The role of interpersonal multiple intelligence on the usage of cooperative learning teaching methods

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between interpersonal multiple intelligence and the usage of cooperative learning teaching methods. Participants consisted of 103 teachers from two Pennsylvania school districts and one Pennsylvania private Catholic high school. Data were collected from the Cooperative Learning Survey and the Multiple Intelligences Developmental Scales. A Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient revealed that there was no significant relationship between interpersonal multiple intelligence and the usage of cooperative learning teaching methods. Relationships between demographic data and use of cooperative learning were also examined. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) showed that there was a significant mean difference of teachers' attitude toward cooperative learning among elementary, middle, and high school instructors. A Bonferroni post hoc investigation revealed that elementary teachers had a significantly more positive attitude toward cooperative learning than high school teachers. An ANOVA also demonstrated that there was a significant mean difference of teachers' perceived student attitudes toward cooperative learning. A Bonferroni post hoc investigation showed that elementary teachers perceive their students to have a more positive attitude toward cooperative learning than middle and high school teachers do. Further results demonstrated significant correlations between number of years one teaches and his/her use of, and attitude toward cooperative learning. These results suggested that the longer one teaches the more negative he/she is regarding cooperative learning and the less he/she uses this teaching method. Qualitative data revealed teachers' reasons for using or not using cooperative learning coincides with what is written in the literature about this topic. In addition, this study also showed that the Johnsons' model of cooperative learning was used more than the Slavin model. This finding suggested that many teachers employ cooperative learning as a multi-dimensional teaching strategy. Cooperative learning techniques allowed teachers to address both academic learning and the acquisition and reinforcement of social skills with one instructional method. Lastly, this study revealed that teachers should not be forced to use cooperative learning and that intra-personal traits could help to explain why this teaching method is not utilized as much as proponents recommend.