Cooperative Learning as a pedagogical practice to help students develop their Social and Emotional Learning

In Cooperative Learning (CL), students work together in structured, small, heterogeneous groups to master subject matter content. More than 2,000 research studies on CL have been conducted in general education (Johnson &... [ view full abstract ]

In Cooperative Learning (CL), students work together in structured, small, heterogeneous groups to master subject matter content. More than 2,000 research studies on CL have been conducted in general education (Johnson & Johnson, 2009), however, the impact of this pedagogical model in Physical Education (PE) has been studied much less (Casey & Goodyear, 2015). The current study of the implementation of CL in PE focused on the development of students’ Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). SEL in­volves acquiring and effectively applying the knowl­edge, attitudes, and social skills to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible deci­sions (Weissberg & Cascarino, 2013). The study examined teachers’ beliefs about SEL and the SEL pedagogy they use to meet the needs of their learners. This research is a case study design (Stake, 2005) to investigate teachers’ beliefs and practices and students’ perspectives and understanding of SEL at the primary school level. Evidence was collected at four primary schools in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) from teacher and student interviews, Post Teacher Reflective Analysis, documents, students’ work, and field notes at the schools. The qualitative data analysis addressed the trustworthiness of the data by establishing their credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability (Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2014). Findings for this presentation will focus on students’ perspectives and represent their voice. The following themes were identified from the evidence: I am a good team member, You learn how to listen, It makes me feel awesome, It helps other people, and Because it makes the game fair. The findings indicate that CL is a pedagogical strategy for assisting teachers to develop SEL in their classrooms. The study found that CL can meet the intentions of the NZ Curriculum Framework (MOE, 2007).