Cooperative learning methods in mathematics education – 1.5 year experience from teachers’ perspective

Abstract

Inclusive education and inclusive learning environment have become a major issue in Hungarian schools in Slovakia in the last decade. The number of underprivileged students with marginalised social background has risen tremendously. The primary questions of education including the provision of a proper learning environment in heterogeneous classes, the tackling of status problems among students have become inevitable. The introduction of the Complex Instruction Methodology (CIP) into the education process created an opportunity for teachers to work with heterogeneous groups in classes. Mathematics by definition creates heterogeneous groups in schools as due to large knowledge gaps among students the differentiation of work and the cooperation of students is extremely difficult. The CIP method is a special group work designed for heterogeneous groups which could provide enormous help for the work of the teachers. In the current work we would like to present the adaptation process of the CIP method in two Hungarian schools in Slovakia. By conducting a series of interviews with teachers we are going to analyse the efficiency of the CIP method in cooperative mathematics classes.