Comparison of cooperative problem-solving of mathematics teaching method with traditional (lecture) method: The case of Awi-zone, Ethiopia

Pages: 71-74
Adem Mohammed Ahmed (Department of Mathematics Education, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, East Africa)
Solomon Melesse Mengistie (Department of Teacher Education and Curriculum Instruction, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, East Africa)
Tadele Ejigu Wondimu (Department of Mathematics Education, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, East Africa)

The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast the cooperative problem-solving strategy and the conventional technique and study their effects on mathematics performance. Various investigations have indicated that students experience mathematics anxiety which is an inclination of pressure and dread that meddles with mathematics learning. This might be ascribed to the encouraging strategies applied in the classrooms. Through the cooperative problem-solving learning strategy, every student in the gathering is dependable to impart insights and work together to take care of a mathematical problem. Then again, the conventional technique is teacher-focused guidance. The quasi-experimental research design configuration was utilized and the samples were assembled into A and B named experimental and control groups respectively. The experimental time frame was five weeks with an all-outnumber of twenty-five hours of exercise conveyance for each group. The experimental group was taught utilizing cooperative problem-solving techniques while the benchmark group was taught utilizing the customary strategy. To find the effects of cooperative problem-solving, it was analyzed using the paired t-test. The study uncovered that the experimental group has a mean score that is essentially higher than that of the benchmark group. The research, for the most part, uncovered that the experimental group performed superior to the benchmark group. The outcomes uncover that students are progressively effective when systematic problem solving on Polya’s four stages strategy is joined into cooperative learning. Furthermore, the results suggest that the cooperative problem-solving method leads to better mathematics performance compared to the traditional method. The study, therefore, recommends that the training of mathematics teachers should incorporate the various strategies of presenting mathematical activities to Ethiopian high school students, especially the cooperative problem-solving strategy.

Keywords: cooperative learning, problem-solving, teaching-methods, traditional teaching method and Ethiopia