Current Situation of Implementing Cooperative Learning in Elementary Science Classes and Teachers' Perceptions toward Cooperative Learning

In this study, we investigated the current situation of implementing cooperative learning (CL) in elementary science classes and teachers' perceptions toward CL in science instructions. Participants were 138 elementary school teachers and 96 of them had experiences of implementing CL in their science classes. We developed a questionnaire on the basis of previous studies. The results indicated that many teachers did not seem to comprehend CL and some of them did not seem to distinguish CL from the traditional small group learning. The teachers who had experiences of implementing CL tended to exhibit positive perceptions toward CL than their counterpart in the effects of CL category whereas they did not show any positive evidence in the processes of CL category. The influences of teaching career and the experience of participating inservice training about CL on teachers' perceptions toward CL were not clear. Educational implications are discussed.