Cooperative learning strategy and its effectiveness in enhancing students' motivation and performance in English / Salina An

This research concentrates on the effectiveness of cooperative learning strategy and how it can help motivate students to learn and increase their performance. It tries to determine that in cooperation, students will learn academic materials together and increase their achievement. More specifically, when students cooperate closely, they will solve their exercise together and will succeed or fail, "sink or swim" together. If one student works hard, this increases the chances for others to succeed. In this study the exercises are graded, and this situation motivates other students to help one another master the academic materials.
The study begins with background descriptions of cooperative learning strategy, its common features, its advantages and its effectiveness as indicated by numerous research studies in the past.
40 Year Five students of Sekolah Kebangsaan Balai Besar, Dungun were involved as a sample in this study and they were selected through 'Simple Random' sampling. The instrumentation used was a questionnaire consisting of 30 related questions and five sets of classroom exercises. Data were collected and presented in
cross-tabulations and charts followed by elaboration of the research questions and comprehensive discussions of the results.
The findings from the exercises attempted by the students showed that their performance had increased and that they had enjoyed the lesson in cooperative learning strategy which provided interesting and motivating experience. Students communicated freely, contributed ideas and carried out discussions, others motivated their members in the group and boosted their interests to learn English.
The study recommended that four in a group were preferable and the groups should relatively be heterogeneous comprising high and low achievers. A longer period to carry out cooperative learning was suggested. The teacher could act as a supervisor and attend to them when necessary. Rewards should be given to the students for their successful achievement and cooperative learning could also be introduced in computer learning.
Finally, each group was recommended to be given only two copies of the exercises so as to foster group discussions together with answer sheets for them to check each other's answer. The group
members should be changed for every few weeks so that students could work with many different class members.