CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction
This chapter begins with the background to the problem being researched and explains my practice setting before including a brief outline of the research problem. The
chapter progresses to describe the purpose of the study before moving on to highlight the significance of the research and what the research design involved. This is
followed by the research questions and my assumptions as a researcher. The chapter then provides a brief outline of limitations and a definition of the key concepts
around which this thesis is written, as well as how this research is significant within the field of education. Finally the scope of the research is presented before
finally looking at the transitions within the thesis itself.

1.2 Background of the Study
Education refers to a learning process that depends on instruction which should be delivered in a motivating and encouraging manner. Over the years there has been much
debate around the worth of traditional teacher-led methods and those of cooperative learning (Ball, 2013; Elliott, 2015; Skiba and Peterson, 2015; Taber 2015) with the
two learning strategies being placed at opposite ends of a continuum. According to Ball (2013) the central reason for this debate has been how to meet the needs of the
economy thereby favouring teacher-led strategies as opposed to what is best for the students. Moreover, the prevailing political position shapes how the students and
learning is perceived at any given time and place. Inspiring this research was Curriculum 2008 with its strong political focus on cooperative learning techniques, such
as teamwork which despite a shift of political agenda by then educational minister Gove 2010-2015 are still evident today (Curriculum for excellence, 2010; Global
Education Leaders Program, 2013; Chuong and Mead, 2014).

According to Kagan (2010), cooperative learning is “a teaching arrangement that refers to small, heterogeneous groups of students working together to achieve a common
goal students work together to learn and are responsible for the teammates’ learning as well as their own” (p.85). Various studies have shown the effectiveness
associated with cooperative learning among students in higher institutions (Johnson and Johnson, Stanne, 2000; Smith et al., 2005; Springer, Stanne and Donovan, 1997;
Terenzini et al., 2001). When compared to students in traditional learning programs where the lectures are instructor-centred, assignments are individualised, and
grading is awarded on competitive basis -students in cooperative learning programs appear to perform better with overall higher academic achievement, among other
benefits. On the other hand, instructors have less difficult time during grading of the students since the papers to be graded decreases three to four times.

There are various explanations as to why cooperative learning presents a better approach to teaching as it does. It is well established among cognitive psychologists
as well as effective teachers that knowledge is best acquired when the students are actively involved in doing something active rather than just watching and listening
(Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 2000; McKeachie,2002) as in the case of cooperative learning method. Cooperative learning provides an opportunity in which all students
have access to equal opportunity, friendly competition, cooperative spirit and active participation; and all students have the right to be thoughtful and creative
(Keramati, 2001; Lavasani & Khandan, 2011). Teachers have the responsibility to ensure that they understand difficult subjects by forming cooperative groups, while
students are encouraged to seek for assistance when need transpires (Lavasani & Khandan, 2011). As a result, the students have various ways of learning, including
self-discovery and with peer support to ensure a solid knowledge base that is built on a shared environment.

Like any other learning approaches, cooperative learning is associated with various issues of concern that need to be addressed. For instance, planning is among the
fundamental success factors required for achieving the appropriate learning outcome among the students. In this regard, the group activities require preparation ample
time since various considerations, including objectives and materials to learning instruction of the activity as well as management of the class during group work
execution must be addressed during the planning stage. This approach of teaching promotes students’ cooperative relationships in academic tasks while in classroom
environment. Cooperative learning model employs three strategies in managing learning aspects: structured tasks that engage students in doing activities
collaboratively as a group; the goals’ and reward structures build upon performance attributed to products; and other achievements displayed by individual student
during the process of learning (Slameto, 2013).

