Wilson-Jones, L., & Caston, M. C. (2004). Cooperative Learning on Academic Achievement in Elementary African American Males. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 31(4), 280.

The aim of this study was to investigate how cooperative learning promoted the academic success of elementary African American males in grades 3 through 6 in a rural school in Mississippi. This study presents viewpoints based on these students’ perceptions of what influenced academic achievement. In this qualitative study data were collected using face-to-face interviews with 16 African-American males over a 3-month period during the 2002-2003 academic school year. All students were regular education students who ranged between the ages of 8 and 13 years old. The interviews focused on topics related to home and school experiences, and on how these two environments affected their academic success. Results of this study indicated that almost all of the students preferred to learn by working in groups, with limited interaction with teachers. Most expressed a preference for doing class projects and other activities that involved working in groups with other students. This method of learning appeared to be most conducive for academic achievement for this group of African American students.

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