Study Examines Cooperative-Learning Results by Race

Outcomes for students varied by techniques used in their groups.

White and African-American students can perform dramatically differently in the classroom, depending on how their teachers structure their learning groups, a new study suggests.

Published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Cognition and Instruction , the study is the latest in a growing line of research to explore the role that students’ home cultures and experiences outside of school play in the classroom.

Studies also have long shown that students of all races—but African-American students, in particular—often perform better in cooperative-learning groups. What’s been less clear, said Eric A. Hurley, the lead author of the new study, was whether altering the structure of those groups in ways that dovetail with students’ cultures would lead to different outcomes...