journal of teacher action research 1 jtar...social interdependence theory derives from the...

JournalofTeacherActionResearch1

JournalofTeacherActionResearch-Volume6,Issue1,2019,practicalteacherresearch.com,ISSN#2332-2233

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JTAR EDITORS

JTAR JournalofTeacherActionResearchVolume6,Issue1,2019

ExaminingtheInstructionalDesignofInteractiveandCollaborativeLearning 4OpportunitiesRachelKarchmer-KleinElizabethSoslauJannSuttonComparingCooperativeLearningStrategiesinAssessmentInstruction 21JosephA.MayoDoesMindfulnessStrengthenSelf-efficacyinFirstGradeStudents? 32KristenL.LoganErikK.Laursen“Letthepeoplesing!”-ActionResearchExploringTeachers’MusicalConfidence 44WhenEngagingLearnersin‘SingingWellbeing’DaphneRicksonJoAtkinsonDianneReynoldsRobertLeggUsingFirstAuthor©WritingCurriculumwithStudentswithAutismSpectrum 63DisorderKristieAsaro-SaddlerJessicaColes

JTAR AbouttheJournal

Foundedin2013,theJournalofTeacherActionResearch(ISSN:2332-2233)isapeer-reviewedonlinejournalindexedwithEBSCOthatseekspracticalresearchthatcanbeimplementedinPre-Kindergarten

throughPost-Secondaryclassrooms.Theprimaryfunctionofthisjournalistoprovideclassroomteachersandresearchersameansforsharingclassroompractices.

Thejournalacceptsarticlesforpeer-reviewthatdescribeclassroompracticewhichpositivelyimpactsstudentlearning.Wedefineteacheractionresearchasteachers(atalllevels)studyingtheirpracticeand/ortheirstudents'learninginamethodicalwayinordertoinformclassroompractice.Articlessubmittedtothejournalshoulddemonstrateanactionresearchfocuswithintenttoimprovethe

author’spractice.

EditorialTeam

Co-EditorsGilbertNaizer,Ph.D. AprilSanders,Ph.D.

TexasA&MUniversity-Commerce SpringHillCollege

AssociateEditorsLauraIsbell,Ph.D. TamiMorton,Ph.D. SusanWilliams

TexasA&MUniversity-Commerce TexasA&MUniversity-CommerceTexasA&MUniversity-Commerce

ProductionEditorandWebmasterChaseYoung,Ph.D.

SamHoustonStateUniversity

www.practicalteacherresearch.com

THEJOURNALOFTEACHERACTIONRESEARCH 21

JournalofTeacherActionResearch- Volume6,Issue1,Fall2019,<practicalteacherresearch.com>,ISSN#2332-2233©JTAR.AllRights

COMPARINGCOOPERATIVELEARNINGSTRATEGIESINASSESSMENTINSTRUCTIONJosephA.Mayo

GordonStateCollege

AbstractAsafollow-uptoapriorexploratoryinvestigationofcooperativelearninginteachingassessmentto

early-childhood-educationmajors,thepresentstudysystematicallycomparesthepedagogicalefficacyoftwo

variantsofcooperativelearning.Inthefirstcooperativelearningcondition,studentsreprisedthesimulated

classroompracticeevidencedintheCooperativeAssessmentPortfolio(CAP)assignmentusedintheprevious

study.Inthesecondcondition,studentscompletedaCooperativeAssessmentCaseAnalysis(CACA)

assignmentwithdistinguishingfeaturesofcase-basedlearning.Onallquantitativeandqualitativemeasures,

resultsfavoredtheCAPoverCACAassignment.Findingsarediscussedinlightofsocialconstructivistpedagogy

andfuturedirectionsforresearch.

