Learning concrete procedures: Effects of processing strategies and cooperative learning.

Abstract

We examined the efficacy of a previously developed script for learning concrete procedures with more complex procedures than had previously been studied. The experiments examined the efficacy of peer cooperation in learning concrete procedures, the effects of learning about the necessary equipment prior to practicing the procedure, and the retention of procedural information over a 6-week delay. One hundred fourteen students participated in one of the following groups: no-script individuals, no-script dyads, simultaneous-script dyads, or successive-script dyads. The simultaneous group performed better, described the procedure more thoroughly, and recalled more information than other groups. Thirty nine of the original participants completed the second experiment, in which they again produced written recalls of the instructions. The pattern of differences observed after the initial experiment was maintained after a 6-week interval.

Ideas and Identities: Supporting Equity in Cooperative Mathematics Learning

“…Cooperation (O'Donnell et al, 1990), ASK to THINK-TEL WHY (A. King, 1997), and reciprocal teaching (Brown & Palincsar, 1989) students take turns explaining.…”

Which cognitive processes support learning during small-group discussion? The role of providing explanations and listening to others

“…As mentioned earlier, the results of some studies suggested that collective elaborative activities can improve the processing of new information, so information that is studied after the elaborative activities took place (O'Donnell et al 1990;Schmidt et al 1989;De Grave et al 2001). This study aimed to replicate these findings, while zooming in on the role of providing explanations versus listening.…”

“…Interestingly, elaborative discourse has also been shown to be beneficial when it precedes learning (De Grave et al 2001;O'Donnell et al 1990;Schmidt et al 1989). In a study by Schmidt et al (1989), small groups of students discussed a problem illustrating the osmosis process in cells before studying a text about osmosis and diffusion.…”

The impact of the teacher’s role and pupils’ ethnicity and prior knowledge on pupils’ performance and motivation to cooperate

“…A way of enhancing the effect size in a future study might be to implement the CL intervention over a longer period of time. Also, other researchers, like O'Donnell et al (1990) use ''scripts'' as a means to structure the peer interactions in groups. The scripts developed by O'Donnell et al (1990) are protocols that require pupils to alternate between the roles of (either planner/performer or listener/observer).…”

“…Also, other researchers, like O'Donnell et al (1990) use ''scripts'' as a means to structure the peer interactions in groups. The scripts developed by O'Donnell et al (1990) are protocols that require pupils to alternate between the roles of (either planner/performer or listener/observer). Their study reveals that the use of scripts increased the peer interactions that the pupils display and was related to higher learning gains.…”