1.3 Research Problem
Cooperative learning model is widely used to deliver educational programs in classrooms. Recent studies on use of cooperative learning method in physical education
have shown effectiveness in various ways, including the integration of disabled students (Cervantes et al., 2007; Grenier,Dyson and Yeaton, 2005); promoting social and
interpersonal skills (Barba, 2010; Dunn and Wilson, 1991; Dyson, 2001; Fernández-Río, 2003; Goudas and Magotsiou, 2009; Polvi & Telama, 2000; Velázquez, 2004b);
promoting self-concept among students (Fernández-Río, 2003); promoting autonomy and teamwork ability (Velázquez-Buendía, 1996; Velázquez, 2004b, 2006); increased
fitness level (Grineski,1993); generating motivated motor exercise (Barba, 2010; Fernández-Río, 2003; Velázquez, 2006); improved classroom behavior (Barrett, 2000,
2005; Dunn & Wilson, 1 991 ; Velázquez & Fernández-Arranz, 2002); and increased level of motor performance (Bähr, 201 0; Barrett, 2000, 2005; Casey, 2010; Gröben,
2005). These findings provide adequate empirical evidence to support the learning outcomes achieved through cooperative learning process compared to competitive and
individualistic-based traditional learning approaches (Fernández-Río, 2003; Goudas & Magotsiou, 2009; Gröben, 2005).

Despite the foregoing benefits, cooperative learning approach has its own limitations. For instance, there is evidence to show that teachers who lack professional
development on the implementation of cooperative learning strategies face challenges on how to effectively employ the learning approach as well as teaching strategies
in classroom environment (Spooner, 2015). Other challenges include conflicts, peer pressure and reluctance, particularly in large groups (Slavin et al, 1985; Pigot,
Pantuzzo, and Clement, 1986). These may explain poor performance at Wilbur High, which has the history of meeting the government minimum floor standards for
attainment. This school is a culturally and academically diverse inner-city school in central England. It is larger than the average secondary school educating over
1,700 students aged 11-19 years old. The student body consists of 56% males and 44% females, with over 65% receiving free school meals. The percentage of students
entitled to additional funding from the government through pupil premium is above national average as is the number of students who are disabled or have special
educational needs. This study explores on how the researcher could facilitate student learning, using their perspective of cooperative learning strategies to enhance
their classroom experience as well as their knowledge.

1.5 Purpose of the Study
Traditionally, there is a political tension between the teachings of knowledge and that of the acquisition of skills. However the researcher believes education has
entered an era post Curriculum 2008 where in spite of moves to traditional knowledge 2010-2015, the curriculum still tries to negotiate both sides of the tension. The
level of success in this effort is debateable, but within the space between these two political stances, that of traditional knowledge transmission and cooperative
learning, teachers have the scope to interpret the curriculum and to implement it in such a way as to incorporate cooperative learning strategies. This study aims to
inhabit that space.

The core purpose of this study is to resolve the problem of how to implement cooperative learning within the Advanced Subsidary (AS) Psychology unit of Social
Influence as it is experienced in the researcher’s classroom. The secondary purpose would be to contribute knowledge towards the literature that already exists around
this topic of cooperative learning and so, to aid the construction of solutions to wider problems around cooperative learning. In solving my problem Kagan’s (1994,
2010) construct of cooperative learning as a process will be drawn on to structure the students learning experiences. This study further develops Kagan’s model of
learning by asking students to design the cooperative learning activities themselves, an action that I have found to be absent from the literature examined within this
thesis. Another gap within the research is the consideration of student and staffs experiences of cooperative learning within the past and present context in which
they are situated. Whilst the research considered in this thesis focuses on a discrete period of time during which the study was conducted this study asks
participants to reflect on their past experiences and their perceptions on external-to-the-lesson influences as well as cooperative learning now within their
classroom. Furthermore this study is set in a secondary school in the United Kingdom a context that is often overlooked within the academic literature on cooperative
learning as most of the literature is set in the United States, Canada against a higher education background.

1.6 Significance of the Research
Dedicated academics have been studying education, specifically learning theories, for decades, creating a comprehensive body of work to which the researcher hopes, in
some small way, to contribute. While several outstanding influential pieces of work have been published in terms of how students experience different learning theories
and their associated methods in relation to other areas of education, a space exists for more exploration of how these aspects of education are experienced by the
students themselves within Advanced Level (A Level) Psychology.