Keywords:cooperativelearning,socialconstructivism,constructivistpedagogy,educationalassessment,earlychildhoodeducation,post-secondaryclassroomresearch,actionresearch

Introduction

Recentdecadeshavewitnessedanincreaseinactive-learningpedagogiesincollegeclassrooms(Fink,2004).Cooperativelearningcontinuestoholdaprominentplaceinthischangingclassroomlandscape(e.g.,Davidson&Major,2014;Gillies,2016;Healy,Doran,&McCutcheon,2018;Love,Dietrich,Fitzgerald,&Gordon,2014).Amongthemostresearchedofalltopicsintheteachingliterature,asignificantbodyofevidencesupportscooperativelearningasameansforstudentstooptimizetheirownlearningwhilefacilitatingtheacademicperformanceoftheirclassmates(Johnson,Johnson,&Holubec,2008).Asastructuredapplicationofcollaborativelearning,themeritsofcooperativelearningatthecollegelevelcanbeclassifiedundertwobroadcategories:academicandsocioemotional(Jones&Jones,2008).Morespecifically,cooperativelearningencourageshigher-orderreasoning,goal-setting,idea-generation,group-to-individuallearningtransfer,promotiveinteraction,positiveinterdependence,andinterpersonalcompetence(Johnson,Johnson,&Smith,2014;Mayo,2010;Williams,2007).Cooperativelearning,astheunderlyingpedagogicalbasisforthepresentstudy,haslongstandingtheoreticalrootswithintheconstructivisttradition.SocialinterdependencetheoryderivesfromtheconfluenceofKurtKoffka’s(1935/1999),KurtLewin’s(1935,1948),andMortonDeutsch’s(1949)shared

April Sanders



recognitionofgroupsasdynamicinitiatorsofvaryinglevelsofinterdependenceamongindividualgroupmembers.Vygotsky(1962/1986)builtuponthisperspectivewithhissocioculturaltheoryofdevelopment.AccordingtoVygotsky,thereisinterplaybetweencognitiveprocessesandsocialactivitiessuchthatsocialinteractionbecomesessentialtoactiveknowledgeconstructiononanintrapersonallevel.Inpractice,cooperativelearningbringstogetherthebasicelementsofthesetheoreticalstances.Groupsofstudentsworktogethertolearn,whileeachindividualbecomespersonallyaccountableforhisorherownlearningwithinthegroupcontext(Brame&Biel,2015).

LiteratureReview

BackgroundandPurposeofthePresentStudy.Inapriorexploratoryinvestigation,Iaskedgroupsofstudentstocompleteanend-of-semesterproject,calledtheCooperativeAssessmentPortfolio,injunior-levelassessmentclassesforearly-childhood-education(ECE)majors(Mayo,2013).ThestudyfocusedontheextenttowhichthisassignmentservedasaformativelearningtoolforECEcandidatesinsuccessfullydesigningteacher-developedstrategiesforassessingthelearningofyoungchildren.Students’performanceontheassignmentdemonstratedassessmentproficiencyasappliedtosimulatedclassroompractice.Moreover,students’surveyedperceptionstowardcompletingtheassignmentpointedtoitseffectivenessinbothpromotingmasteryofacademiccontentandfosteringproductivegroupinteraction.TheobservedsuccessoftheCooperativeAssessmentPortfoliointhispilotstudyservedasaspringboardformyundertakingthepresentinvestigation.

Thepurposeofthecurrentstudyistosystematicallycomparethepedagogicalefficacyoftwogroup-basedassignmentsusingcase-basedlearning(CBL):theCooperativeAssessmentPortfolio(CAP)examinedintheaforementionedpreliminaryinvestigationandtheCooperativeAssessmentCaseAnalysis(CACA).CBLtypicallyincorporatescollaborative-learningprocessesthatpermitstudentstosolveproblemsandreflectontheirexperiences(Hmelo-Silver,2004).TheprimarypurposeofCBListoteachstudentstoapplytheoreticalknowledge(Ching,2014).Inthecontextofteachereducation,themannerinwhichCBLaccomplishestheseintersectingeducationalaimscanbesummarizedasfollows:

[CBL]providesgenerativecontextsforprospectiveandcertifiedteacherstoworktogetherinsmallcollaborativegroups.Together,theyanalyzeproblems,discussoptions,andmakeinformeddecisionstosolveproblemsbasedonauthenticteachingsituationswithreal,multifacetedchallenges(DeSimone,2014,p.17).

