Education Commons^™

A Culturally Responsive And Sustaining Pre-School: Collaborative Approaches To Curriculum In An Underserved Florida Community, Dana R. Roberts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The early childhood education and childcare (ECE&C) sector in America “is a textbook example of a broken market” (Yellen, 2021) that operates as a “non-system” (Berlin, 2021). This manifests itself through the low-quality of its teaching cadre (Cassidy et al., 2019). This failure hits disadvantage families hardest (Chafouleas et al., 2016) - a reality that is particularly apparent in St. Petersburg, Florida’s Midtown neighborhoods where one out of every two children attending ECE programs are not meeting State school readiness standards (Florida OEL, 2020). In this study, I propose a culturally-responsive (Gay, 2018), culturally sustaining (Ladson-Billings, 2021c), and equity-based continuous …

Fifth Grade Teachers Use Of Cooperative Learning In Science, Liza Ramos

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to explore Cooperative Learning theories and practice by examining the relationships among three aspects: Experience, Practice and Perceptions. The data were from interview records from eight science teachers.

As a student-centered active pedagogical trend, cooperative learning has become part of one of the most effective and efficient educational trends that has illuminated constructivist science classrooms in South Texas. This method is conducive in the field of education. Students, in general, are encouraged to cooperatively get involved and to collaboratively participate in problem solving, discussions, and/or productions in group sessions to build a sense of community with the …

Leveraging The Dynamics Of The Mixed Level Classroom: A Materials Collection, Emily Hampston

MA TESOL Collection

A number of studies have noted the rise in student demographic diversity and the heightened significance of the mixed-level classroom; however, a consensus on the appropriate methods and materials to address these developments remains to be reached. Educators are anticipated to address the needs of students with a variety of abilities, backgrounds, and interests in a singular class. Less proficient students face overstimulation whilst more proficient students face understimulation. How can the challenges of the mixed-level classroom be recast into strengths? The mixed-level classroom environment calls for student investment, real language, and familiar processes. Methods such as peer tutoring, cooperative …

Student Perceptions In Temporary And Cohort Groups, David Miedema

Master of Education Program Theses

This research study described student perceptions towards learning and participation for temporary groups and cohort groups. The participants were 101 eighth grade social studies students. For five weeks, students were assigned to regularly work in groups of three to four students. Two classes worked in temporary groups, and two other classes worked in cohort groups. Students completed a pretest-posttest survey and a group work survey after each learning activity to describe group participation and learning. Six students participated in a semi-structured interview to elaborate on their experiences after the study. Results showed that students in cohort groups had a more …

Collaboration: Skill Development Framework, Claire Scoular, Daniel Duckworth, Jonathan Heard, Dara Ramalingam

Assessment and Reporting

This skill development framework has been developed to address the challenges associated with teaching and assessing collaboration. While there are many definitions of the skill, few provide a means to operationalise collaboration in the classroom. This framework is designed to synthesise and harmonise existing theory and research on collaboration to provide a holistic perspective. It outlines collaboration processes along prescribed strands and aspects that are informed by a sound evidentiary basis. The aspects contained within the framework are designed to provide foci for teaching and the basis of assessment.

The Effectiveness Of Cooperative Learning In The Reading Classroom, Amelia Tankersley, Joshua A. Cuevas

Perspectives In Learning

This research examined the effectiveness of specific methods of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, motivation, and attitudes. The study implemented Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR) and the Jigsaw method in a rural public elementary school and included 60 participants from 3rd grade reading classes. One group used the CSR method to read information on four different topics while the other group read information on the same topics using the Jigsaw method. After controlling for initial attitudes, motivation, and global reading comprehension, the results indicated that neither of these methods led to greater gains in these areas than the other. However, when …

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2019), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

In a rapidly changing world, there is widespread agreement that students require new levels of skill in collaborating, communicating, thinking critically, innovating, solving problems and applying what is learnt in new contexts, underpinned by values and dispositions that include a commitment to social inclusion, responsible citizenship and respect for human rights. So how do we best prepare young people and equip them to survive and thrive in the unpredictable world of the future? Research Conference 2019 will profile research around innovative ways of conceptualising, developing and assessing this broader range of priorities for student learning and development in the 21st …

A Case Study Of Hispanic Students In Cooperative Learning, Louis Lee

Theses and Dissertations

This research is an exploratory case study in regard to cooperative group learning. The research participants are Hispanic students taking the researcher’s physics course at a higher education institution in South Texas. Theoretical framework of this research is grounded on the theories of social interdependence, behaviorism, and cognition. The main research questions to be explored are: 1) How do students perceive cooperative learning in a community college? 2) How do students experience cooperative learning in a community college? 3) How can an instructor facilitate better cooperative learning in a community college? Pre-surveys, field journal records from observation of research participants, …

