Role of Anxiety on Graduate Cooperative Groups

Abstract This study investigated the extent to which cooperative group members' anxiety levels predict the quality of an article critique project, and the degree that heterogeneity of anxiety levels is related to this group outcome. Participants were 109 graduate students enrolled in a research methodology course. Groups (n = 32) formed the unit of analysis. Findings revealed that groups attaining the lowest scores on an article critique assignment tended to report the highest anxiety levels and to be the most heterogeneous with respect to research anxiety. ********** Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (1991a) define cooperative learning as "the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning" (p. III). The initial theory underlying cooperative learning posited by Slavin (1994) comprised two elements, positive interdependence and individual accountability. Johnson and Johnson, and their colleagues (Johnson et al., 1991a; Johnson, Johnson, & Smith, 1991b), recommended incorporating in cooperative learning groups the following five-component model to maximize performance outcomes: (a) positive interdependence, (b) face-to-face promotive interaction, (c) individual accountability, (d) social skills, and (e) group processing. Cooperative learning implemented at the primary and secondary levels of education for several subject areas has been found to promote higher performance levels in contrast to other instructional techniques (Johnson, Maruyama, Johnson, Nelson, & Skon, 1981; Slavin, 1994). Moreover, cooperative learning affects positively student attitudinal outcomes, such as elevating students' levels of self-esteem, self-efficacy, productivity, and motivation in relation to school and learning (Crooks, 1988; Johnson, Johnson, & Maryuma, 1983). Although cooperative learning techniques are utilized at the college level in graduate- level courses, evaluative studies have not been conducted at this level to the same degree that evaluation has occurred at the primary and secondary levels (Slavin, 1991). Further, there is limited empirical research evaluating the impact of these techniques on graduate students' instruction and learning outcomes (Onwuegbuzie, Collins, & Elbedour, 2003) and the degree that group characteristics affect students' performance in cooperative groups (Onwuegbuzie & Collins, 2002). Recent research evaluating the impact of cooperative learning on performance outcomes indicates that graduate student participation in cooperative learning activities results in an increase in the number of meaningful learning opportunities (Collins & Onwuegbuzie, 2001; Onwuegbuzie, 2001; Onwuegbuzie et al., 2003; Onwuegbuzie & DaRos-Voseles, 2001; Wilson, 1998). DaRos-Voseles, Onwuegbuzie, and Collins (2003) found that graduate students' levels of perfectionism play a role in determining cooperative group outcomes. However, more empirically-based studies are needed that examine the impact of group characteristics on performance outcomes (Onwuegbuzie & Collins. 2002). One feature of cooperative learning groups at the graduate level that was identified in Onwuegbuzie and DaRos-Voseles' (2001) qualitative inquiry was that some groups display higher levels of anxiety than do other groups. However, Onwuegbuzie and DaRos-Voscles were not able to investigate whether levels of anxiety experienced in each group predicted group outcomes. This is the goal of the present research. Specifically, the present investigation examined the role of research anxiety in predicting performance of cooperative learning groups in graduate-level research methodology courses. Research anxiety has been defined as an apprehensive state that impedes individuals' understanding and application of research-related activities associated with scientific methods, thereby impacting their confidence to develop and implement credible research (Kracker, 2002; Kracker & Wang, 2002; Onwuegbuzie, 1997a, 1997b, 1997c). …