The Effect of Training on Cooperative Learning Skills on Understanding of Seventh Qatari Students of Scientific Concepts  / Intisar Zaki AIsadi

his study was conducted to investigate the effect of training female students on cooperative learning skills on their understanding of scientific concepts and to find out whether the effect of training differs according to their level of achievement in science. The study aimed specifically at answering the following questions: I. Does training female students on cooperative learning skills lead to a better understanding of scientific concepts ? 2. Does understanding of scientific concepts of female students who have been trained on cooperative learning skills and those who have not been trained differ according to their prior achievement level ? The sample for the study consisted of , 50,  seventh grade female students in two groups in one school in Qatar. Each group included , 25,  female students who were categorized and distributed into three different levels : high , muddle, and low according to their school grades in science for the previous year. One of the two groups was trained on cooperative skills, this group called the experimental group. The other group was not trained on the skills of cooperative learning, and was the control group. To measure the effectiveness of the training on cooperative learning skills a test of conceptual understanding, which inVol.ved thirty five multiple choice items Was prepared. The reliability of the test was established using KR 20 — and found , ..Ak, . Analysis of covariance , ANCOVA,  was used to analyze the data of the study. The results of study were: The group trained on cooperative skills performed better on the test of understanding scientific concepts than the control group. Also a significant interaction between training and level of achievement was found. In the light of findings, the researcher recommended that teachers be encouraged to use cooperative learning, and train students on how to use it.