Cooperation in teaching: The effects of implementing the “trefoil” model

Abstract

The starting point of the paper is the importance of developing the skill of cooperation and the undisputed significance of cooperative work for the outcomes of the learning process. We examine the effects of teacher training conducted in order to encourage the teachers to implement work methods and forms aimed at developing cooperation. Cooperation is operationalised through the following components: cooperative learning, exchange of opinions with the aim of accomplishing the goal and prosocial behaviour that includes understanding and empathy. The data were collected by repeated observation - before and after the conducted training. The sample included 72 classes realised by 20 teachers of one primary school. Using variance analysis, we determined the effects on two out of four cooperation indicators: the teacher encourages group activities with the common goal and cooperative learning and the teacher encourages the students to talk and exchange opinions in order to achieve a certain goal together. There were no effects on the indicators that referred to including the teacher in the exchange process and encouraging understanding and empathy in students. The lack of effects was ascribed to the way in which teachers perceive their role in relation to students, as well as to the limited number of the observed classes. Research findings point to the efficiency and usefulness of this way of improving teaching practice as well as to the changes that can be implemented to enhance the presented training programme. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179034: Od podsticanja inicijative, saradnje i stvaralastva u obrazovanju do novih uloga i identiteta u drustvu]