Increasing students' participation by using cooperative learning in library and research course.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of cooperative learning strategies on students' participation in a high school library and research course in Saudi Arabia. Increased student participation provides social, psychological and academic advantages to students. The review of the literature focuses on four primary frameworks. The first section addresses Vygotsky's theory of social constructivism. Second, previous studies completed in regards to cooperative learning are presented including definitions, benefits, potential drawbacks, elements and strategies, as well as the role of the teacher in cooperative learning. The third section focuses on student development while the last section focuses on curriculum of the library and research course. This research specifically targeted female first grade high school students who were 16 years old from an urban high school in Western Saudi Arabia during the fall semester of 2015. The experimental group was 15 students working in three cooperative groups while the other 15 students in the control group were taught in a traditional teacher centered method. Data was collected using quantitative techniques of participation tallies. The results showed students who were taught by the cooperative learning strategy increased their participation as compared to the students who were taught by a lecture approach. Therefore, the conclusion of this study is that cooperative learning had a positive impact on increasing students' participation in Saudi Arabia.