THE EFFECTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION WITH BACCALAUREATE NURSING STUDENTS USING A COMPUTER-ASSISTED INTERACTIVE VIDEODISC LESSON.

Description

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cooperative learning strategies on achievement and retention with baccalaureate nursing students using an interactive videodisc lesson about auscultation of heart sounds. The study also explored the interaction patterns among the group members during the lesson. An experimental repeated measures design was used for the study, with subjects serving as their own control groups. Seventy-one college juniors from an urban school of nursing were randomly assigned based on pre-nursing grade point average and gender to one of three types of groups which included Heterogeneous Mixed achievement, Homogeneous High achievement, and Homogeneous Average achievement. Prior to viewing the lesson, subjects were instructed to cooperate with one another by taking turns, assisting, and praising one another during the lesson. A total of 20 groups of 3 to 5 participants each were videotaped during the lesson and group posttest. Group performance was assessed by a 10-item multiple choice posttest. Data were collected on instructional efficiency, and the frequency of their management, task, content, social, and other interactions. Videotapes were examined and transcribed verbatim. Subjects were retested individually 2 weeks following the lesson. As a motivator to participate in the study, subjects received 10 bonus points and were paid ten dollars ($10.00). Eleven groups were categorized as cooperative, 8 as neutral, and 1 (males) was categorized as competitive/aggressive. Chi square results indicated no significant differences in group posttest scores, instructional efficiency, or frequency of interactions. ANOVA results indicated Homogeneously High achievement subjects scored significantly higher than the other subjects on the individual posttest 2 weeks following the lesson. Qualitative observations revealed that subjects were focused on the lesson. Female subjects had greater difficulty accessing and proceeding through the lesson and were more likely to touch one another. Subjects in groups of 4 or 5 members had difficulty reading the monitor.

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