Implementing Group Interactions to Encourage Peer Teaching, Social Relationships, and Collaborative Problem Solving in Mathematics Classroom

"Cooperative learning is a pedagogical practice that has attracted much attention because of a large body of research that indicates students gain both academically and socially when they have the opportunities to interact with others to accomplish shared goals" (Johnson & Johnson, 2002). I implemented a self-study focusing on small group interactions into everyday lessons throughout student teaching. The participants of my study were unfamiliar with group work, but had positive perceptions of group work. By encouraging an active involvement in mathematics, I was able to increase the presence of peer teaching, social relationships among students, and collaborative problem solving in the classroom. Through surveys, observation, teacher journals and video analysis, I learned that collaborative learning, when introduced effectively and implemented properly, could prompt students' mathematical understanding and promote learning communities in mathematics classrooms.