Teaching problem solving through cooperative grouping. Part 1: Group versus individual problem solving
P. Heller, R. Keith, S. Anderson 1992 American Journal of Physics

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.


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Subject: Physics, Education Practices:Pedagogy, Physics:Education Practices
Resource Type: Pedagogic Resources:Description of Pedagogic Method, Overview/Summary, Pedagogic Resources, Research Results, Journal Article