based instruction under differing ability levels

This study examined the effects of type of instructional control and program mode on the achievement, option use, time in the program, and attitudes of higher-ability and lower-ability university students. Ability level was determined using participants' Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing Assessment (ACT) scores. Participants were randomly assigned to four versions of a computer-delivered instructional program within higher-ability and lower-ability groups. The four versions of the instructional program were created by crossing the two control conditions (learner control, program control) with the two program modes (full, lean). Participants in the full program scored significantly higher on the posttest than those in the lean program, and higher-ability students scored significantly higher than lower-ability students. Learner-control participants chose to view 68% of the optional screens in the full program but only 35% in the lean one, and participants also spent significantly more time in the full version. Participants had more favorable attitudes toward learner control than program control.     

The effectiveness of computer-based EFL instruction among primary school students in Israel

This paper presents an effectiveness study of a computer-based English reading program, the Waterford Early Reading Program (WERP), among first and second grade students in Israel. Students who used the program were compared to a control group only receiving English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction as part of the school curriculum. First grade students who used the software during the study period experienced significantly greater gains than control group students on all four measures of reading ability. Second grade students in the treatment group experienced greater gains than control group students on the nonsense word and phoneme segmentation measures. These results indicate that adaptive English reading software has a place in an EFL education system, especially among young students with complex linguistic backgrounds. Adaptive programs like WERP may produce better EFL results than non-adaptive programs because they are able to adjust based in part on a student’s linguistic proficiency.     

Redundancy in foreign language reading comprehension instruction: Concurrent written and spoken presentations

In an example of the redundancy effect, learning is inhibited when written and spoken text containing the same information is presented simultaneously rather than in written or spoken form alone. The current research was designed to investigate whether the redundancy effect applied to reading comprehension in English as a foreign language (EFL) by comparing two instructional formats, written presentation only and written presentation concurrent with verbatim spoken presentation. Participants were in their first year of tertiary education. Examination of translation scores, subjective mental load ratings, and free recall performance indicated that simultaneous presentations rendered text comprehension less effective both at a lexical level and at the level of text comprehension compared with written presentation only.