Open AccessIntroducing cooperative learning: students’ attitudes towards learning and the implications for self-directed learning
Author(s) -
Elsa Mentz,
Sukie van Zyl
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0259-479X
DOI - 10.17159/i64a04
Subject(s) - cooperative learning , experiential learning , autodidacticism , educational technology , active learning (machine learning) , class (philosophy) , psychology , learning sciences , synchronous learning , intervention (counseling) , open learning , mathematics education , computer science , teaching method , artificial intelligence , psychiatry
This article reports on research that aims to enhance self-directed learning by introducing cooperative learning strategies. The two-fold aim of this research was firstly to determine whether the implementation of cooperative learning in a Computer Application Technology class of first-year students contributed to positive attitudes towards learning, and secondly, whether students’ attitudes towards learning, after completion of the cooperative learning intervention, related to their self-directedness. We conclude that the implementation of cooperative learning in a Computer Application Technology first-year class positively contributes to students’ attitudes towards learning and their attitudes towards learning related to their perceived self-directed learning (SDL) readiness.