| Cooperative learning is one of the most focused areas in educational psychology. In brief, cooperative learning is working together to accomplish shared learning goals. The widespread use of cooperative learning is due to positive effects. A meta-analysis (Johnson, et al., 2000) showed that there were over 900 research studies validating the effectiveness of cooperative over competitive and individualistic efforts. Another research (Putmam, 1997) indicated that cooperation results in higher achievement, positive group relationship, greater self-esteem, positive attitude to subjects, learning, and school, skilled cooperative technique, spirit of altruism, etc.Although the evidence demonstrating the relative effectiveness of cooperative learning is quite strong, it is evident that cooperative learning does not always work. Simply placing individuals in groups and telling them to work together does not create effective cooperation. To structure groups do in fact work cooperatively requires an understanding of the components that make cooperation work. The essential components of cooperation are positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual and accountability, interpersonal and small group skills, and group processing. The first arid most important element is positive interdependence.Positive interdependence exists when one realizes that he is linked with others so that he can only succeed if he coordinates his effort with the effort of others to complete a task. That is they must dependent each other, sink or swim together. If there is no positive interdependence, there is no cooperation. Researchers indicated two major categories of positive interdependence: outcome interdependence and means interdependence. Outcome interdependence, which occurs when participants seek a desired outcome, includes goal interdependence and reward interdependence. Means interdependence involves the means or processes through which participants in a cooperative scenario accomplish goals or attain rewards. It includes resource interdependence, role interdependence and task interdependence.From the related researches, we can find that different interdependence resulted in different cognitive outcomes. There are disagreements among researchers as to whether rewards interdependence or means interdependence is more effective. One side represented by Slavin stated reward was necessary for cooperative learning. But methods do not use reward also result in positive outcomes.When examining the combining effect of different interdependence, Some researchers consider two sources of positive interdependence are powerful than one. Studies conducted by Mesch et al. (1986, 1988) and Lew et al.(1986a)indicated that although positive goal interdependence is sufficient to produce higher achievement and productivity than individual structure, the combination of goal and rewards interdependence is even more effective. Another study (Johnson et al., 1990) also showed that combination of positive goal and resource interdependence promotedhigher individual achievement and group productivity than any of the other conditions, indicating that two sources of positive interdependence are more powerful than one. Using undergraduate as subjects, O'donnell (1996) examined the combination effects of reward and means interdependence. However, the result showed that their effects were not additive.The purpose of this research is to explore, under cooperative conditions, the effects of reward and means interdependence on the cognitive outcomes in different processing levels. Therefore, we can testify the separate and combination effects of reward and means interdependence.This research involved two experiments, using 2X2 between subjects factorial design. The subjects were junior school students in grade twro. The first experiment compared the separate and interactive effects of reward and means interdependence on the cognitive outcomes. Reward interdependence was created by providing students with an explicit incentive fo... |
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