Effects of within-class ability grouping on social interaction, achievement and motivation

Saleh, Mohammad and Lazonder, Ard W. and Jong de, Ton (2005) Effects of within-class ability grouping on social interaction, achievement and motivation. Instructional Science, 33 (2). pp. 105-119. ISSN 0020-4277

PDF
Restricted to UT campus only: Request a copy
208Kb

Abstract:	This study examined how grouping arrangements affect students achievement, social interaction, and motivation. Students of high, average and low ability were randomly assigned to homogeneous or heterogeneous ability groups. All groups attended the same plant biology course. The main results indicate that low-ability students achieve more and are more motivated to learn in heterogeneous groups. Average-ability students perform better in homogeneous groups whereas high-ability students show equally strong learning outcomes in homogeneous and heterogeneous groups. Results on social interaction indicate that heterogeneous groups produce higher proportions of individual elaborations, whereas homogeneous groups use relatively more collaborative elaborations. In the discussion, these differences in social interaction are used to explain the differential effects of grouping arrangements on achievement scores. Practical implications are discussed and topics for further research are advanced.
Item Type:	Article
Copyright:	© 2005 Springer
Faculty:	Behavioural Sciences (BS)
Research Group:	Instructional Technology (IST)
Link to this item:	http://purl.utwente.nl/publications/53714
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11251-004-6405-z
Export this item as:	BibTeX EndNote HTML Citation Reference Manager

Show download statistics for this publication

Repository Staff Only: item control page

Metis ID: 226885