Cooperative Learning Management

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National Education Act (1999) stated that education shall be based on the principle that all learners are capable of learning and self-development, and are regarded as being most important. The teaching and learning process aim at enabling the learners to develop themselves at their own pace and to the best of their potentiality. Therefore, education management must be focused on the learners to develop the knowledge and the pursuit of self-knowledge and taking into account individual differences. Education in high school is a part of education management. The Ministry of Education (2012) mentioned that mathematics was the cornerstone of science, theories in sciences, engineering, medicine, computer science, economics, commerce and social sciences. …show more content…

Another cause of the problem is that students had different abilities in mathematics learning and students with low math ability had problems of understanding the content. Therefore, teaching and learning management is very difficult. Cooperative learning, small–group learning, offers opportunities for students to be successful in mathematics. The group interaction is designed to help all members learn the concepts and problem–solving strategies. Dividing students into small group with different levels, high, medium and low level, encourages students to help and learn each other (Davison, 1990). Cooperative learning is small group learning that allows students to work together to accomplish shared goals. Students discuss the content and concept with each other, help each other understand it, and encourage each other to work hard (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) is one of cooperative learning strategies developed by Slavin (1991). Some advantages of the STAD technique are giving feedback to students and teachers, challenging students from improvement scores, and using as curriculum materials in many subjects (Slavin, …show more content…

Shininger (2006) embarked on a study to determine the benefits of using the STAD technique in a middle school mathematics classroom. He found that Students Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) increases academic achievement and improves students' self-esteem as learners and their social interactions with their peers. Weaver (2006) investigated the benefits of cooperative learning in the mathematics classroom in secondary school. He found that cooperative learning is useful for learning mathematics in high school. The students who were exposed to cooperative learning seemed to have higher score on the tests and have positive attitude towards mathematics. In addition, Nampha (2011) studied students’ mathematics achievement after being provided cooperative learning with a criterion. She found that students’ mathematics achievement after being provided cooperative learning was higher than the 70 percent criterion. Zakaria et al. (2010) studied the effects of cooperative learning on students’ mathematics achievement and attitude towards mathematics. Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) technique was used in their research. They found that cooperative learning methods improve students’ achievement in mathematics and attitude towards mathematics. The findings above were also similar to the studies of Hossain & Tarmizi (2013), Tran (2013), and Zakaria et al.

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