Faculty of Education - Theses

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End date: 1998 × Start date: 1998 × Type: Masters Research thesis × Subject: Curriculum planning × Subject: Education ×

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    Cooperative learning : a viable teaching strategy for gifted students in heterogeneous classrooms?
    Wee, Wei-Wah Clare ( 1998)
    In recent years, there has been a strong movement towards educational restructuring and reform. Cooperative learning is one instructional strategy which many supporters see as central to the goals of the reform movement. While these cooperative learning methods hold promise for many students, the research is concentrated on the average and low-ability students. Its impact on the gifted students remains inadequately assessed. The problem escalates when many educators view cooperative learning as a panacea to address the difficulties brought about by educational reform, such as teaching a class with mixed academic abilities. In addition, cooperative learning has also been used to justify the move to reduce differentiated programmes for the gifted population. This study addresses the controversy regarding the use of cooperative learning with the gifted students in a heterogeneous classroom. This is done by comparing gifted students learning cooperatively with those learning individually in a typical regular classroom. Viability of the teaching method is determined by investigating which learning environment better caters to the learning as well as affective needs of the gifted and talented students with the use of achievement tests and attitude measures. 19 gifted students were randomly assigned to a cooperative and individualistic learning condition. The students participated in a six X 55-minute instructional course based on social studies. The cooperative learning model used in this study was the Jigsaw method. The results indicate that cooperative learning experiences promoted higher achievement and the use of higher-order thinking skills among the gifted students. The results also suggest that the gifted students in a heterogeneous class felt more supported and accepted by their peers and teachers in the cooperative condition. It is concluded that cooperative learning can be beneficial to gifted students in a heterogeneous classroom if steps are taken to ensure that the students are suitably challenged. Well-trained teachers, appropriate structuring of the groups and differentiating the curriculum to suit the needs of the gifted students are identified as some of the factors crucial to the success of the cooperative learning strategy.