Learning with Computers in Small Groups: Cognitive and Affective Outcomes

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the effects of Cooperative and Individualistic Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) programs on cognitive and affective variables in mathematics. Participants were 149 sixth grade students who studied in five classrooms. Within each classroom, pupils were stratified by previous achievement into triplets and then randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: using CAI in pairs ( N = 90), or individually ( N = 59). Results showed that students who used CAI for drill and practice in pairs performed better than students who used the same program individually. In addition, the study showed that the individualistic and cooperative CAI methods equally affected students' mathematical self-concept, but the C-CAI treatment alleviated math anxiety of low ability students more than did the I-CAI treatment.