Withinthegroup-centeredandapplied-theoreticalfocusofCBL,boththeCAPandCACAassignmentsareaimedatpermittingstudentsvariedopportunitiestodemonstrateaworkingunderstandingofthefactorsunderlyingwell-conceivedteacher-developedassessmentstrategies.WiththeCAPassignment,studentsengageinsimulatedclassroompracticebycreatingtheirownclassroomassessments.Incontrast,studentscompletingtheCACAassignmentcritiquealready-createdclassroomassessmentsasanexerciseinprofessionaldecision-making.



InspiteofCBL’swidespreaduseinteachereducation,therehasbeenrelativelylittlepublishedresearchonCBL-reliantinstructionalmethodologiesoroutcomesrelateddirectlytoteacherpreparation(Goeke,2008).Thepresentstudyaimstoaddtothisareaofresearch.Italsoseekstomakeanoriginalcontributiontotheteachereducationliteraturethroughsystematiccomparisonoftwocooperative-learningassignmentsintheframeworkofteachingECEassessment.

Methodology

Participants.Participantswere96ECEbaccalaureatecandidatesenrolledinfourequivalent-enrolledsectionsofajunior-levelcourseinECEassessmentforwhichIservedasinstructor.Classes,whichweretaughtatapublicstatecollegeinthesoutheasternUnitedStates,occurredinanacceleratedfour-weeksummersemester(twohoursofinstructionperday,fivedaysaweek).Twoclasssectionswereofferedineachoftwoconsecutivesummerterms.

Theparticipantpoolconsistedof87femalesand9males.Theracialdemographicwasapproximately85%Caucasian,13%African-American,and2%multiracial.Participantsrangedinagefrom21to43years(M=23.98).Roughly60%ofparticipantswerefirst-generationundergraduates,withnearlytwothirdsholdingafull-orpart-timejobwhileenrolledinthecourse.Allparticipantshadcompletedtwosemestersofclassroomfieldexperienceinpre-kindergartenthroughfifthgradebeforetakingthecourse.

Design.Iusedanindependent,two-group,quasi-experimentaldesigninwhichintactclasseswereassignedtooneoftwoconditions.Inoneconditionthattookplaceovertheinitialsummerofthestudy,50studentscompletedtheCAPinfulfillmentoftheirterm-lengthprojectrequirement.Inanothercondition,46studentscompletedtheCACAastheirterm-lengthprojectinthesecondsummeroftheinvestigation.Therewerenoappreciabledifferencesbetweenconditionsonthebasisofage,gender,orGPA.Additionally,Iheldcoursecontent,testingformat,andotherrelevantinstructionalvariablesconstantbetweenconditions.

CourseDescription.Thelearningobjectivesofthecoursewerebroadlyinclusiveasrelatestoearly-childhoodassessmenttopics;however,theprincipalfocusofthepresentstudywasstudents’understandinganddevelopmentofappropriatestrategiesforassessingthelearningofyoungchildrenfrompre-kindergartenthroughgradefive.Thisprimaryfocus—whichwascanvassedinboththeCAPandCACAassignments—includeddecidingaccuratelywhattoassessandhowtoassessit,withemphasisonthecognitivedomainoftherevisedversionofBloom’staxonomyofeducationalobjectives(Krathwohl,2002).Italsoencompassedthedetectionandpreventionofbiaswhenassessingchildrenwithspecialneedsandchildrenfromculturallyandlinguisticallydifferentbackgrounds.

Iadministeredaunitexamatmidtermineachofthetwoconditions.Thisexamcontained50conceptuallyappliedmultiple-choicequestionsfromthenon-principalfocalareasofthecourse,includingtheoriesembeddedinassessmentpractices,testvalidityandreliability,interpretingstandardizedtests,andapplyingpropertest-preparationpracticestowardhigh-



stakesstandardizedtesting.Attheconclusionofthesemester,Iadministeredasecondunitexamtostudentsineachconditionthatservedasthecurrentinvestigation’sdependentmeasureforcomparativestatisticaltesting.Thissecondexamalsoconsistedof50conceptuallyappliedmultiple-choicequestions,butthesequestionspertainedtothechieffocalpointsofthestudythatwereaddressedinboththeCAPandCACAassignments.Inordertominimizethepossibilityofexperimentereffectsincomposingthesecondexam,Iselectedallmultiple-choicequestionsfromconceptuallybasedtest-bankitems.Consistentwithconsiderationssurroundingbothtestsecurityandalternate-formreliability,Imatchedquestionsonbothcontentandlevelofdifficultyintheprocessofselectingitemsforinclusiononfourdifferent-but-comparableexamversions(oneforeachofthefourparticipatingclasssections).

