EXPLORING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING AS A TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGY IN THE PHYSICS CLASSROOM

This paper reports on the results of an action research to examine the effectiveness of cooperative learning strategy on pupils ’ academic achievement and their motivation to learn in the physics classroom. The study involved a secondary four express physics class of 41 pupils in a neighbourhood school. Various cooperative learning structures were used to teach the topics on Current Electricity and D.C. Circuits. The study was conducted over a period of about 8 weeks. During this period, teacher-crafted pre- and post-intervention tests were administered to the class. A questionnaire survey was used to examine pupils ’ motivation and perceptions of their learning experiences before and after the treatment period. The effects of using cooperative learning on pupils ’ academic achievement and their motivation to learn was examined through 2 the analysis of the results of the pre- and post-tests and students ’ perception survey. Findings of this study have the potential to contribute towards building the corpus of local knowledge on the effectiveness of cooperative learning as a teaching and learning strategy in the physics classroom. Key words: cooperative learning, teaching strategy, physics teachin