The bumpy road to implementing cooperative learning: Towards sustained practice through collaborative action

Abstract

Cooperative learning (CL) is a pedagogical model that is widely recognised to enhance students’ academic and social learning. However, teachers experience difficulties implementing the method, which leads to CL being underutilised in schools. This paper presents experiences from an exploratory research and development project in which teachers implemented CL through a contextdriven professional development programme. The study explores the complexity of implementing CL by examining three critical stages in the professional development programme: a workshop, follow-up activities and proactive action research. Findings suggest that collaborative action research in teacher teams became a catalyst for teachers’ learning and their implementation of CL.