Effects of Learning with Cooperative-Mastery Method on Elementary Students

The present study examined the effects of the cooperative-mastery method and each of its components on children's questioning behavior, creativity, and achievement. A 2 × 2 (Cooperative x Mastery) factorial study compared the cognitive performances of pupus who were trained to generate questions under cooperative learning (CL), mastery learning (ML), cooperative-mastery learning (CML), and a control treatment. Participants were 271 third and fourth-grade pupils. Intact classes within each grade level were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups. Results showed that CML and ML pupils scored higher on measures of higher order questioning skills and originality than did the CL group, who, in turn, scored higher than the control group. The educational implications of the study are discussed.