Using cooperative learning strategies to increase students’ participation in Social Studies among

grade 9 students Deandra Moffatt

20181404

The Mico University College

Research Report

Practicum Site: Ocho Rios High School

Supervisor: Ms. Nicola Weir

May 20, 2022

 Contents
Background of the Problem.................................................................................................3
Description of Practicum setting.....................................................................................3
Student teacher assigned position....................................................................................5
Issue/concern...................................................................................................................5
Research questions...........................................................................................................6
Operational definitions of terms and concepts................................................................7
Review of Literature............................................................................................................8
Introduction......................................................................................................................8
Participation.....................................................................................................................8
Co-operative Learning Strategies..................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................13
Methodology......................................................................................................................14
Needs Assessment Process............................................................................................14
Research Design and Sampling Technique...................................................................15
Participants....................................................................................................................15
Needs Assessment Finding................................................................................................17
Conclusion and Recommendations....................................................................................18
References..........................................................................................................................19
 Background of the Problem

We can all remember a time in class when we hoped the teacher or professor wouldn’t

call on us. Our fear of saying the wrong thing and sounding silly in front of our classmates is a

strong deterrent from raising our hands and volunteering to speak in front of others. In fact, when

given the choice most students choose to fly under the radar and avoid the embarrassment of

speaking in front of their peers. This is unfortunate because class participation, while sometimes

scary, is necessary for getting the most out of an education (Schritter,T, n.d). Participation

actively involves students in the subject matter, encourages them to develop concepts, and

requires them to back up their views with evidence.

In the classroom, student engagement is critical; if students do not participate, the

instructor will have no way of knowing where his or her students' thinking levels are or whether

they understand the idea being taught. This topic arose from a series of observations that

culminated in the completion of a needs assessment aimed at gathering information on the issue

of student participation in Social Studies class. Teachers can use class participation as a great

learning tool. You can learn what kids don't comprehend by asking them questions, and then

alter your instructions accordingly." It's as if the teachers are teaching themselves if students

don't participate in class. The problem will be explained in further detail later in the document.

Description of Practicum setting

The Ocho Rios High school is located on Milford Road, Ocho Rios. The Ocho Rios

high school is a Diocese of the Cayman Islands and the school was established by the Anglican

church and the Government of Jamaica in September of 1969 with just 20 trained teachers and

846 students. It was then upgraded to a high school in 1988.Ocho Rios high school is located in a
commercial and residential community of Ocho Rios. Alongside the Principal there are three

Vice Principals. One Vice-Principal works on the morning shift, and the other works on the

afternoon shift and the third Vice Principal (Senior VP) is for academics.

There are over 106 teachers inclusive of guidance counsellors at this institution that

works on both shifts in total. The school operates on a shift system; the morning shift begins at

6:50 am and ends at 11:50am with a half hour lunch time between 9:20am and 9:50am. The

evening shift commences at 11:50am and ends at 4:50pm with lunch break for half an hour

between 2:20pm and 2:50pm. The school has over twenty-seven (27) active clubs and societies

such as 4H club, math club, dance club, I.S.C.F among many others. This school is very active in

sports; it takes part in regional track meets as well as the Boys and Girls Championship and

netball competitions and football leagues. The school also consist of an active past student

association which gives scholarships to students and gifts such as laptops among other

necessities for school.

At this school there are a mixture of building types, we have one story, two stories and

three stories concreted as well as board buildings and a container where a six-form classroom is

located and the special education department. The school consist of a school library that gives

students access to a wide range of books and but the library lacks computers or up to date

computers for students to carry out their researches. The school also consist of a Social Studies

room that caters to the social sciences students. There are maps, charts and statues depicting

Gods, Taino huts, etc. The Social studies room lack many resources such as a smartboard,

computers, projectors, and a proper WIFI connection. The school consist of labs such as

Chemistry lab, Physics lab and three computer labs. The Ocho Rios High school offers a wide

variety of subjects, such as Mathematics, English Language, Social Studies, Accounts, Principle
of Business, Mechanical engineer, Carpentry, Electrical Engineering, Cosmetology, welding,

History, Chemistry, Physics and the list goes on. The school also has a six form programs that

offers, Accounts, Add maths, Pure maths, Biology, Management of Business, logistics,

Entrepreneurship among other subjects. Students are allowed to do up to 14 CSEC subjects a

year for CXC and over the years the school have been receiving high passes in CXC.

