Cooperative Procedural Learning: Effects of Prompting and Pre- Versus Distributed Planning Activities

The Effects of Cooperative Learning Strategy Manipulations on the Enactment and Recall of a Medical Procedure Were Examined. Ninety-Eight Participants Completed the Two-Session Experiment. Four Experimental Conditions Were Used: (A) No-Strategy Individuals; (B) Prompting-Only Dyads, Who Did Not Plan Prior to Practice; (C) Distributed-Planning-With-Prompting Dyads, Who Intermittently Planned How to Perform Prior to Practice; and (D) Preplanning-With-Prompting Dyads, Who Planned the Entire Procedure Prior to Practice. during Testing, Participants Performed and Recalled the Procedure. Test Order Was Counterbalanced. Distributed Planners Performed Best on a Variety of Measures, Including Performance and Oral Communication of the Procedure and Attitude towards their Partners. No Between-Groups Differences Were Found for Written Recall. as Expected, Written Recall of the Procedure Was Enhanced by Prior Performance and Performance Was Enhanced by Prior Recall. Theoretical and Applied Implications of the Results Are Delineated and Discussed in Terms of Prevalent Theories of Skill Acquisition.