InstructionalProcedures(CAPCondition).IntheCAPcondition,theinitialthreeweeksofthesemesterconsistedofin-depthclassroominstructionovertheentiregamutofassessmenttopics(bothprincipalandnon-principalfocalpointsasdescribedunderCourseDescription).Throughoutthefinalweekofthesemester,studentsworkedinclasswithinpre-assignedgroupsoffourorfiveindividualstocompletetheCAPassignmentwithslightproceduralmodificationsfromthepreviouspreliminaryinvestigation(Mayo,2013).Thesemodifications,whichincludedeliminatingaffectiveassessmentandplacinggreateremphasisonabsence-of-biasinassessment,werepredicatedlargelyoninstructivestudentfeedbackfrompriorsummativecourseevaluations.Onceassignedtotheircorrespondinggroups,studentsmetpreliminarilytoselectindividualstoserveintheflexibleandrotatingcapacitiesoffacilitator,recorder,andotherdefinedroles.

IncompletingtheCAPassignment,eachgroupselectedthegradelevel(s),subjectarea(s),andspecifictopic(s)toincorporateintotheportfolio.Eachgroupalsoestablishedacollaborativedivisionoflaborinwhicheachmemberwasexposedtoarepresentativesamplingofeveryassessmentstrategyoutlinedbelow:

1. selected-responseassessment[20binary-choice(true-false)items;10multiplebinary-choiceitemsintwosetsof5;20multiple-choiceitems;and10matchingquestionsintwosetsof5]

2. constructed-responseassessment(20short-answeritemsandtwodifferentessayitemswithanaccompanyinganalyticscoringrubricforeach)

3. performanceassessment(oneconceptmap,case-studyanalysis,analogicalreasoningproject,andautobiographicaland/orbiographicaljournalingassignment,withaconcomitantanalyticscoringrubricforeachassignment)

4. portfolioassessment(fivehypotheticalworksamplesrelatedtotargetedskillsand/orknowledgeforprospectivestudentstomaster,alongwithasingleanalyticrubriconwhichallworksamplescouldbescored)

Studentscomposedanswerkeysforallselected-responseandshort-answerconstructed-responseitems.Forconstructed-responseessays,performanceassessment,andtheportfolio-assessmentitems,studentsdesignedprototypicalresponsesuponwhichtheybasedtheirassociatedscoringrubrics.



Alongwithdemonstratedmasteryofeachassessmentstrategy,theevaluativecriteriaforscoringeachgroup’sassignmentincludedanappliedunderstandingofBloom’staxonomy(knowledgeandcognitive-processdimensions)andabsence-of-biasinassessmentplusevidenceofacollaborativedivisionoflabor.Iratedstudentsonallevaluativecriteriaexceptforcollaborativedivisionoflabor,whichwasreservedsolelyforstudentsincorrespondinggroupstoevaluate.Onthedivision-of-laborscore,studentsineachgroupratedoneanotherintermsofindividualcontributionstothegroup(e.g.,effort,cooperation,anddedicationtoteamwork),withthegroup’saverageperpersonusedforindividualscoringpurposes.PeerratingsoccurredonaLikertscalerangingfrom1=unsatisfactoryto5=exceptional.Iaffordedadditionalopportunityforstudentstooffertheirevaluativecomments.Ikeptallpeerratingsanonymoustootherstudents.