Design And Investigation Of Cooperative, Scaffolded Wiki Learning Activities In An Online Graduate-Level Course, Kun Huang

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications

Informed by the literature on community of inquiry, wikis in education, and scaffolding in technology-supported learning environments, this study reports the design, implementation, and investigation of wiki-supported cooperative learning activities in an online graduate-level theories class. The investigation of emerging research questions revealed students’ participation patterns in the wiki learning activities, the relationship between their participation and course performance, and the students’ experiences with the scaffolding strategies designed to support their cooperative activities. The study offers implications for designing and scaffolding wiki-based cooperative learning.

Comparing The Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (Pogil) Method To An Independently Developed Guided Inquiry Method (Indgim) In A High School Academic Chemistry Course., Scott Zgraggen

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

A nonequivalent, control group, pretest-posttest design was used to investigate student achievement in secondary chemistry. This study investigated the effects of process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) pedagogy in high school chemistry classes compared to that of an independently designed guided inquiry method (InDGIM). Data were collected from chemistry students from four college-prep chemistry classes in the same high school, over the course of the academic year, using the Particulate Nature of Matter (ParNoMA2) test, the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT), unit tests, and the final exam. DataAll data waswere analyzed using a 2 x 2 Factorial Analysis of …

Understanding The Use Of Instructional Coaching To Support Cooperative Learning In The Secondary Classroom, Adam Roubitchek

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The current study addressed the use of instructional coaches to support the use of cooperative learning in a suburban high school district. Cooperative learning is a research-based instructional strategy that has a long history of increasing student achievement. In this district, most teachers had been trained in the basic use of cooperative learning and all teachers received support from an instructional coach. The researcher administered a demographic questionnaire, a cooperative learning survey, and an instructional coaching survey to all teachers in the district. The data were analyzed based on the responses of 38 participants. The results from the current study …

The Effects Of Peer-Revision On Student Writing Performance In A Middle School Ela Classroom, Charles Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation in practice outlines an action research project that attempted to answer the research question: what impact does peer-revision have on students' writing performance? This question is predicated on the idea that writing instruction in middle school English-Language Arts (ELA) classrooms is not always adequate. Writing often suffers due to many reasons, and out of all aspects of writing, it is often the instruction and practice of revision that suffers the most. This research project followed Mertler’s (2014) four-phase action research process, with phases being broken down further into nine steps: identifying the topic, gathering information, reviewing the related …

Group Encouragement: Action Research On Cooperative Learning, Sarah Miller

Honors Projects

Cooperative learning groups help students develop twenty-first century skills. Teachers may choose to constantly change the memberships of the cooperative learning groups so that students rarely work with the same people or teachers may choose to use a home group structure in that students always work with the same people. In this action research with two fifth grade math and science classes, it was found that most students enjoyed working with short-term groups and long-lasting home groups, but there was a large minority of students who did not enjoy working with their home groups following the three-month time period that …

Supplemental Action Learning Workshops: Understanding The Effects Of Independent And Cooperative Workshops On Students’ Knowledge, Kathryn M. Morris

Dissertations

Community colleges enroll more than half of the undergraduate population in the United States, thereby retaining students of varying demographics with extracurricular demands differing from traditional four-year university students. Often in a collegiate lecture course, students are limited in their abilities to absorb and process information presented by their instructors due to content-specific cognitive gaps between the instructor and the student (Preszler, 2009). Research has shown implementation of instructor-facilitated action learning workshops as supplemental instruction may help bridge these cognitive gaps allowing better student conceptualization and dissemination of knowledge (Drake, 2001; Fullilove & Treisman, 1990; Preszler, 2009; Udovick et al., …

The Uae English Teachers’ Perspectives On The Multi-Dimensional Role Of Cooperative Learning, Khayal Al Allaq

Theses

This study explores teachers’ perspectives on the role of the structured application of cooperative learning in enhancing ESL students’ learning engagement, social awareness, and cultural responsiveness. The main objective of this thesis is to investigate English teachers’ perceptions on the way cooperative learning can foster learning engagement, social awareness, cultural understanding and the application of differentiation in the ESL classroom. To answer the research questions, the researcher employed a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain deeper insight into the topic. The initial stage of the study involved the collection of the quantitative data from the Cooperative Learning Questionnaire …

