THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF PROBLEM SOLVING AND COOPERATIVE LEARNING ON THE MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT OF UNDERPREPARED COLLEGE FRESHMEN

The study involved first semester freshmen (graduated from high school the summer immediately preceding their enrollment in MA 101 (Algebra)) enrolled in MA 101 and registered for MA 111 (Precalculus) the semester after completing MA 101. The researcher gathered the necessary background data (high school grade point average (HSGPA), gender, SAT-M, SAT-V, MA 101 grade, and MA 111 grade) on all students involved in the study. It should be noted that MA 101 does not satisfy a student's mathematics requirement at the university, however MA 111 does. It is customary for a student to take MA 101 and MA 111 in successive semesters. Specifically the objectives of the investigation were: 1. To compare instructional methods as measured by the end of course grade of the next mathematics course in order to determine whether the relationship between the course grades for MA 101 and MA 111 was different in the 1988-1989 and 1989-1990 school years. 2. To investigate whether MA 111 grades, on average, were higher in 1990 than 1989 in order to determine whether the instructional intervention was successful in helping students understand, retain, and transfer their knowledge of algebra. MA 101 instruction during the fall semester of 1988 (control group) was of the “standard” lecture variety. During the fall of 1989 (treatment group), problem solving through cooperative learning was emphasized. MA 111 was taught using “traditional” lecture consisting of “chalk and talk” and “paper/pencil” teaching during both years of the study to both the control and the treatment group. A significant difference between performance in MA 111 from one year to the next was found (five years of grades were evaluated). The MA 101 grade was found to be a significant factor in the performance in MA 111. The MA 101 grades for students in the control group were significantly higher than those of the treatment group. Conversely, the MA 111 grades in the treatment group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Of the students in the control group, 46% successfully completed MA 111, whereas, 70% of the students in the treatment successfully completed MA 111. Thus, the use of cooperative learning and problem solving is an effective technique for improving mathematics achievement with this group of students.