Student teacher assigned position

To complete my teaching practice experience during my final semester at the Ocho Rios

high school I was appointed as a Social Studies teacher on the Plaid Shift. I was assigned six (6)

classes; three (3) grade 7 classes (7 Davis, 7 Ricketts and 7 Burrel) and also three (3) grade 9

classes (9 Taylor, 9 L. Brown, and 9 Johnson). My main responsibilities as a Social Studies

teacher at this institution is to plan and execute my lessons, assign assignments and also to mark

these graded pieces and to give students feedbacks for them to make improvements. Being

assigned to these classes, I was able to observe many issues that were affecting my students and

based on my observations I was able to select a grade 9 class to complete my research on an

issue that has been affecting this specific class, 9 Taylor. These students were selected because

of their lack of participation during class which has become a serious issue hence I decided to

use this class to complete my research by establishing a solution which will increase the

student’s participation in the class hopefully.

Issue/concern

The Ocho Rios high school offers the subject Social Studies from grade 7-11 which this

subject is compulsory for all grades. The issue that will be assess in this needs assessment plan is

the grade 9 students’ lack of participation in their Social Studies classes. This issue has been
brought to the researchers’ attention since the start of the teaching practice experience at the

Ocho Rios High school which started online. While observing the grade 9 Social Studies classes

that the researcher is assigned to, it was brought to the researchers’ attention that the students

lack interest in the subject which causes the majority not wanting to participate in the classroom.

The researcher has also noticed that the students have a don’t care attitude towards the subject

and this was evident when assignments were given and only a small portion of the classes

submitted their assignments.

The researcher also observed that during the online classes the use of technology was

incorporated in the lessons and the students still lacked interest in the classes. The participation

level was very low and even when the teacher was encouraging the students to participate it was

still low. After the resumption of face-to-face school, the researcher thought that the issue would

have changed but it was still the same. When the students were asked in their classes why do

they not participate in class, majority of the responses that the researcher received from the

students was that, “they find the subject to be difficult” or “they’re not interested”. After hearing

these responses from the students, as an educator I knew it was my duty to ensure that by the end

of my teaching practice experience, I want to see changes in the student’s participation in the

classroom. As an educator, it is my duty to ensure that my students reach their fullest potential

and stay motivated and positive throughout their educational journey at the Ocho Rios High

School.

Research questions

At the end of this research, it is hoped that these questions will be answered:

1. What are the reasons student refuse to participate in the Social Studies classroom?
 2. What solutions could be used to increase students’ participation during their Social

Studies class?

Operational definitions of terms and concepts

The key terms/concepts within this research are:

Social Studies: According to Alberta Education, Social studies is the study of people in relation

to each other and to their world. It is an issue- focused and inquiry-based interdisciplinary

subject that draws upon history, geography, ecology, economics, law, philosophy, political

science and other social science disciplines.

Cooperative learning strategy: According to study.com, cooperative learning strategy is a

teaching method where students of mixed levels of ability are arranged into groups and rewarded

according to the group’s success, rather than the success of an individual member.

Participation: This refers to the interactivity of teaching strategies seen as conducive to

students’ motivation but without serious consequences for their influence. Similarly,

participation sometimes simply means taking part in a class discussion (Simovska, 2007).

Increase: increase indicates growth of something that gets bigger in number or volume or it

means the act of growing or gaining more (Vocabulary.com, n.d).

 Review of Literature

Introduction

Since post-remote learning, it is evident that students need to be slowly re-introduced to

the daily operation and running of the classroom in the physical setting. For there to be a smooth

flow in the teaching and learning of any subject, a list of factors must be present in the learning

environment and must act in cohesion. One such factor is participation of students or learners,

which may arguable be the most important one. This is so because the teaching and learning

experience is geared towards befitting the learners. This literature review will seek to define the

key terms related to this study as well as to identify the factors that prevent students from

participating in class, and what can be done to improve it. Lastly, as it relates to cooperative

learning, an in-depth analysis will be done on co-operative learning strategies to see how

effective it could be when implemented in a classroom setting.

Rob Thomas once said, “You cannot fail without your consent and you cannot succeed

without your participation”. This quote resonates with the main idea that this section of the

review of literature will highlight. While it is good for students to attend classes, simply showing

up is not enough. If students expect to do well, as well as to get real time feedback from teachers,

they must be active learners and participate in the classroom. This sentiment is also echoed by

Wright (2014), who went on to state that in classrooms where students are expected to develop

and refine their ability to engage with the literature being studied while also participating in

conversations with their peers, participation is key in ensuring that is achieved. Participation can

be defined as the involvement and/or execution of a task or activity (Piškur et al., 2014). The key

word here being involvement.

 A general classroom consists mainly of discussions where students are expected to think

critically and productively before engaging in said discussions on selected topics or ideas which

usually relates to some real life social construct. Additionally, students are expected to be active

learners. That is, they are expected to contribute wholly to class discussions by asking questions

who listen attentively and share their insights. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the

students in the grade 9 class. Students seem to lack the motivation to participate. In a study

conducted by Abdullah et al. (2012), it was found that students are demotivated to participate in

classes due to the size of a classroom, personalities of the instructor and students and the

perception of peers influenced the students to speak up in class.

