Identifying social skills important to junior high school science students working in cooperative groups /
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1988.
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | Research shows that cooperative learning increases the students' achievement scores, reasoning strategies, interests in the subject material, social skills, and attitudes toward one's self, peers, school, and learning. Quantitative research results in the literature were established in all of the foregoing areas except social skills. Therefore, the social skills that students used for effective implementation of cooperative learning groups were not identified. The purpose of this qualitative research was for junior high school science students, in grades six, seven, and eight, to identify and define in their own terminology the social skills considered important to them while working in cooperative groups. The first step in the identification process was to train teachers in the cooperative learning technique so they in turn could structure their lessons to prepare students to work cooperatively. The identification of the social skills was then accomplished through the interviews of 30 students and the administration of questionnaires to 6 teachers and 465 students. During the interviews, student respondents identified 17 social skills and six group provisions, which were mainly suggestions for the teacher to implement. Moreover, both the teachers and the larger student sample rated these skills and provisions important except that each ranked them somewhat differently. The most important skill rated by both teachers and students was "cooperate." The 14 skills rated by the larger student sample as "Important" and ranked in order were the following: "listen," "explain well," "involve everyone," "follow directions," "divide jobs fairly," "work effectively," "be creative," "be courteous," "be patient," "discuss," "involve the non-worker," "encourage," "question," and "prompt." Also, two skills, "appoint a group leader" and "no group leader" were rated as "Sometimes important." The accuracy in identifying the ten most important skills across classes, grades, and schools was at the 82 percent level and was at the 85 percent level for the last seven skills. Therefore, students across grade levels in the junior high school appear to need the same social skills while working in cooperative learning groups. |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Curriculum and Instruction." |
| Physical Description: | xi, 92 leaves ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |