Description:
This work investigates effects of strategy instruction method applied within cooperative groups on the student academic achievement and retention level. Instructional methods specifically contain conventional labwork techniques applied to the control group students and strategy instruction within cooperative groups that is applied to the experimental group. In the work, pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design with nonequivalent control group was used and the research was carried out on two separate groups consisting of first grade undergraduate students (n=39). Data of the work was collected by means of Introductory Physics Laboratory Achievement Test (IPLAT). The entire work covers some selected Electricity and Magnetism topics. During the application, the control group students carried out close ended experiments while the strategy instruction group students carried out a semi open ended experiments with 12 strategic steps. The evaluation of the research indicates that strategy instruction increases student academic achievement and it has also positive effects on the retention level. However no statistically meaningful difference between control and experimental group students concerning academic achievement and retention level is detected