Student Team Learning - Replication and Extension

Abstract

The use of student groups, a form of cooperative learning, has been promoted as a means to interpersonal skills development, improved content knowledge, and development of higher-level thinking ability. This paper presents the results of seven separate studies involving five courses. The studies compare exam performance under varying conditions involving Student Team Learning (STL) and group grade incentives. Results across the seven studies generally showed little or no effect of STL or group grade incentives on exam scores after controlling for group differences in GPA and initial exam score. Results from two nonperformance measures (end-of-semester student survey and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) showed inconsistent effects of STL and group grade incentives on student study and learning behaviors. We also present some suggestions for future research in the area of cooperative learning in accounting.

JEL Classification: M40, A20