The research comprises a significant endeavour in promoting cooperative learning that is of benefit to the students in my own classroom, as I am contributing to my
personal area of interest and to the field of knowledge on teaching Psychology to post-16 students. My research will also be beneficial to other educators for
implementing cooperative learning within their classrooms, particularly at a secondary school and sixth form level. Furthermore it will enable teachers to see that
despite political intervention into what happens in the classroom and what should be taught there is still room for the students, and the teacher, to exercise their
choice of learning experiences. By understanding and discussing the perceptions and experiences of the student participants herein, this study will help to promote
student and staff inclusion within the evaluation and implementation of cooperative learning and learning and teaching methods. This research could also be utilised by
students to assist them in making the most of their learning opportunities. Moreover the study will provide current data on cooperative learning process that could
inform policy makers in developing their awareness of the contribution to educational policy that can be made by students as well as by teachers.

1.7 Research Design
The researcher investigated the problem of how students designed teamwork activities as part of the Social Influence unit of their AS / Year 1 Psychology course. The
researcher was assisted by four staff members and six students aged between 16-17 years old who volunteered to participate. This student population was chosen for
participation because they were then A2 / Year 2 students and had no examination demands to meet for the Social Influence unit, and because they had been at the host
school, Wilbur High, since 11 years old. By gaining an understanding of their experiences of cooperative learning at the school and how they perceived the use of these
activities in practice, I hoped to achieve insights that would improve my own teaching and potentially that of a wider audience.

This study used an action research methodology to examine my own secondary school context of Wilbur High in order to improve my own practice as well as my students’
learning experience. To establish the research framework, action research can be seen as an investigation undertaken by a practitioner into their own practice in order
to solve a difficulty that they have identified. Action research answers my research question because it focuses on my own practice and the problem that I have around
the implementation of cooperative learning. This research framework enhances the study through being in a real-world setting, my classroom and involving real A-Level
students and actual teachers working in a secondary school as opposed to being an experiment or purely theoretical study.

Embracing the social constructivism epistemology, I adopted information gathering methods of semi-structured interviews, diaries, focus group interviews and an
intervention. Qualitative methods were chosen to enhance the visibility of the students’ perceptions and experiences of learning. In turn enabling an exploration of
students cognitive thought processes in relation to cooperative learning, specifically the vehicle of teamwork. Social Constructivism is understood as a school of
thought that adheres to a social view of situations and views learning as a collective endeavour. In relation to this study, social constructivism is perceived as
meaning that learning occurs when an individual interacts with others around information to further develop their own and others knowledge.

The research was conducted with the sixth form at Wilbur High and carried out over a period of three terms. Students and staff participants were purposively sampled
and all volunteered to participate in the study. The initial cycle of the study involved interview sessions with the participants using a semi-structured interview
schedule in order to create a profile of each participant and their experiences of cooperative learning and to address my research question: To what extent is
cooperative learning part of the students’ learning experience at Wilbur High? The interviews results were recorded using a Dictaphone and transcribed before being
coded for evidence of the staff and students’ experiences and perceptions of cooperative learning.

The next research cycle saw students partake in an intervention method. The intervention method involved the students looking at the Social Influence AS Psychology
unit and designing teamwork activities for each of the sub-sections within this unit. The aim of the intervention method was to answer the research questions: What are
students’ experiences and perceptions of cooperative learning as part of A-Level Psychology classes? In what ways do students understand and create opportunities for
cooperative learning processes within the Social Influence unit of A-Level Psychology? As the researcher, i remained in the room with them but did not communicate with
students after the initial recapping of ethical guidelines. My positioning was to indirectly observe the student participants interactions to gain insight into how
they were constructing the lesson designs. Following the intervention method students attended a semi-structured focus group interview and individually revisited their
original student profiles to note any developments in relation to their perceptions of both themselves and teamwork. During the whole research period the students and
i maintained a diary of our perceptions and actions.
The inclusion of staff participants during the first cycle of interviews was influenced by my final research question: To what extent is cooperative learning part of
the students’ learning experience at Wilbur High? The inclusion of staff participants provided an opportunity to consider the broader narrative of cooperative learning
at Wilbur High that contextualises this research. The staff perspective creates a reflexive framework in which to situate the experiences of students and researcher on
teamwork. This framework enhances the research question as it provides additional information on how Wilbur High embraces cooperative learning and how cooperative
learning is understood within the classroom; this further grounds the research in reality and enhances the trustworthiness of the information gathered.

