Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 1: Group versus individual problem solving

TLDR

The study examined how cooperative group learning affects college students’ problem‑solving performance in a large introductory physics course. Students were taught an explicit problem‑solving strategy and practiced it in mixed‑ability cooperative groups, while a new evaluation technique assessed their performance and problem difficulty. Collaborative problem solving produced better solutions than individual work, and the instructional approach improved performance across all ability levels.

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of cooperative group learning on the problem solving performance of college students in a large introductory physics course. An explicit problem solving strategy was taught in the course, and students practiced using the strategy to solve problems in mixed-ability cooperative groups. A technique was developed to evaluate students’ problem solving performance and determine the difficulty of context-rich problems. It was found that better problem solutions emerged through collaboration than were achieved by individuals working alone. The instructional approach improved the problem solving performance of students at all ability levels.