Cooperative Groups And Student Engagement: Exploring Cooperative Learning Groups In Mathematics, Trisha Reszel

Master of Education Program Theses

This action research project explores using cooperative learning strategies, specifically five of the structures designed by Dr. Spencer Kagan within a third grade mathematics classroom for six weeks. There were twenty-three participants in the third grade classroom, ages 8 to 9 years old. Students were given a survey of their opinion of math before the unit started, as well as after for comparison. During the unit, students participated in five different structures (or strategies based on KAGAN’s research) multiple times within each mathematics lesson. To determine if the action research was successful or not, unit scores from the current unit …

How Do Middle School Core Content Area Teachers In A Title 1 School Use Cooperative Learning In The Context Of High Accountability For Student Proficiency: A Multiple Case Study, Martha Cunigan-Wells

Dissertations

This action research case study describes how content area teachers in a middle school with low reading achievement levels utilize cooperative learning and curriculum integration (with a focus on the integration of literacy skills and thinking skills) in their content area given the current context of accountability for student mastery of tested core content outcomes. The participants were four urban middle school teachers from the core areas of science, social studies, mathematics, and language arts who had varying levels of training and experience with cooperative learning and curriculum integration. Data sources included audio-recorded pre-conferences, video-taped classroom observations, audio-recorded post-conferences, and …

From Theory To College Classrooms: Collaborative/Cooperative Learning Techniques That Work, Judith Longfield

Centers for Teaching Excellence Staff Presentations

Research demonstrates that engaging students in the learning process leads to improved attitudes, enhanced learning and student retention. In this session attendees will learn about the research behind cooperative and collaborative learning, how to form groups and create effective learning tasks, and be introduced to a variety of active learning techniques. Participant will also practice integrating collaborative learning techniques (CoLTs) into a course by developing a plan for using, grading and evaluating one or more CoLTs.

Using Collaborative Learning Techniques (Colts) To Promote Engaged Student Learning, Judith Longfield

Centers for Teaching Excellence Staff Presentations

Research demonstrates that engaging students in the learning process leads to improved attitudes, enhanced learning and student retention. In this interactive session you will learn about collaborative and cooperative learning, how to form groups and create effective learning tasks, and be introduced to a variety of active learning techniques. You will also practice integrating collaborative learning techniques (CoLTs) into a course by developing a plan for using, grading and evaluating one or more CoLTs.

The Effect Of Pre-Collaborative Activity Instruction On Self-Efficacy, Robert Ray Mattson

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Collaborative learning is increasing in popularity in education. This collaborative pedagogy is based on a significant body of research that shows positive learning gains. Additionally, given the nature of much of the information-age work, it is thought that such collaborative activity in school helps develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that will be beneficial to students in their post-college lives.

In spite of collaborative learning's increasing use and popularity, there is only limited research on how students feel about such methods and their level of confidence in their collaborative knowledge, skills and attitudes. Based on the current theories about self-efficacy, delineated …

The Relationship Between Attitude And Anxiety Toward Teaching Science In Pre-Service Elementary Teachers And The Use Of Science Olympiad Events, Allison Armstrong Downing

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the anxiety and attitudes of pre-service elementary teachers toward teaching science and the use of Science Olympiad events in an elementary science methods course. The participants were 34 pre-service elementary teachers enrolled in the Winter 2010 and Spring 2011 trimesters in the course Science in the Elementary School at a private university in south Mississippi. Attitude toward teaching science was measured using the Revised Science Attitude Scale. Anxiety was measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Form Y). Data collection involved participants taking pretests for attitude and state anxiety on …

Gifted Students: What Motivates Them, Sharon Reitsma Zonnefeld

Master of Education Program Theses

This paper explores the implications of a Biblical worldview on gifted students' motivation and uses this Biblical worldview as a framework to evaluate classroom constructs, such as high level questions, promotion of learning as hard work, cooperative learning, Theory of Multiple Intelligences, RtI (Response to Intervention), and student choice, that are known to influence gifted students' motivation. Teacher personalities and tendencies, as well as students' family relationships, early learning and stimulation, personal characteristics, and emotional state are also discussed in relation to gifted students' motivation and achievement. A review of the relevant literature was conducted to ascertain the relationship of …

Millennial Students And The Social Organization Of College Education, David A. Reuman

