College Students Perspectives, Goals, and Strategies Using Cooperative Learning

Background/Purpose: Cooperative learning (CL) is an instructional model in which students work together in small, structured, heterogeneous groups to complete group tasks (Dyson, 2002). Instructional goals for CL include fostering academic cooperation, positive group relationships, students’ self-esteem, and academic achievement (Hilke, 1990). Initial research on CL in K-12 physical education supports its positive outcomes, however researchers have yet to empirically examine the use of the model within the collegiate setting. This study examined students' perspectives, goals, and strategies in a collegiate physical education course taught using the CL model. Two questions guided data collection and analysis: a) how do students' perspectives, goals, and strategies within a university physical education setting approximate those postulated by the student social system (Allen, 1986), and b) if these approximations are different, what might be a more appropriate representation of students' agendas during collegiate classes taught using CL.

Method: Fourteen undergraduate students (12 males and 2 females) participated in a university racquetball course (30 lessons). The course was designed using Slavin’s concepts (1983) and Cuseo’s procedural elements (1992) of CL. The use of CL was verified according to instructor and student behavioral benchmarks (Metzler, 2005) and the model fidelity agreement totaled 94.4% and 91.6% respectively. Data were collected through individual (14) and group interviews (4), critical incidences (210), reflective papers (42), daily field notes, and a reflective journal kept by the instructor.

Analysis/Results: A three-step process of open, axial and selective coding was used to analyze data. Overall, most participants perceived that they did not minimize work, but rather learned new skills, improved their performance and became efficient at accomplishing group tasks. Key strategies included working within their CL groups, trying hard, and learning from others. Participants indicated that “fun” was a result of working with and learning from group members, competing and playing against others, and seeing themselves as well as their classmatesimprove.

Conclusions: Students' perspectives, goals, and strategies within a university physical education course taught using CL slightly differ from those conceptualized by Allen’s (1986) student social system. The results of the study demonstrated that using the CL model can be an effective way for collegiate students to learn content and develop social strategies. Similar to previous research in K-12, participation in the CL model provides a complimentary link between the students’ goals and their socializing strategies in collegiate activities courses.