TheCAPassignmentcountedforonethirdofthefinalcourseaverage.Incalculatingeachstudent’sgradeforthisassignment,Iweightedallofthefollowingeightevaluativecriteriaequallyincalculatingthecumulativegradeforeachstudent:(1)Bloom’sknowledgeandcognitive-processdimensionspercontentstandard;(2)absence-of-biasinassessment;(3)averagewithin-grouppeerratingperrespectivestudent;(4)selected-responseassessment;(5)constructed-responseassessment(shortanswer);(6)constructed-responseassessment(essay);(7)performanceassessment;and(8)portfolioassessment.Inassigninggradesforeachevaluativecriterion,Ireliedonanumerical-ratingsystemwithsimilaranchorsasthestudents’peerratings(1=unsatisfactoryto5=exceptional).Icollapsedallevaluativecriteriaontoagradingsummarysheet,whichalsoincludedspaceforaconcisesynopsisofmyevaluativecommentsandaschemeforconvertingrubricpoint-totalstograde-levelpercentages.Forclarification,Idistributedandreviewedthecontentofthissummarysheetduringthefirstclassmeeting.Oncegradingwascompleted,Ireturnedthesesheetstorespectivestudentsattheendofthesemester.

CACACondition.IntheCACAcondition,thefirstthreeweeksofthesemesterinvolvedthesameclassroominstructionasoccurringintheCAPcondition.SimilartotheCAPcondition,studentsworkedinclassduringthefinalweekofthesemester—inpre-assignedgroupsoffourorfive—tocompletetheCACAassignment.AsintheCAPcondition,studentsintheCACAconditionmetbrieflyaftergroupswereassignedtochooseindividualstoactinvariousflexibleandrotatingroleswithineachgroup.

IntheCACAcondition,Iaskedeachgrouptowritecritiquesofaseriesoffictitiousreferencecasesthatreflectedalloftheteacher-developedassessmentstrategiescanvassedintheCAPassignment:selected-response,constructed-response(shortanswer),constructed-response(essay),performance,andportfolioassessment.IncompletingtheCACAassignment,IalsorequiredstudentstoaddressthesameconsiderationsasthoseobservedintheCAPcondition,includingBloom’sknowledgeandcognitive-processdimensions,absence-of-biasinassessment,andacollaborativedivisionoflaborwithineachgroup.

Idesignedallcasesasnarrativeexperiential-learningexercisesbasedontheprincipalfocalpointsofassessmentcanvassedinthecourse.Casesoriginatedfromtwosources.Thefirstsourceinvolvedmyowninstructor-createdcasesthatincludedvarioustypesoferrorsinassessmentpractice.Thesecondsourcederivedfromappropriatelyreferencedadaptations



ofcasescenariosappearingasappliedassessmentexerciseswithinleadingtextbooks,workbooks,andotherpublicationswithintherealmofeducationalassessment.Insomesituations,thesecasesalreadyincorporatedoneormoreerrorsthatstudentscouldidentifyanddiscussintheirCACAassignments.Inotherinstances,assessmentblunderswerenotpresent.Ineitherevent,Imodifiedcasecontent—rangingfrommoderatelyforerror-inclusivecasestoextensivelyforcorrectcaseapplications—suchthaterrorsofomissionand/orcommissionwereintroduced.Asimple,illustrativeexampleofaconstructed-response(shortanswer)itemforsecond-gradersappearsnext.Thislanguage-artsitem—whichincludesinitalicsabriefdiscussionoftheaccompanyingassessmenterror—isadaptedfromextended-applicationsexercisesappearingattheconclusionofPopham’s(2014)classroom-assessmenttextbook:

Theselettersareallvowels:A,E,O,andU.Whatistheonemissingvowel?____________

Althoughtheintendedcorrectansweris“I,”“Y”and“W”areoccasionallyacceptedasvowels.Therefore,thisitemviolatesoneofthebasictenetsofdevelopingsoundshort-answeritems,namely,theintendedcorrectresponsemustbeunique.

Iusedthesamepeer-andinstructor-ratingscalesandproceduresintheCACAconditionthathadbeenusedintheCAPcondition.IincorporatedallevaluativeinformationintothesamegradingsummarysheetthathadbeenutilizedintheCAPcondition.Onceagain,IdistributedandreviewedthisgradingsheetatthestartofthesemesterandthenreturnedittostudentsafterIhadcompletedgradingatthesemester’sconclusion.AswiththeCAPassignment,theCACAassignmentwasalsoworthonethirdofthefinalcourseaverage.

