Effects of cooperative learning and individualized instruction on mainstreamed students

This study examines the effects on mainstreamed academically handicapped students of an instructional method, Team Assisted Individualization (TAI), that combined cooperative learning with individualized instruction in mathematics. Eighteen classes (grades 3–5) in six schools were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: TAI; individualized instruction (II) without cooperative teams; or control. The 117 academically handicapped students in these classes served as the subjects. The TAI and II methods both had significantly positive effects on the social acceptance of academically handicapped students by their nonhandicapped classmates, on their attitudes toward math, and on teacher ratings of their behavior. No achievement differences were found, although students as a whole (handicapped and nonhandicapped) in TAI and II classes achieved more than control students.