Exploring the relationship of Kagan co-operative learning strategies in enhancing creative thinking : a case study of secondary students in Manarat Jeddah

Abstract

One of the main aims of education is to produce innovative and creative students who are capable of confronting the challenges of our ever dynamic modern world. This has been the aspiration of every country in the world. However, the traditional teaching strategy has not been satisfactorily effective in attaining this goal, as it does not motivate students to become higher-level thinkers. Alternatively, the co-operative learning strategy has proven to be one of the effective solutions to bringing about the spirit of creativity and innovation in students, which makes it a good alternative to the traditional strategy. Owing to this fact, several countries of the world, especially the developed nations, have favored the use of co-operative learning strategies in their educational setting. In light of this, the present study investigated the influence of the interpersonal functions of Spencer Kagan co-operative learning on creative thinking skills among the students of Manarat Jeddah School higher secondary school in Saudi Arabia. This study adopts the ex-post facto research design and utilizes the cross-sectional survey method to meet the stated objective. The sample consists of 217 secondary school students (grades 10 to12) at the Manarat Jeddah School, Jeddah. The independent variable in the present study is the findings from the Kagan Co-operative learning approach consisting of three interpersonal skills which are; team building, decision making, and communications skills. The dependent variable in the study is the result of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The major finding of the study is that implementation co-operative learning strategy was found to be significantly correlated with students’ creative thinking as well as improving students’ interpersonal skills. The present study provides the ground for co-operative learning strategies to be widely accepted in the educational institutions of Saudi Arabia