THE EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING METHODS ON ACHIEVEMENT, RETENTION, AND ATTITUDES OF HOME ECONOMICS

STUDENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA

Rosini B. Abu, Assistant Professor
Jabatan Pendidikan
Fakulti Pengajian Pendidikan
Universiti Pertanian Malaysia

Jim Flowers, Associate Professor

Department of Agricultural and Extension Education
Box 7607
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7607

https://ejournals.lib.vt.edu/JCTE/article/view/671/982

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the cooperative learning approach of Student Teams-
Achievement Divisions (STAD) on the achievement of content knowledge, retention, and attitudes toward the teaching
method. Cooperative learning was compared to noncooperative (competitive) learning classroom structure using a quasi-
experimental design. An achievement test, consisting of items from the state competency test-item bank for the course,
and an attitude questionnaire were administered immediately following instruction on the unit of special nutritional needs. A
retention test was administered three weeks following the achievement test. California Achievement Test scores and first
semester grades in home economics classes were used as covariates to adjust for possible preexisting differences
between the groups. Multivariate analysis of covariance showed no significant difference among the dependent variables
(achievement and retention) between the teaching methods used. There was also no significant difference in student
attitudes toward the teaching methods.

THE EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, SOCIAL INTERACTION, BEHAVIOR, AND AFFECT OF
SECONDARY ENGLISH AND SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS

by Wayne Stauffer

http://archives.evergreen.edu/masterstheses/Accession89-10MIT/Stauffer_MIT2013.pdf

This critical review of the literature explores the effects of cooperative learning on the academic achievement, social
interaction, behavior, and affect of secondarylevel English and social studies students. The majority of cooperative learning
research has initially focused on elementary-level students; however, in recent years more research has been conducted
at the secondary level. This review suggests that cooperative learning has positive effects on academic achievement when
students are accountable only to themselves, when they are accountable to both themselves and their group, and when
they are solely accountable to their group. It also suggests that students who engage in cooperative learning are more
likely to work with others even when not told to. Other research suggests that students who work in cooperative settings
are more likely to accept peers of different ethnicity, class, race, and ableness. These findings have major implications for
teachers. Teachers can use different accountability structures of cooperative learning to reinforce different skills and
values.

THE IMPACT OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEED FOR COGNITION AMONG FIRST-YEAR COLLEGE
STUDENTS

by Thomas Dee Castle Jr

https://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5478&context=etd

This study examines the effect of first-year college student participation in cooperative learning activities on the
development of need for cognition, using pre-test and post-test data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts
Education (WNSLAE). I used Pascarella’s (1985) General Causal Model for Assessing the Effects of Differential Environments
on Student Learning and Cognitive Development as the theoretical foundation for my study. I examined whether cooperative
learning (students teaching each other, faculty encouraging students to work together outside of class, participation in
study groups, and students working together outside of class) influenced the development of need for cognition among
first-year college students while controlling for student background characteristics, institutional characteristics, academic
experiences, and other college student experiences. The results of my study indicate that participation in cooperative
learning activities positively influenced the development of need for cognition among first-year college students. This study
adds to the literature because it is the first to demonstrate the relationship between cooperative learning and need for
cognition. The results are relevant to higher education policy because the study provides evidence that cooperative
learning helps students develop a propensity to engage in the thinking process, which will likely impact them throughout
their lives. Cooperative learning is considered a good practice in liberal education, so the result of this study provides
evidence that liberal education supports positive outcomes related to cognitive processing, which is critical to higher
education.