Effect of Cooperative Learning Method on Prospective Teachers’ Non-routine Problem-Solving Skills and Their Views About the Method

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the opinions of the prospective teachers about the effect of cooperative learning method on non-routine problem-solving levels and on solving problems by means of this method. For this purpose, one experimental group and one control group were randomly formed. Ninety-nine prospective teachers participated in the study. A problem-solving test consisting of non-routine problems was used as a pre-test and a post-test. Covariance analysis was conducted on the data obtained from the problem-solving test to determine whether the difference between the experimental group and the control group was statistically significant. It was concluded that the problem-solving performance of the prospective teachers in the experimental group was better than that of the prospective teachers in the control group. The collated interview findings showed that the prospective teachers mentioned positive effects of working on non-routine problems in a cooperative learning group.