出版社：Australian Institutes for Educational Research
摘要：This article reports the results of a mixed-methods study of the perceptions of a selectedgroup of experienced teachers of English as a foreign language of the challenges andpotentials of using various cooperative learning methods, in the context of achieving thecommunicative and social goals of a modern theme-based curriculum. Participants (N =18) took part in a three-day refresher in-service program, during which they completed asemantic differential scale and kept journals to record their perceptions of thecongruence, cost, difficulty, and importance, as well as to express their views regardingthe challenges and potentials of using cooperative learning in their respective classrooms.Results revealed that the participants tended to perceive the more concrete Jigsawcooperative learning methods and the cooperative learning Structural approach to bemore congruent to their practices, less costly, and easier to implement; although equallyimportant, to the more conceptual methods of Group investigation, Learning together,and Creative controversy. Likewise, the study showed that all cooperative learningmethods and strategies are valued, despite implementation challenges related to teacherknowledge, proper implementation, curriculum alignment and crowdedness, time ontask, and school policy.
