Effects of Training in the Use of Social and Cognitive Strategies: An Intervention Study in Secondary Mathematics in Co‐Operative Groups

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Abstract
This article reports on an intervention study into the effects of a training in the use of social and cognitive strategies on the learning outcomes of students in secondary mathematics education. Special attention is given to differential effects for high‐ and low‐achieving students. The focus on differential effects is derived from studies into learning in small co‐operative groups, and from the results of meta‐analyses into the effects of training in learning strategies. From these studies it can be concluded that in general such programs contribute to learning. However, it seems that low‐achieving students are unable to benefit from interventions of the kind investigated (i.e., co‐operative learning and training in learning strategies). The main question is whether it is possible to design an instructional program from which all students benefit, and from which the low‐achieving students profit more than their counterparts in the control‐program. In the present study three instructional programs for co‐operative learning were compared: (i) an experimental program with special instruction in the use of social strategies; (ii) an experimental program with special instruction in the use of cognitive strategies; and (iii) a control program without training in either cognitive or social strategies. The programs were identical with respect to mathematical content and general instructional settings (a combination of whole‐class instruction, working in co‐operative groups and individual work). The experiment addressed the following research question: what are the general and differential effects of a training in the use of social and cognitive strategies on the results of learning in secondary mathematics? The research was conducted in two schools for secondary education in a total of 21 classes, involving a total of 511 students. The design was a pretest‐posttest control group design, using two experimental groups and one control group. The data were analysed from a multi‐level perspective. The outcomes of the investigation clearly show the effects of the intervention. Teaching cognitive and social strategies has the expected, positive effects. In addition to this main effect, a compensatory effect for the low‐achieving students was found. The low‐achieving students in the experimental conditions outperformed their counterparts in the control group.