1.8 Research Questions
The research questions were:
a) What are students’ experiences and perceptions of cooperative learning as part of A-Level Psychology classes?
b) In what ways do students understand and create opportunities for cooperative learning processes within the Social Influence unit of A-Level Psychology?
c) To what extent is cooperative learning part of the students’ learning experience at Wilbur High?

1.9 Main Assumptions
All research has underpinning assumptions embedded within it, ranging from the topics to study and the interview questions, to how the study is designed and the
findings interpreted. My main assumption is that cooperative learning is a positive learning strategy, and that the vehicle of teamwork allows students to learn skills
as well as knowledge simultaneously. Additionally, the researcher believes that students are able to contribute to my own learning and teaching practice within the
classroom in a constructive manner. As the researcher adheres to a social constructivist learning theory, these speculative assumptions are something that the
researcher accepts and take particular effort to make clear to the reader. The reader is then able to reach an informed conclusion as to the validity of the
researcher’s data. Furthermore, the researcher assumes the ontology underpinning my study to be one of multiple realities where students and staff will have different
experiences and perceptions of cooperative learning.

1.10 Limitations
Due to the rapid pace of developments in education and educational research, this study is not able to provide a fully comprehensive vision of its field of enquiry.
The research results are confined to a small sample size, the responses of six students and four teachers at Wilbur High. Its scope is likewise limited to the design
of cooperative learning through the vehicle of teamwork in the AS / Year 1 Psychology unit of Social Influence, with the primary aim of improving implementation in my
classroom. This unit was chosen for the focus of this research due to its popularity with students, who found it the most enjoyable out of the AS / Year 1 unit
studied, in order to encourage students to volunteer to participate in the study. This popularity was ascertained through conversations with the students and anecdotal
evidence from their review of the AS course. Further research could address the scope of my study and the limitations of the research by conducting the study with a
mainstream, mixed ability and gender, lower-school class, aged 11-16 years old in a different subject.

1.11 Key Concepts
Cooperative learning is generally seen as a process that organises the learning environment so that students work together in a cognitive and social learning
experience (Kirschner et al: Morgan et al, 2014).
Learning, as adopted within this research and compatible with the wider frameworks of cooperative learning and social constructivism, “consists of a body of principles
advocated by psychologists and educationalists to explain how students acquire skills, knowledge and the thinking process to improve and accelerate their learning”
(Spooner, 2015 p.2).
Learning Theories “… are conceptual frameworks that describe how information is absorbed, processed and retained during the learning procedure” (Spooner, 2015, p.1).
Personalised Learning within Department for Education and Skills (DfES, 2007) documentation is seen as a form of learning that enables the individual students’ needs
to be met both by the school and other external agencies, and a way in which students can be involved in taking responsibility for their own intellectual development.
Social Constructivism can be defined as involving an individual’s learning occurring due to their interaction within a group.
Teamwork is defined by Lachman and Pawlina (2015) as the ability of people to work together using clear communication and the ability to meet their peers’ requirements
in order to complete an activity and to build confidence among the group.

1.11.1 Transition of the Thesis.
This thesis is presented in six self-contained chapters. Chapter One provides the general introduction to the entire study. This is followed with Chapter, which deals
with the literature review and elaborate on this review by considering educational policies. Chapter Three presents the methodological framework in which in which this
research was positioned, therefore leading into an outline of the methods utilised by this study. Chapter Four presents research findings, analysis and interpretation
before moving onto discussion, limitations and recommendations for further research in Chapter Five. Finally, Chapter Six provides conclusion of the research findings
and discussion. Overall, the work described in these following chapters attempts to understand the perceptions and experiences of cooperative learning in order to
improve practice within the classroom.
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