Effect of cooperative learning on critical thinking skills in mathematics A students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29352/mill0220e.41265Keywords:
Keywords: cooperative learning; critical thinking; dispositions; mathematics AAbstract
Introduction: Critical thinking is a fundamental skill in the teaching of mathematics, promoting skills of analysis, interpretation, and argumentation, which are essential for solving problems. Developing these skills requires dispositions such as open-mindedness, truth-seeking, and systematicity. Critical thinking dispositions guide and support the development of cognitive skills, enabling the analysis and interpretation of problems in a critical and structured way. Cooperative learning emerges as a practical pedagogical approach that fosters student interaction and contributes to developing critical thinking dispositions. However, research on the impact of cooperative learning in promoting critical thinking skills, particularly in Mathematics A, in Portugal, is still limited. This study aims to fill this gap, in line with the Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Schooling and Essential Learning.
Objective: To analyze the effect of cooperative learning on the development of critical thinking skills in 11th-grade Mathematics A students, comparing it with traditional teaching methods, and to see if gender differences exist in this context.
Methods: Quasi-experimental study, with two intact groups: an experimental group (70 students), which used cooperative learning methods, and a control group (49 students), which followed a more traditional teaching approach. The Critical Thinking Dispositions Scale was applied in pre and post-test to both groups.
Results: Only the experimental group showed statistically significant improvements from pre to post-test.
Conclusion: Cooperative learning proved to be more effective than traditional teaching in developing critical thinking dispositions assessed.
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