Cooperative Learning in the Secondary Mathematics Classroom

Abstract The effects of cooperative learning on student achievement and attitudes in a secondary mathematics classroom were investigated. In this quasi-experimental design, 2 precalculus courses were compared. Students in 1 class studied the material in cooperative learning groups; students in the 2nd class studied the material independently. Three chapter tests were used to measure student achievement, and a questionnaire was administered to the treatment group members after the study was completed to assess their attitudes toward the cooperative learning procedure. The results obtained from a repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (with pretest scores as the covariate) showed a significant Group × Time interaction. Students in the cooperative learning group had increasingly higher test scores than students in the comparison group and significantly outscored the comparison group on the 3rd chapter test. Survey results revealed primarily favorable responses toward the cooperative learning pro...

[1]  J. Dewey.  Experience and Education , 1938 .

[2]  Keith J. Edwards,et al.  Games and Teams , 1972 .

[3]  David W. Johnson,et al.  Instructional Goal Structure: Cooperative, Competitive, or Individualistic , 1974 .

[4]  David W. Johnson,et al.  The Effects of Cooperative and Individualized Instruction on Student Attitudes and Achievement , 1978 .

[5]  R. Slavin.  Synthesis of Research on Cooperative Learning. , 1981 .

[6]  David W. Johnson,et al.  Effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures on achievement: A meta-analysis. , 1981 .

[7]  Robert E. Slavin,et al.  Effects of Cooperative Learning On the Social Acceptance of Mainstreamed Academically Handicapped Students , 1983 .

[8]  Noreen M. Webb,et al.  Group Interaction and Achievement in Small Groups: Stability Over Time , 1983 .

[9]  Robert E. Slavin,et al.  Mastery Learning and Student Teams: A Factorial Experiment in Urban General Mathematics Classes , 1984 .

[10]  Neil Davidson.  Small-Group Learning and Teaching in Mathematics , 1985 .

[11]  Robert E. Slavin,et al.  Learning to cooperate, cooperating to learn , 1985 .

[12]  David W. Johnson,et al.  The Internal Dynamics of Cooperative Learning Groups , 1985 .

[13]  Robert E. Slavin,et al.  Effects of Whole Class, Ability Grouped, and Individualized Instruction on Mathematics Achievement , 1985 .

[14]  Lawrence W. Sherman,et al.  Mathematics Achievement in Cooperative versus Individualistic Goal-Structured High School Classrooms , 1986 .

[15]  Spreadsheets Answer "What If...?. , 1987 .

[16]  K. Wood.  Fostering Cooperative Learning in Middle and Secondary Level Classrooms. , 1987 .

[17]  Howard J. Doueck,et al.  Changing Teaching Practices in Mainstream Classrooms to Improve Bonding and Behavior of Low Achievers , 1988 .

[18]  Robert E. Slavin,et al.  Cooperative Learning and Student Achievement , 1988 .

[19]  James H. Block,et al.  Recognizing the Connections between Thinking Skills and Mastery Learning. , 1990 .

[20]  R. Slavin.  Research on Cooperative Learning: Consensus and Controversy. , 1990 .

[21]  T. Good.  Using Work-Groups in Mathematics Instruction. , 1990 .

[22]  E. Cohen,et al.  Teacher as supervisor of complex technology , 1990 .

[23]  Robert J. Stevens,et al.  When Cooperative Learning Improves the Achievement of Students with Mild Disabilities: A Response to Tateyama-Sniezek , 1990, Exceptional children.

[24]  Diana Lambdin Kroll,et al.  An Overview of Research on Cooperative Learning Related to Mathematics. , 1991 .

[25]  Z. Mevarech.  Learning Mathematics in Different Mastery Environments , 1991 .

[26]  P. E. Duren,et al.  The Effects of Cooperative Group Work versus Independent Practice on the Learning of Some Problem-Solving Strategies. , 1992 .

[27]  Catherine M. Mulryan.  Student Passivity During Cooperative Small Groups in Mathematics , 1992 .

[28]  Leonard H. King.  High and Low Achievers' Perceptions and Cooperative Learning in Two Small Groups , 1993, The Elementary School Journal.

[29]  Catherine M. Mulryan.  Perceptions of Intermediate Students' Cooperative Small-Group Work in Mathematics , 1994 .

[30]  N. Webb,et al.  Promoting Helping Behavior in Cooperative Small Groups in Middle School Mathematics , 1994 .

[31]  Amalya Nattiv.  Helping Behaviors and Math Achievement Gain of Students Using Cooperative Learning , 1994, The Elementary School Journal.

[32]  David W. Johnson.  The New Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom and School , 1994 .

[33]  Ronald W. Henderson,et al.  Effects of Thematically Integrated Mathematics Instruction on Students of Mexican Descent , 1995 .

[34]  John A. Ross.  Effects of Feedback on Student Behavior in Cooperative Learning Groups in a Grade 7 Math Class , 1995, The Elementary School Journal.

[35]  Catherine M. Mulryan.  Fifth and Sixth Graders' Involvement and Participation in Cooperative Small Groups in Mathematics , 1995, The Elementary School Journal.

[36]  Z. Mevarech,et al.  Improve: A Multidimensional Method For Teaching Mathematics in Heterogeneous Classrooms , 1997 .

[37]  Thomas A. Brush,et al.  The effects on student achievement and attitudes when using integrated learning systems with cooperative pairs , 1997 .

[38]  Roza Leikin,et al.  Facilitating Student Interactions in Mathematics in a Cooperative Learning Setting. , 1997 .

[39]  E. Aronson,et al.  The Jigsaw Classroom: Building Cooperation in the Classroom , 1997 .

[40]  Liora Linchevski,et al.  Tell me with whom you're learning, and I'll tell you how much you've learned: Mixed-ability versus same-ability grouping in mathematics , 1998 .