Results

ComparativeStatisticalTesting.Asdescribedinmethodology,thedependentmeasurewasstudents’scoresontheend-of-semesterunitexamthataddressedmaterialrelatedtothemajorcontentconcentrationsinthecourse(teacher-developedassessmentsinconjunctionwithbothBloom’staxonomyofthecognitivedomainandabsenceofbiasinassessment).ThemeansandstandarddeviationsforstudentscoresineachconditionareCACA(M=80.92,SD=10.36)andCAP(M=84.88,SD=8.65).Iusedindependent-groupst-testingtocomparestudentscoresintheCACAconditionwiththoseintheCAPcondition.ResultsshowthatstudentperformanceintheCAPlearningconditiondifferedsignificantlyfromperformanceintheCACAcondition,t(94)=2.04,p<.05.

QuestionnaireData.Igaugedstudents’perceptionsofcompletingcorrespondingassignmentsintheCACAandCAPAconditionswithananonymous10-itemquestionnairethatcombineda5-pointLikertratingscale(notatalleffective=1tohighlyeffective=5)withseveralquestionsaboutrespectiveassignmentstowhichstudentsrespondednarratively.Iaskedstudentstoratenumericallytheexperienceofcompletingtheassignmentinquestionintermsofhoweffectivelyitaccomplishedatotalof10educationalobjectives.Ialsoaskedstudentstocommentnarrativelyonwhattheylikedbestandleastabouttherespectiveassignments,alongwithwhethertheywouldrecommendthatassignmenttootherstudents.Students’numericalratingsareshowninTable1.



Table1:Students’NumericalRatingsoftheCooperativeAssessmentCaseAnalysis(CACA)andCooperativeAssessmentPortfolio(CAP)Assignments

QuestionnaireItem MSD

CACA(n=46)

MSD

CAP(n=50)

Thinkingbeyondtheclassroom 3.83 .70

4.72 .61

Fosteringparticipationinlearning 3.66 .48

4.58 .42

Increasingpracticalrelevanceofinformation 3.74 .62

4.88 .31

Facilitatingunderstandingofcoursecontent 4.01 .39

4.56 .51

Increasingmotivationtolearn 3.45 .80

4.27 .54

Promotingintellectualchallenge 3.62 .53

4.44 .46

Stimulatinginterestinthesubjectmatter 3.36 .75

4.31 .49

Distinguishingbetweenvariedassessments 3.71 .43

4.67 .63

Recognizingtheimportanceofabsence-of-bias 3.50 .72

4.39 .58

ApplyingBloom’sTaxonomy(cognitivedomain) 3.55 .68

4.78 .42

Questionnaireratingscoincidedwiththeresultsofcomparativestatisticaltesting.StudentspreferredtheCAPtotheCACAassignmentacrossallsurveyedmeasures.Students’narrativecommentswerealsoconsistentwiththeirnumericalratings.Althoughapproximately60%ofrespondentsintheCACAconditioncommentedaboutthecooperativecase-analysisassignment’sgeneralutilityinbolsteringunderstandingofthetargetedcoursecontent,onlyabouthalfthatnumbersaidthattheywouldrecommendittootherstudents.Incontrast,morethan90%ofrespondentsintheCAPconditionassertedthattheywouldrecommendthecooperativeportfolioassignmenttootherstudents.InresponsetowhatstudentslikedbestabouttheCAPassignment,thevastmajoritystatedthatitprovidedvaluablehands-onexperiencethatshouldlaterbenefitthemintheirfutureteachingresponsibilities.Manyof



theserespondentsalsoremarkedthattheyhadneverrealizedhowmuchtimeandenergywentintocreatinggoodteacher-developedassessments.Notunexpectedly,themajorcriticismofbothassignmentswastheperceivedworkloadassociatedwiththeircompletion.StudentsintheCAPconditionvoicedthiscriticismmostoften;however,manyofthesesamerespondentsqualifiedtheirconcernbynotingthattheendproductwasbothpersonallygratifyingandworththeconcertedeffort.

