Chapter 1: Learning, Teaching, and Educational Psychology

Ninth-grade teachers at Farmington Junior High School are interested in knowing whether using cooperative learning will increase student understanding of mathematics. They would like to conduct a research study to investigate whether this is truly the case.

1. Design an experimental study of cooperative learning and math understanding.

2. Design a correlational study of cooperative learning and math understanding.

3. Which type of study (experimental or correlational) is more appropriate to use in order to answer the teachers' research question? Why?

4. One teacher speculates that students who are more social than others are likely to have greater appreciation of the cooperative learning method. What research approach should be used to answer this question? Why?

5. How did your reflections on this case study prepare you to become more responsibly engaged in the world?