An analysis of experience of applying "cooperative learning" in higher education

Subject Areas : Research in Curriculum Planning

Azimehsadat Khakbaz ¹ ( Associate Professor, Department of Educational Sciences, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran )

Received: 2016-01-11 Accepted : 2016-10-10 Published : 2017-11-22

Keywords: Higher Education, action research, Cooperative learning, collaborative learning,

Abstract :

This research studied and analyzed an experience of applying cooperative learning in Iranian higher education. To this aim, a longitude study was done through action research in two academic semesters in one of the universities in educational science discipline. Participants of this research were bachelor students in educational science discipline. Data of this research were gathered by open and close response questionnaires, individual and group interviews, cooperative observation of classes and autobiographies of the professor. Quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed by coding and making themes. Integrating quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed two themes in this experience: "process" and "outcome". Process itself composed of subthemes named "grouping", "method", "assignments", "relations and interactions", "responsibility" and "get serious process of cooperative learning". Outcome also includes subthemes named "skills" and "attitudes". Finally, some recommendations were extracted from data analysis to betterment the practice upon which another improved model was obtained for future that provides the preparations of another research.

References:

Brown Fiechtner, S., & Actis Davis, E. (1992). Why some groups fail: A survey of students' experiences with learning groups. In A. S. Goodsell, & Others, Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education (pp. 86-100). National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (NCTLA).

Davidson, N. (1995). International perspectivesS on cooperative and collaborative learning: An overview. International Journal of Educational Research, 23(3), 197-200.

Hamer, L. O., & O’Keefe, R. D. (2013). Achieving change in students’ attitudes toward group projects by teaching group skills. Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 13(2), 25-33.

Herrmann, K. J. (2013). The impact of cooperative learning on student engagement: Results from an intervention. Active Learning in Higher Education, 14(3), 175-187.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2009). An educational psychology success story: Social interdependence theory and cooperative learning. Educational Researcher, 37(5), 365–79.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. (2007). The state of cooperative learning in postsecondary and professional settings. Educational Psychology Review, 19(1), 15-29.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Smith, K. A. (1991). Cooperative learning: Increasing college faculty instructional productivity. Washington, DC: George Washington University.

Jones, K. A., & Jones, J. L. (2008). Making cooperative learning work in the college classroom: An application of the ‘Five Pillars’ of cooperative learning to post-secondary instruction. The Journal of Effective Teaching, 8(2), 61-76.

Keramati, E., Mahram, B., Shabani Varaki, B., & Mehrmohammadi, M. (2013). Game of Knowledge: Grounded theory of hidden curricula in Iranian higher education. Journal of Higher Education Curriculum, 4 (7), 85-109. [Persian]

Leigh Smith, B., & MacGregor, J. T. (1992). What is collaborative learning? In A. S. Goodsell, & Others, Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education (pp. 10-30). National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (NCTLA).

MacGregor, J. (1992). Collaborative learning: Reframing the classroom. In A. S. Goodsell, & Others, Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education (pp. 51-56). National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (NCTLA).

Naykki, P., Jarvela, S., Kirschner, P. A., & Jarvenoja, H. (2014). Socio-emotional conflict in collaborative learning—A process-oriented case study in a higher education context. International Journal of Educational Research, 68, 1-14.

Oxford, R. L. (1997). Cooperative learning, collaborative learning, and interaction: Three communicative strands in the language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 81(4), 443-456.

Smith, K. A., Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1992). Cooperative Learning and Positive Chang. in Higher EducationKarl. In A. S. Goodsell, & Others, Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education (pp. 46-56). National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (NCTLA).

Stockdale, S. L., & Williams, R. L. (2004). Cooperative learning groups at the college level: Differential effects on high, average, and low exam performers. Journal of Behavioral Education, 13(1), 37-50.

Sweet, M., & Svinicki, M. (2007). Why a special issue on collaborative learning in postsecondary and professional settings? Educational Psychology Review, 19, 13-14.