In a 7th graders` cooperative science class, verbal behaviors were categorized and their relationships with the improvement of learning strategies used, motivation, and attitudes were investigated. Students` perceptions of cooperative learning were al...
In a 7th graders` cooperative science class, verbal behaviors were categorized and their relationships with the improvement of learning strategies used, motivation, and attitudes were investigated. Students` perceptions of cooperative learning were also studied by the achievement level. Verbal behaviors in cooperative learning were positively related with the improvement of monitoring and organization strategies used, self-efficacy, and attitude toward science class. In the analyses of students` perceptions of cooperative learning, medium-and low-achieving students had positive perceptions but some high-achieving students had negative ones. In the aspect of effectiveness of cooperative learning, especially, medium-and low-achieving students perceived that they could learn more and better due to verbal interactions with peers. To be contrary, high-achieving students perceived that they learned less and superficially.