Moving beyond the general question of effectiveness of small group learning, this conceptual review proposes conditions under which the use of small groups in classrooms can be productive. Included in the review is recent research that manipulates various features of cooperative learning as well as studies of the relationship of interaction in small groups to outcomes. The analysis develops propositions concerning the kinds of discourse that are productive of different types of learning as well as propositions concerning how desirable kinds of interaction may be fostered. Whereas limited exchange of information and explanation are adequate for routine learning in collaborative seatwork, more open exchange and elaborated discussion are necessary for conceptual learning with group tasks and ill-structured problems. Moreover, task instructions, student preparation, and the nature of the teacher role that are eminently suitable for supporting interaction in more routine learning tasks may result in unduly con...

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Restructuring the Classroom: Conditions for Productive Small Groups

The laboratory has been given a central and distinctive role in science education, and science educators have suggested that rich benefits in learning accrue from using laboratory activities. Twenty years have been elapsed since we published a frequently cited, critical review of the research on the school science laboratory (Hofstein & Lunetta, Rev. Educ. Res.52(2), 201–217, 1982). Twenty years later, we are living in an era of dramatic new technology resources and new standards in science education in which learning by inquiry has been given renewed central status. Methodologies for research and assessment that have developed in the last 20 years can help researchers seeking to understand how science laboratory resources are used, how students' work in the laboratory is assessed, and how science laboratory activities can be used by teachers to enhance intended learning outcomes. In that context, we take another look at the school laboratory in the light of contemporary practices and scholarship. This analysis examines scholarship that has emerged in the past 20 years in the context of earlier scholarship, contemporary goals for science learning, current models of how students construct knowledge, and information about how teachers and students engage in science laboratory activities. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed88:28–54, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/.sce10106

https://gpquae.iqm.unicamp.br/gtexperimentacao.pdf

The Laboratory in Science Education: Foundations for the Twenty-First Century

Recent calls for instructional innovation in undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) courses and programs highlight the need for a solid foundation of education research at the undergraduate level on which to base policy and practice. We report herein the results of a meta-analysis that integrates research on undergraduate SMET education since 1980. The meta-analysis demonstrates that various forms of small-group learning are effective in promoting greater academic achievement, more favorable attitudes toward learning, and increased persistence through SMET courses and programs. The magnitude of the effects reported in this study exceeds most findings in comparable reviews of research on educational innovations and supports more widespread implementation of small-group learning in undergraduate SMET.

Effects of Small-Group Learning on Undergraduates in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology: A Meta-Analysis:

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Effects of Small-Group Learning on Undergraduates in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology: A Meta-Analysis. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.

http://socialfamily535.pbworks.com/f/slavin1996%5B1%5D.pdf

Research on cooperative learning and achievement: What we know, what we need to know.

The results of recent studies into the use of the concept mapping heuristic seem to demonstrate that meaningful learning results through its use in science classrooms. While this underscores the need to use more effective instructional strategies in science teaching, the issue of the intervening variable of anxiety in learning and science achievement, and the possible use of a metacognitive strategy in anxiety reduction have not been addressed. This study, therefore, sought to find out if the metacognitive strategy of concept mapping reduces anxiety and thereby enhances achievement in biology. A total of 51 (30 boys, 21 girls) senior secondary one (grade 10) students participated in this experiment. Two instruments—the Zuckerman Affect Adjective Checklist and the Biology Achievement Test—were used in pre- and posttest administrations to measure the treatment effect on anxiety and achievement, respectively. Findings support the stand that concept mapping is significantly more effective than the traditional/expository teaching strategy in enhancing learning in biology. In addition, it apparently reduces students' anxiety towards the learning of biology. A significant reduction of anxiety was noticed for male subjects.

The effect of concept mapping on students' anxiety and achievement in biology

Studies have shown that in their study of biology, students perceive genetics and ecology to be difficult areas to learn. This has translated into rote learning of genetics and ecological concepts and reflected in poor performance in tests involving these concepts. Considering the importance of genetics and ecology to man's understanding of himself and his environment, there is a need to inquire into ways of ensuring that students attain meaningful learning of genetics and ecology rather than learning by rote. The efficacy of the concept-mapping strategy was tried out in this study with 138 predegree biology students. The results showed that the 63 students in the experimental group who employed the concept-mapping technique performed significantly better on the test of meaningful learning in genetics, t(136) = 16.01. p < 0.001, and ecology, t(136) = 12.27, p < 0.001, than their control group counterparts (N = 75). The implications of these results for teacher education in biology are addressed in the article.

Attaining Meaningful Learning of Concepts in Genetics and Ecology: An Examination of the Potency of the Concept-Mapping Technique.

Cognitive preference and learning mode as determinants of meaningful learning through concept mapping

The significance of the process skill of observation cannot be overemphasized in the teaching and learning of school science to which the provision of explanations about natural phenomena in the world is central. The study investigated the supposition that observational skills can be influenced by students’ belief in traditional African cosmology, beliefs and superstitions. Data were collected from 319 pre‐degree science students from one of the Nigerian universities using the Traditional Cosmology Test (TCT) and the Test of Observational Skills (TOS). The results showed that students with a high level of belief in African traditional cosmology, made significantly fewer correct observations (p < 0.001) in comparison with those with a low level of belief. There is a strong possibility, as interviews with a random selection of subjects show, that traditional cosmology could have been a major factor responsible for this performance difference in observation. The results of the study have significant...

Peter Akinsola Okebukola

Papers

The effect of concept mapping on students' anxiety and achievement in biology

Attaining Meaningful Learning of Concepts in Genetics and Ecology: An Examination of the Potency of the Concept-Mapping Technique.

Cognitive preference and learning mode as determinants of meaningful learning through concept mapping

The relationship between African traditional cosmology and students’ acquisition of a science process skill

The relative effectiveness of cooperative and competitive interaction techniques in strengthening students' performance in science classes