The reward structure of a classroom refers to the rules under which students are reinforced for academic achievement. Various types of interpersonal reward structures--competitive, cooperative, and independent--are discussed. Studies of the effects of rewards on performance, attitudes and interpersonal relations are reviewed, emphasizing…

Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT) is a classroom program which addresses the problems of student values, student diversity, and basic skills. This article describes: how TGT works, its origins, research to date, implications for teachers and researchers, how TGT is used in the classroom, and new directions for TGT. (Author/SJL)

The consequences of using alternative measures of time and achievement are examined in an observational study of 18 elementary school classes. The extent to which choice of the same model linking time and learning for all students was implicated in the inconsistent results is examined. (Author/GK)

This book is about a set of alternatives to the traditional instructional system: cooperative learning methods. These are techniques that use cooperative task structures, in which students spend much of their class time working in 4-6 member heterogeneous groups. These learning methods also use cooperative incentive structures, in which students…

A review of the literature on cooperative, competitive, and independent reward structures and performance is presented, and conclusions are drawn which reformulate current beliefs about the interaction between reward structure and task structure. A brief theory of reward structure and performance is described, and conditions under which…

This report describes a series of ten research experiments over a four-year period on the Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT) instructional process. Chapter I explores reward and task structures used in traditional classrooms, examining their benefits and liabilities, and concludes by proposing alternatives that might provide students with more…

Team Assisted Individualization (TAI), a mathematics program combining individualized instruction, cooperative learning teams, and direct instruction, was compared to control methods in a 24-week experiment in 59 third- through fifth-grade classrooms. Significantly positive effects were found for both disabled and nondisabled students. (Author/BS)

Student Team Learning instructional techniques (Teams-Games-Tournament, Student Teams-Achievement Divisions, and Jigsaw II) have been extensively researched in six-to-twelve-week classroom experiments and found to have many positive effects. This study examines the effects of the techniques when they are used as the primary instructional method…

Component-building research on practical issues of instructional design can make a substantial contribution to research-based school improvement. Component-building research consists of rigorous within-school experiments that test various components of instruction for effects on student achievement. Research would address practical issues that…