The cooperative learning technique that has
been extensively researched and assessed specifically
on academic achievements, attitudes,
social interactions and interpersonal relationships
is the Student Teams Achievement Divisions
(STAD) (Slavin 1983, 1990; Kagan 1994;
Johnson and Johnson 1998; Johnson et al. 1999;
Balfakih 2003; Bernaus and Gardner 2008; Tarim
and Akdeniz 2008). STAD is one of the simplest
and most extensively researched forms of all
cooperative learning techniques and it could be
an effective instrument to begin with for teachers
who are new to the cooperative learning technique
technique
(Slavin 1990; Becker and Watts 1998).
STAD as a teaching technique was designed
and researched by Johns Hopkins University
and is known as “student team learning” (Sharan
1995). Research studies in the use of STAD
as a teaching technique has been applied with
great success in various research projects
(Vaughan 2002; Jacobs et al. 2003; van Wyk
2010). The main purpose of STAD is to drastically
improve and accelerate learner performance.
The modified STAD consists of: subsection
teams; individual improvement scores; class presentations/
demonstrations and economic quizzes.