The Effect of Using the Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) Technique on Improving Iranian Elementary EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Abstract

Today learner-centered teaching is regarded as a sine qua non of optimal educational environments; therefore, many cooperative techniques are studied. This quantitative study reports the effect of Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) technique on improving Iranian elementary EFL learners’ reading comprehension. After administering YLE Flyers test to 51 male EFL young learners in elementary level at a well-known language institute in Tehran, Iran, they were divided into control and experimental groups. A pretest containing 50 questions was conducted to make sure their level of reading comprehension is similar. The treatment took 13 sessions of grouping students and assessing their reading skill according to the criteria of STAD technique, in the experimental group. The students' performance comparison in posttest through conducting an independent samples t-test, following a paired samples t-test on both tests revealed that the participants in the experimental group made significantly higher progress in reading comprehension compared to control group. The results of the study can contribute to teachers’ awareness on the usefulness of this technique as a manifestation of ZPD, and practically in managing crowded heterogeneous classes where students have hardly been taught to complete a task in groups.