Student teachers' preference for cooperative small group teaching

Sybe Bauke Jongeling

This study investigated the effect of active participation in small group learning activities on the student teachers' preference for cooperative small group teaching. The study was carried out in three main stages. First, a survey of 324 student teachers investigated their preferences for cooperative, competitive and individualised learning, and sought their opinions about small group teaching. Second, a causal model based on Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) 'Theory of Reasoned Action' was developed and tested. Finally, an attitude-change study was conducted to investigate the extent to which student teachers' preference for cooperative teaching may be modified through active participation in small group learning activities. For the attitude-change study an existing teacher education course was modified in method of presentation to make it suitable for small group learning, This stage of the study involved two phases, (i) a pilot study, using 50 student teachers, to test the effectiveness of the small group workshops, and (ii) a pre-test, post-test, control group study, with 113 students (83 experimental, 30 control). The causal relationships among the variables in the hypothesised model were also investigated at this stage. The results of this investigation indicate that: (i) student teachers generally have a strong preference for cooperative teaching, (ii) preferences for cooperative teaching can be made more positive through active participation in small group learning activities. (iii) initially, students' intention to participate in small group activities is strongly influenced by their perception of how their friends value small group work as well as their own preference for this mode of learning, and (iv) after they have experienced small group learning, student teachers' intention to use cooperative learning is influenced only by their own personal preference for this mode of learning. indicating that intentions can be influenced through active participation. The implications of the results of this study are discussed.

Student teachers' preference for cooperative small group teaching

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