As it relates to the class size, there has been many debates which have focused on the

most ideal ratio of teacher to students. In research conducted by Mulei et al. (2015), it was

discovered that the student-teacher ratio does indeed have an impact on students’ critical

thinking skills as well as their academic performance. The larger the class sizes are, the less

inclined students are to participate and teachers have less time to give students individual

attention that they may need. One fact that the researchers have agreed upon is that the ideal ratio

of students to teacher varies greatly when the school’s budget and members of staff are

examined. The next point of focus is on the personality of teachers and students in the classroom.

Some learners may not be inclined to contribute to the class because of a negative relationship

that they have with the subject teacher and on a smaller scale, the negative relationship with

classmates. It is human nature to be more outspoken and upbeat in environments where we feel

cherished and appreciated or even a sense of belonging. When a proper relationship has not been

formed with teacher and/or classmates, this may be difficult for individuals to be open.
 One may argue that in the classroom, attendance and note-taking should be enough,

however to dissuade that view, one must first examine proven benefits of participating in class.

According to Hamann et al. (2012), participation develops critical thinking. When students are

engaged and active in the learning process, this develops their critical thinking skills which are a

much-needed asset if one is expected to become a wholesome contributing member of society.

When learners are referred to as critical thinkers that means they have developed the keen ability

to problem solve and think creatively. Aziz et al.(2018), notes that students’ classroom

participation makes them more motivated, supports their learning, improves their

communication, and promotes higher order thinking skills. This viewpoint is also reinforced by

Poddany (2021) who states that participation in the social studies classroom can develop

articulation and conflict resolution especially as it relates to debates and/or discussions.

In an attempt to improve the participation of students in the classroom, best practices for

the teaching and learning must be employed. These can be defined as the ability to implement

instructional balance while involving students in high density reading and writing instruction

(Turner, 2021). The best practise that will be employed is the use of co-operative learning

strategies. Co-operative learning can be defined as an educational method that fosters interaction

and knowledge sharing among small groups of students. This is also the idea shared by Gillies

(2016), who states that. Co-operative learning involves students working together to achieve

common goals or complete group tasks, which they would be unable to complete by themselves.

Cooperative learning is not to be confused with collaborative learning, as co-operative learning is

a form of collaborative learning.

Simply placing students in groups and expecting them to work effectively is too much to

hope for. As such, when teachers are grouping students, it is best to do so in a strategic manner.
The intellectual abilities of all students that will be in a group must be taken into consideration.

This brings into question homogeneous versus heterogeneous groupings in the classroom.

Homogeneous groupings would see students being placed in groups with students who share

similar capabilities. In contrast, heterogeneous groupings are comprised of diverse students who

all learn at different paces. If the purpose of the group learning activity is to help struggling

students, heterogeneous groups may work best (Johnson, 2014). The main issue with this type of

grouping is that it is often the case that the students who struggle with learning the material may

depend too heavily on the student(s) who are more advanced which would defeat the purpose. As

was earlier mentioned, in co-operative learning, each member of the group is expected to

contribute as members will be held accountable as a group and individually for the final product

that is presented.

In the case of co-operative learning strategies, it has been thoroughly researched since its

introduction to the field of education. In most cases, one of the main benefits of using this

strategy in the classroom, is that it boosts students’ achievement in most subjects and grade

levels (Slavin, 2012) which undoubtedly improves their participation. The better students

perform in class, the more likely they are to speak up and contribute to class discussions and

ac6ivities as they now have a confidence which is a direct result of the good grades that they

receive. According to Willis (2021), cooperative learning skills are crucial for students especially

as globalization and technological and communication advances continue to increase the quantity

of accessible information and the need for collaboration. When working in groups, no matter

how small or large, it is important that each member, understands his or her role and the

expected contribution to the group’s end goal. In order to achieve the maximum output, it is

important that each member can communicate effectively, in sharing their ideas as well as
respectfully critiquing ideas put forward by others. This should be done in such a way, as to not

put down the person who contributes the idea being critiqued.

On the other hand, Qamar et al. (2015) argues that the disadvantages of working

cooperatively far outweigh the benefits or advantages. The researchers noted that this was so

because the majority of the students involved in said study were often times unprepared for class

or had no substantial prior knowledge to aid in the group discussions that were needed to

adequately complete given assignments. A recommendation by Brown & McIlroy (2011), to

decrease negative experiences in small groups activities is to co-operative learning as a formative

assessment instead of a summative one. They posit that it will aid in building students’

confidence by providing a step‐by-step play of the work that needs to be done. From this,

students are expected to develop worthwhile traits that will mold them into exemplary humans.

