The effects of cooperative learning
on content comprehension
and logical reasoning
in a second-semester
university computer science course

Abstract of Doctoral Thesis

Roger Louis Priebe, Ph.D.

The University of Texas at Austin, 1997
Supervisors: Lowell J. Bethel

Attrition rates in the computer science major are quite high. Many students who struggle through the first few courses ultimately drop out of the major when the coursework becomes too complex, mostly because of the increased amount of logic and abstraction that the coursework requires.

This study compared content comprehension, logical reasoning ability, and attendance in two groups of second-semester university computer science students. In a quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest, control-group design, the control group (n=25) received instruction in a traditional lecture/discussion learning environment three days a week for nine weeks. The treatment group (n=24) met in a cooperative learning environment for the same number of hours as the control group. Each group was given the pretest and posttest for the Burton Comprehension Instrument (BCI) and a pretest and posttest for the Propositional Logic Test (PLT) to measure levels of content comprehension and logical reasoning ability. A head-count was taken daily to determine if the cooperative learning environment might promote better attendance.

The null hypotheses investigated in this study were. (1) There will be no difference between the cooperative learning and control groups in concept comprehension. (2) There will be no difference between the cooperative learning and control groups in the improvement of logical thinking skills. (3) There will be no difference between the cooperative learning and control groups in attendance. The collected data were analyzed by the use of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) with Repeated Measures, and one-way ANOVA.

The results of the analysis revealed no difference between the cooperative learning and lecture groups in the areas of content comprehension or logical reasoning ability. However, the cooperative learning group did have significantly better attendance (p<.03).

Further research is recommended in the use of cooperative learning in university-level computer science courses. Of special interest is the use of cooperative learning tactics in large lecture-based courses and the effect of cooperative learning on gender equity in computer science.

Copyright (c) 1997 by Roger Louis Priebe. Presentation of this material by the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author, who has retained all copyrights in the works.