Thai students' engagement with cooperative learning in mathematics classrooms

Over the past decade, Thai schools have been encouraged by the Thai Ministry of Education to introduce more student-centred pedagogies such as cooperative learning into their classrooms (Carter, 2006). However, prior research has indicated that the implementation of cooperative learning into Thai schools has been confounded by cultural traditions endemic within Thai schools (Deveney, 2005). The purpose of the study was to investigate how 32 Grade 3 and 32 Grade 4 students enrolled in a Thai school engaged with cooperative learning in mathematics classrooms after they had been taught cooperative learning strategies and skills. These strategies and skills were derived from a conceptual framework that was the outcome of an analysis and synthesis of social learning, behaviourist and socio-cognitive theories found in the research literature. The intervention began with a two week program during which the students were introduced to and engaged in practicing a set of cooperative learning strategies and skills (3 times a week). Then during the next four weeks (3 times a week), these cooperative learning strategies and skills were applied in the contexts of two units of mathematics lessons. A survey of student attitudes with respect to their engagement in cooperative learning was conducted at the conclusion of the six-week intervention. The results from the analysis of the survey data were triangulated with the results derived from the analysis of data from classroom observations and teacher interviews. The analysis of data identified four complementary processes that need to be considered by Thai teachers attempting to implement cooperative learning into their mathematics classrooms. The paper concludes with a set of criteria derived from the results of the study to guide Thai teachers intending to implement cooperative learning strategies and skills in their classrooms.