Examining Junior Secondary School Teachers’ And Students’ Perceptions Of Cooperative Learning And Its Implementation

Cooperative Learning was developed in1970s in US to develop students’learning efficacy and improve their comprehensive qualities through interaction between students and teachers and among students (Liu&Wang,2013). With many theoretical research and empirical research done in the field of Cooperative Learning and many positive results given, Cooperative Learning now has been widely used in the world (Wu&Guan,2010).In climate of quality-oriented education since2001, Cooperative Learning has been promoted as one of the pedagogies prevalent in China, however its implementation remains under-researched and its practice has been far from satisfaction. The initiatives to implement Cooperative Learning in China have been introduced in government documents. To meet the requirements raised by government, many English teachers at school and university levels begin research and employ Cooperative Learning in teaching (Liu,2003; Zhang&Zhao,2004; Guo,2004; Qiao&Qin,2010; Wu&Guo,2011; Wang,2012; Qin,2012; Wu,2012; Xie,2013; Li,2013; Gu,2013; Shan,2013). As most research about Cooperative Learning is carried out in universities and high schools, this study tries to understand the implementation condition of Cooperative Learning in junior high school, such as teachers’and students’attitudes toward cooperative learning, positive effects of cooperative learning on students and obstacles in implementation. This study is intended to answer the following questions:1. What are the instructional strategies used in English classes with Cooperative Learning in junior high school?2. Would the level of teachers’perception towards Cooperative Learning affect its implementation?3. What’s students’attitude towards Cooperative Learning? Which changes does Cooperative Learning bring to students?4. Which problems have teachers encountered in practical use?The subjects of this research are students and teachers from three different junior middle schools in Hongshan district in Wuhan. One school is a prestigious one at the municipal level, and one is a key school at the district level, and the last one is an ordinary school. On the whole, instructional strategies include self-learning, pair work, group work, presentation, and evaluation parts. Through questionnaires, interview and observation, a positive correlation was found between teachers’ perception and practice of Cooperative Learning, of which a better understanding of instructional strategies of Cooperative Learning would make teachers widely and well perform it in English class. Students have a favorable attitude towards cooperative learning as a whole and they have gained a sense of achievement and friendship. Besides students’academic performance has improved to some extent, cooperative consciousness is also developing as a result of Cooperative Learning. In terms of problems in implementing Cooperative Learning, prolonging teaching schedule is the most concerned one, followed by unable to motivate underachievers’ initiative to participate and difficulty of controlling and ensuring the effects. Besides,45%teachers admit that a lack of understanding of Cooperative Learning prevents them from implementing it appropriately.The study confirms that cooperative learning indeed has positive effects on promoting students’ learning interest and motivating their initiatives for learning English and developing cooperative consciousness in junior high school. Finally, based on the findings, some suggestions for teachers in junior high schools are offered.