Measures of Writing Development in Learning Environments Using Cooperative Learning (CL) and Computer Mediated Communication (CMC)

The computer-mediated communication (CMC) learning environment focuses on children's interaction with the computers and their mastery of the technology as potential for learning. Peer interaction mainly in cooperative and collaborative learning environments (CL) focus on the contribution of peers to literacy and writing development. A study examined writing development and perception about writing of Arab and Jewish elementary school children in Israel within each of the above learning environments and within an integrated method of CL-CMC. Each of the three methods was carefully designed and implemented based on the theoretical model of the six "mirrors" of the classroom (Hertz-Lazarowitz, 1992). The central research question was to find the differential contribution of each of these learning environments in children's writing development. Research was conducted within 20 fifth and sixth grade classrooms in six schools, three Arab and three Jewish. Data were collected from 599 students (210 Jewish, 389 Arab) twice in the school year, and multivariate repeated measures analysis was conducted on this data. The CL-CMC learning environment created the larger gains with time in scores for the students. In the CL only, the scores decreased slightly; in the CMC no gains were found in all of the measures. The important finding is that CL-CMC equalized and enriched significantly Arabs and girls groups which usually gain less. In addition, the contribution of CL-CMC to the affective domains of children's writing is prominent. (Contains 4 tables, 5 figures, and 58 references.) (NKA) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Measures of Writing Development in Learning. Environments Using Cooperative Learning (CL) and Computer Mediated Communication (CMC).