It should be noted that co-operative learning has long since been supported by learning

theorists/theories, namely, the Structure-Process-Outcome theory and Social Interdependence

theory (Johnson & Johnson, 2019). Alternatively, other searches will showcase Lev Vygotsky’s

social developmental learning theory as the foundation for co-operative learning. This theory

incorporates the zones of proximal development (ZPD). The ZPD refer to information to what

students are capable of individually and in group settings, especially where they are learning

from someone else who is more academically inclined. Students will learn more in a group after

which they will build their confidence and make more of an effort to work on their own.

In closing, it can be convincingly demonstrated, based on these selected prior research

and literature that being active in classroom conversation causes individuals to learn more.

Cooperative learning, has been proven to have strong effects on student learning as well as other

desirable consequences. Nevertheless, facilitators of the teaching and learning process must be
forthright with ensuring that lessons cater to and focus on students’ interest so that they are not

discouraged or demotivated to participating in the classroom that has been slated for active

learning.
 Methodology

The needs assessment process is a very important one. According to Ornstein & Hunkins

(2016), it is rooted in the student-needs or adolescent-needs which is usually conducted when the

school stakeholders believe there is room for improvement. During the teaching practise

episodes, the researcher acted as the school stakeholder who believed that there was an issue

with the participation level of grade 9 students in the Social Studies classroom. As such, the

needs assessment was carried out to determine how widespread this issue was among the grade 9

class. This methodology will outline that process as well as describe the sample.

Needs Assessment Process

Two weeks was set aside to conduct the needs assessment. The first few days saw the

researcher identifying the problem that would be assessed. Following that, conversations took

place between the researcher and cooperating teacher as well as the researcher and about the

issue identified and possible questions that could be used to guide the needs assessment process.

The 5th day of this process led to the approval of the needs assessment title and questions by both

the cooperating teacher and supervisor. Once this had been done, the researcher started

developing the instruments that would be used to collect data. These were, two questionnaires,

one for the students and another for the cooperating teacher. The students’ questionnaire

consisted of part A and B. Part A was the standard open and closed-ended questions while part B

was rating scale.

The 7th and 8th day of the process saw the researcher engaged in a discussion with

students to find out whether they would be comfortable with participating in the research.

When those who would be part of the study were selected, they received permission slips
 to have it signed by their parents. The next day these signed permission slips were

returned and the number of students totalled. Day 10 saw the distribution of data

collection instruments via the Google Classroom platform. On the twelve day of the

needs assessment process, the results were collected from both teachers and students

which were analysed to draw meaningful information from the data.

Research Design and Sampling Technique

Teachers conduct research in the aim of enhancing their pedagogy, correcting some other

educational flaw, or determining the would-be effectiveness of a proposed remedy. For the end

goal of this study research is known as action research. According to Bergmark (2020), action

research is viewed as a means of identifying foundational problems or issues that may affect the

teaching and learning of a subject. Teachers' questions and issues for improvement at the core of

the research process. The results from action research usually indicate the appropriateness and

usefulness of the strategy that was implemented to improve the issue that was identified.

As it relates to the sampling technique, voluntary sampling was chosen. This sampling

method is based on selecting participants from the potential respondents who are willing and

qualifying to participate in the survey (Murairwa, 2015). For this study, participants volunteered.

From the set of 33 students that volunteered, the researcher chose the students who would best

represent the entire population of the class.

Participants

The population for this study was made up of the entire grade 9 class which consisted of

a total of 34 students, 15 boys and 19 girls, all aged 13 to 15 years. All but one student

volunteered to participate, however, only 10 boys and 10 girls were selected by the researcher to
be the sample size. The researcher felt that these 20 students represented the population of the

class, both demographically, behaviour wise and academically.

Academically, students ranged from high to low achievers with the average of their

Social Studies grades being 54.3%, which I do not consider an impressive class average. As it

relates to participation, the sample consists of students who participate to varying degrees, none-

at-all to always participating. Behaviour wise, the students of the grade 9 class are respectful to

all authority figures with a small number displaying some negative qualities such as being rude

to classmates, disregard for deadline, tardiness in showing up to class. Lastly, as it relates to the

demographic background of students, the sample size represents students low to middle income

households with family structures being single-parent, nuclear and extended. All students hail

from the surrounding communities of Moneague, Steer Town. St. Ann’s Bay, Exchange, and

Great Pond. This was done to validate the data that was collected in the needs assessment as well

as those for the research report.

 Needs Assessment Finding

These are
 Conclusion and Recommendations

What did you learn

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