Effects of cooperative learning modes on reading comprehension: general trends and comparative analysis between students with and without vision impairment

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is essential to consider the impact of the cooperative learning (CL) mode when evaluating the effect of cooperative reading between students with and without vision impairment (VI) in inclusive classrooms. This research employs a within-subject two-factor experimental design to investigate the influence of the CL mode on the reading comprehension performance and cooperation level of students with and without VI, considering two text types. The independent variables are CL modes (positive interdependence <PI> vs. individual accountability <IA>) and text types (narrative vs. expository). Reading comprehension performance is the outcome-oriented variable, and cooperation level (including knowledge construction, social interaction, and content contribution) is the process-oriented variable. Findings reveal challenges for VI and sighted upper-grade elementary students in reaching higher levels of knowledge construction during cooperative reading tasks. The PI mode demonstrates higher levels of knowledge construction for narrative texts, while the IA mode shows superior content contribution for expository texts. Notably, VI students achieve lower reading comprehension scores than sighted students in the IA mode and face disadvantages in knowledge construction and content contribution across different reading comprehension scenarios. Building upon these findings, this study put forward suggestions to improve reading comprehension and cooperative participation for VI students.