Group Composition, Group Interaction and Achievement in Cooperative Small Groups

This study investigated interaction and achievement in cooperative small groups in four junior high school mathematics classrooms. Ninety-six students learned a one-week unit on consumer mathematics in mixed-ability or uniform-ability groups. Students in mixed-ability groups scored higher on a probl...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Webb, Noreen M
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.04.1981
Subjects
Academic Achievement
Class Organization
Educational Research
Elementary Secondary Education
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Group Dynamics
Grouping (Instructional Purposes)
Interaction
Interaction Process Analysis
Junior High School Students
Junior High Schools
Mathematics Education
Mathematics Education Research
Mathematics Instruction
Teaching Methods
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Summary:This study investigated interaction and achievement in cooperative small groups in four junior high school mathematics classrooms. Ninety-six students learned a one-week unit on consumer mathematics in mixed-ability or uniform-ability groups. Students in mixed-ability groups scored higher on a problem-solving test than students in uniform-ability groups. However, this finding was mediated by verbal interaction within the group. Asking a question and receiving no answer was detrimental to achievement. This behavior was more frequent among uniform-ability groups than among mixed-ability groups. Group interaction was predicted by group composition (uniform-ability or mixed-ability), student personality (extroversion-introversion), and student ability. (Author)