| Abstract: | Should gifted and high-achieving students cooperate in homogeneous groups or do they learn better individually? Or should they learn together with less gifted peers in heterogeneous groups? Current empirical research is reviewed in this article and meta-analyses of available results in 12 published studies are performed. Results show that few methodologically sound studies can be found at present. In addition, researchers only considered a restricted spectrum of participants, focused on learning of relatively simple materials, measured only a restricted range of possible outcomes, and neglected processes and activities of the learners, which might determine outcomes of cooperative learning. Results therefore remain controversial even for fundamental issues like learning in homogeneous versus heterogeneous, mixed-ability groups. In spite of these limitations, analyses nevertheless show that cooperative learning offers strong potentials for further improving the quality of instruction with gifted and high-achieving students. Further empirical research is required to obtain more differentiated information on the various aspects of cooperative learning. |
