Influence of different modalities of cooperative work forms on adopting declarative and procedural knowledge in students

The majority of papers on cooperative learning so far have discussed the variables of affective domain, and research within the cognitive domain, especially when it comes to different forms of knowledge, has not been conducted very much. Within the cognitive-developmental approach, Piaget's genetic-epistemological theory and Vygotsky's socio-cultural theory have the biggest importance for understanding cooperative learning and the topic we deal with. The influence of the three models of cooperative work in the instruction of Basic Science and Social Studies on the adoption of declarative and procedural knowledge of students is experimentally tested in the paper. The basis for formation of the applied models is grouping students within small homogenous, i.e. heterogeneous groups. The sample of respondents consisted of 259 students from 11 classes of the fourth grade of primary school. The experiment with parallel groups was applied. The results indicated that in students from experimental group the adoption of declarative and procedural knowledge in final measurement was better than in students from the control group, as well as that in final measurement there were no statistically significant differences with respect to adoption of the studied knowledge among the three subgroups in which different cooperative work models were applied. The obtained findings indicated that cooperative instruction yields good results when its theoretical assumptions are carefully operationalised, along with exhibiting patience and gradualism in working with students previously prepared for cooperation with peers