Cooperative
Learning
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which students work together in small groups to help each other learn. The groups are made up of students of different levels of ability and use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of the team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thereby creating an atmosphere of achievement. Typically, students are assigned to cooperative groups and stay together as a group for many weeks or months. They are usually taught specific skills to help them work well together, such as active listening, giving good explanations, avoiding putdowns, and including other people. Cooperative learning is most successful when two essential conditions are met. First, some kind of recognition or small reward must be provided to groups that do well so that group members can see that it is in their interest to help their groupmates learn. Second, there must be individual accountability. This means that the success of the group must depend on the individual learning of all group members.
1. Teaching Resource Center. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga uses this site to explain what cooperative learning is and why it should be used in the classroom. It also gives many techniques to use in the classroom.
2. Consumer Guide. This site is produced by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the U. S. Department of Education. It explains what cooperative learning is and gives some examples of typical strategies that can be used with any subject, in almost any grade, and without a special curriculum. It also gives some examples of specific programs.
3. Collaborative Classroom. This site has very good information about cooperative learning, the roles of the students and the teacher, and the characteristics of a collaborative classroom. There is a lot of information here.
4. The Cooperative Learning Institute. Cooperative learning champions David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson from the University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development use this site for a newsletter for updates on the use and successes of cooperative learning. Diversity in the classroom and how to interact effectively are also included.
5. The University of Minnesota. The Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota tells what cooperative learning is and has several links to short essays on developments pioneered by the Cooperative Learning Center. There is also a Q and A page.
6. Cooperation In the Classroom. A good description is given of cooperative learning, what makes cooperative learning groups work and what some of the research shows concerning cooperative learning. The five basic elements of cooperative learning and a description of each is given.