Discussion

Withinthebroadcontextofunderstandingandapplyingvariedtypesofteacher-developedassessments,thepresentresultsshowthattheCACAassignmentdidnotcompareasfavorablyastheCAPcounterpartonthejointmeasuresofcomparativestatisticaltestingandanalysisofsurveyedattitudinaldata.Thecorereasonwhythisoccurredmightrelatetofundamentaldifferencesintheunderlyingfoundationsofthesetwotypesofcooperativelearning.

TheCACAandCAPassignmentsarevariantformsofsocialconstructivistpedagogy(Mayo,2010)thatencouragesmallgroupsofstudentstoworktogethertocreatesharedunderstanding.Inthesetypesofassignments,studentscollaboratetoproduce,notreproduceknowledge(Millis,2002).TheCACAassignmentalignswiththelongstandingtraditionofusingcase-basedlearninginnumerousundergraduatedisciplinesasameansoflinkingknowledgeandpracticethroughdevelopingstudents’criticalthinkingandappliedreasoningskills.(e.g.,Allchin,2013;Floyd&Bodur,2005;Heitzmann,2008;Kaddoura,2011;Mayo,2002,2004;Pariseau&Kezim,2007).BoththeCACAandCAPassignmentsqualifyasproblem-centeredapproachesthatadvocateforauthenticapplicationsofcoursecontentintheframeworkofactiveandinteractivelearning.Yettheseassignmentstakedifferingroutestotheseeducationaloutcomes.Asmentionedbrieflyintheliteraturereview,theCACAassignmentusescasestudiestointroducepracticalexamplesandanalogouscontextsforanalysis,critique,andvicariouslearningandpracticeinprofessionaldecision-making.Ontheotherhand,theCAPassignmentreliesonactualsimulatedclassroompracticethatoffersstudentsampleopportunitiestocreatetheirownassessmentstodemonstrateappliedunderstandingofsoundprinciplesoftestconstruction.Ofthetwoapproaches,then,theCAPismoreinherentlyactiveinpractice.Thisconclusionisnotonlysupportedbyrelatedpedagogicalfindingsinotheracademicdisciplines(e.g.,Jeffries,2005),butitalsoupheldinthepresentstudybystudents’perceptionsoftheCAPassignmentasfosteringdemonstrablygreaterparticipationinlearningthantheCACAassignment(seeTable1).

Conclusion

Overall,theresultsofthepresentstudyvalidatethemeritsofcooperativelearninginECEassessmentinstructionthatemphasizessimulatedclassroompracticeasavehicleforpromotingwhatHmeloandGuzdial(1996)describedmorethantwodecadesagoasknowledge-building-for-action.Additionalresearch,involvingassignmentssimilarinnaturebutperhapsdifferentinscopetotheterm-lengthCAPassignment,mightshowifthese



findingsalsoapplytoassessmentinstructioninmiddle-gradesorsecondaryeducationprograms.Anotherpotentiallyinvitingdirectionforfutureresearchonpre-servicestudents’assessmentinstructionmightinvolveasystematicexaminationofthepedagogicalefficacyofahybridcooperative-learningapproachthatintegrateskeyelementsofboththeCAPandCACAassignmentsfromthecurrentinvestigation.Asaproposedexample,studentsmightbeginwithcarefullyplannedcaseanalysesasawaytoscaffoldlearningexperiences(seeHmelo&Guzdial,1996)inpreparationforlatersimulatedclassroompractice.

AbouttheAuthor

JosephA.Mayo,Ed.D.iscurrentlyaProfessorofPsychologyatGordonStateCollegeinBarnesville,Georgia,whohasbeenteachingandconductingclassroom-centeredresearchinhighereducationforoverthreedecades.Hisprimaryresearchinterestiseffectiveundergraduateteachingstrategieswithanemphasisonconstructivistclassroomapplications.Heistherecipientofbothstatewideandnationalawardsforhisongoingcontributionstothescholarshipofteachingandlearning.Email:[email protected]



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