Advisor

• Dr. Paul Resta

Degree

• Doctoral

Abstract

The topic of how to group students to work together effectively and efficiently has been under heavy investigation. Research findings tend to support the use of cooperative learning, as compared to competitive, or individualistic instructional methods. There has, however, been considerable debate as to whether the positive outcomes found among participants in cooperative learning situations result from cooperation within learning groups, or competition between learning groups. Therefore, the present study intended to determine the relative effectiveness of cooperation with and without inter-group competition in promoting Taiwanese elementary student academic achievement, affect and group process in a CAI environment, and to investigate whether inter-group competition would be necessary to be built within the context of cooperative learning for Taiwan educational system, where competition is very much part of the educational process and culture. A posttest-only design was used in the study. Six fifth-grade classes (a total of one hundred and ninety-two students) randomly selected from one primary school in Taipei were randomly assigned to different treatment conditions. Students participated in three computer-assisted instructional sessions. Two written posttests and a self-report questionnaire were used to test the differential effects of the two treatment conditions on student academic achievement; attitudes toward the subject matter studied, instructional method, and computers; perceptions toward their own dyad and other dyads; and perceptions of the communication process both within and among the dyads. Data were analyzed using the analysis of variance technique. The results of the statistical analyses were found to support the affective and social benefits of cooperation without inter-group competition on Taiwanese students in a CAI environment. Furthermore, the exchange of ideas and information both within and among the learning groups tended to be more effective and efficient when cooperation did not take place in the context of inter-group competition. Based on the empirical data generated from the study, it was concluded that to promote constructive interactions among participants, and enhance student affective and social developments, cooperation without inter-group competition may be the preferred instructional strategy to adopt, rather than a cooperation with an inter-group competition goal structuring method for Taiwan educational systems.