Effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning on students' achievement in science class

Abstract

The effects on students' achievement and attitudes of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic instruction were compared in ninth-grade physical science classes. Forty-four students were included in the study. Students were randomly assigned to conditions stratifying for sex. The results indicate that cooperative learning experiences promoted greater mastery and retention of the material being taught as well as more positive attitudes toward the experience than did competitive and individualistic learning experiences.