Impact of Cooperative and Individualistic Learning on High-Ability Students' Achievement, Self-Esteem, and Social Acceptance

Abstract

Abstract The effects of cooperative and individualistic learning on the achievement and attitudes of high-ability students were compared. Thirty-four high-ability U.S. students were randomly assigned to a cooperative or an individualistic learning condition. The students, who participated in six 55-min instructional sessions, were presented with the same science lessons, and the teachers were rotated across conditions. The achievement of the high-ability students in the cooperative condition was higher on both recall and higher level reasoning measures than that of their counterparts in the individualistic condition. Also, the high-ability students demonstrated higher academic self-esteem and greater cohesion in the cooperative condition.