Integrating cooperative learning with Polya’s problem-solving model in grade 9 mathematics

Dang Ngoc Trung; Bui Van Hong; Huynh Ngoc Thanh

doi:10.29333/pr/19248

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Dang Ngoc Trung ¹ , Bui Van Hong ¹ ^* , Huynh Ngoc Thanh ²

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¹ Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Engineering (HCM-UTE), Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM² Binh Duong University, Ho Chi Minh, VIETNAM^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study examined whether an integrated cooperative-learning and Polya-based intervention was associated with greater gains in ninth-grade students’ mathematical problem-solving competence than individually implemented Polya-based instruction. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was conducted with 436 students from 10 classes in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, over four months. The primary analysis used difference-in-differences estimation, while propensity-score plots were used as supplementary descriptive evidence of between-group patterns. Students’ competence was assessed across four dimensions: identifying, planning, performing, and re-evaluating. The intervention group showed larger gains than the comparison group across all four dimensions, with the largest estimated effects in identifying and re-evaluating. These findings suggest that structuring peer interaction around explicit problem-solving stages may strengthen students’ mathematical reasoning and reflective review in lower-secondary classrooms.

Keywords

cooperative learning
mathematical problem-solving competence
Polya’s problem-solving model
Student Teams-Achievement Divisions
quasi-experimental design

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

PEDAGOGICAL RES, Volume 11, Issue 4, October 2026, Article No: em0286

https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19248

Publication date: 01 Oct 2026

Online publication date: 14 Sep 2026

Article Views: 11

Article Downloads: 5

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How to cite this article

APA

Trung, D. N., Hong, B. V., & Thanh, H. N. (2026). Integrating cooperative learning with Polya’s problem-solving model in grade 9 mathematics. Pedagogical Research, 11(4), em0286. https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19248

Vancouver

Trung DN, Hong BV, Thanh HN. Integrating cooperative learning with Polya’s problem-solving model in grade 9 mathematics. PEDAGOGICAL RES. 2026;11(4):em0286. https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19248

AMA

Trung DN, Hong BV, Thanh HN. Integrating cooperative learning with Polya’s problem-solving model in grade 9 mathematics. PEDAGOGICAL RES. 2026;11(4), em0286. https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19248

Chicago

Trung, Dang Ngoc, Bui Van Hong, and Huynh Ngoc Thanh. "Integrating cooperative learning with Polya’s problem-solving model in grade 9 mathematics". Pedagogical Research 2026 11 no. 4 (2026): em0286. https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19248

Harvard

Trung, D. N., Hong, B. V., and Thanh, H. N. (2026). Integrating cooperative learning with Polya’s problem-solving model in grade 9 mathematics. Pedagogical Research, 11(4), em0286. https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19248

MLA

Trung, Dang Ngoc et al. "Integrating cooperative learning with Polya’s problem-solving model in grade 9 mathematics". Pedagogical Research, vol. 11, no. 4, 2026, em0286. https://doi.org/10.29333/pr/19248