Teaching Millennials in the New Millennium, April 2011

Although Millennial students are touted as team-oriented and skilled in collaborative work, effect size estimates of relevant cohort effects are small. Rather than just dismissing the team-oriented characterization of Millennials as an exaggeration, this paper conceptualizes team-orientation and collaborative skills as modifiable characteristics of all college students; it advocates for the systematic application of research-based cooperative learning practices in college classrooms in order to improve all students’ collaborative skills, achievement motivation, and academic performance. Principles underlying effective cooperative learning strategies are well established, but not frequently implemented fully in college classrooms. This paper examines challenges of applying cooperative learning in …

The Evaluation Of A Mixed Methodological Model To Improve The Productive And Receptive Skills In Spanish As A Fl/Sl: An Experimental Study, Kerwin A. Livingstone

Kerwin A. Livingstone

This present article seeks to provide a mixed methodological model for the development and implementation of a Teaching Module for Spanish as a Foreign Language in the face to face environment. The primary objective is to portray how methodological principles from different language teaching approaches - in this case, task based language teaching and cooperative learning - can be combined effectively in designing activities for face to face contexts. In this regard, empirical evidence is analysed in order to determine the effectiveness of the mixed methodology in the teaching-learning of Spanish as a Foreign Language in the said settings, in …

Cooperative Learning: Attitudes, Perceptions, And Achievement In A Traditional, Online, And Hybrid Instructional Setting, Allison Hardin Duckworth

Dissertations

Cooperative learning has been sufficiently studied to be accepted as an effective method of education. Student reception of cooperative learning, and therefore the degree of its success in a given situation, will depend on the mode of delivery. New technology for delivering courses totally online challenges many aspects of traditional education, and is particularly difficult for cooperative learning that relies heavily on intense face-to-face communication among students. This study was conducted to compare cooperative learning in a traditional setting to that in hybrid and online settings. A model for delivering a cooperative learning experience has been developed utilizing concept maps …

The Effects Of Cooperative Learning Techniques On Perceived Classroom Environment And Critical Thinking Skills Of Preservice Teachers, Antone Michael Goyak

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study analyzed the effects of cooperative learning techniques versus lecture techniques on the following aspects of a higher education classroom: (a) the perception of a student's learning environment and (b) a student's critical thinking skills. Preservice teachers at a small Midwest college completed the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI) and the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, Form-S (WGCTA-FS). Results revealed significantly higher means in the cooperative learning group in four of the eight constructs within the CUCEI. Results within the WGCTA-FS disclosed no significant differences between the means of the two groups. The outcomes of this study suggest …

Learning Strategies Of First-Year Business Students, Bettina Greimel-Fuhrmann

International Journal for Business Education

The empirical study presented in this paper identifies potential strengths and weaknesses of first‐year students´ learning strategies at the beginning of their studies. It concentrates on the students´ self‐assessment of their self‐motivation, time management, and concentration, coping with stress and fear of failure, elaboration of information, ability to focus on important information, cooperative learning, self‐control of learning progress, and dealing with exams. The results reveal that during their school days, numerous students have not (or just very rarely) applied learning strategies that may be considered indispensable for successfully studying at a university, like taking notes in class or summarizing the …

Plastics In The Environment: A Jigsaw Learning Activity, Elaine Hampton

Elaine Hampton

In this lesson, a ready-to-teach cooperative reading activity, students learn about the effects of plastics in our environment, specifically that certain petrochemicals act as artificial estrogens and impact hormonal activities. Much of the content in this lesson was synthesized from recent medical research about the impact of xenoestrogens and spun off from a curriculum project sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Office.

Effects Of Cooperative Learning On Motivation, Learning Strategy Utilization, And Grammar Achievement Of English Language Learners In Taiwan, Hui-Chuan Liao

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

To examine the effects of cooperative learning on EFL students in Taiwan, a 12-week quasi-experimental pretest-posttest comparison group research study was designed. Two college classes (42 students each) in Taiwan participated in the study, one receiving grammar instruction through cooperative learning and the other through whole-class teaching. Three specific research questions guided the study. The first looked at effects of cooperative learning on motivation, the second on out-of-class strategy use, and the third on grammar achievement. Additional exploratory questions examined these results across subgroups within each class as well as the relationships between the dependent variables. Data were collected via …

Improving Group Work: Voices Of Students, Brian K. Payne, Elizabeth Monk-Turner, Donald Smith, Melvina Sumter

Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Group work is increasingly being used in a variety of college courses. A number of strengths have driven the increase in the use of this form of collaborative learning. Still, a number of problems potentially limit the use of group projects. In this study, we report on research in which we examined how students recommended changing group projects. Results are categorized into student-centered themes and faculty-centered themes. Implications are provided.