What Is Cooperative Learning, and What

Does It Do?

Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students
of different ability levels, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a
subject. Each member of a team is responsible, not only for learning what is taught, but also for
helping his or her teammates learnthus creating an atmosphere of achievement.

Cooperative learning is the instructional practice of placing students into small groups and having them
work together toward a common goal. Each group member learns new material and helps other group
members learn important information.

Although cooperative learning is specifically targeted for students in grades 2 through 12, it is
equally successful for any subject, topic, or level. It can be effectively used for third-grade
math, ninth-grade social studies, fifth-grade language arts, or twelfth-grade physics.

The success of cooperative learning is based on three interrelated factors:

Group goals. Cooperative learning teams work to earn recognition for the improvement
of each member of a group.
Individual accountability. Each member of a team is assessed individually. Teammates
work together, but the learning gains of individuals form the basis of a team score.
Equal opportunities for success. Individual improvement over prior performance is
more important than reaching a pre-established score (90 percent on a test, for
example). A student who moves from 60 percent on a test one week to 68 percent (8
percent improvement) the next week contributes just as much to a group as a student
who moves from 82 percent to 90 percent (also 8 percent improvement).

However, the ultimate success of cooperative learning is based on a single and very important
principle: students must be taught how to participate in a group situation. Teachers cannot
assume that students know how to behave in a group setting.
What's in It for My Students?
Ability grouping is when all the low-ability students are placed in one group, all the high-ability
students are placed in another group, and all the medium-ability students are placed in a third group
(for years elementary teachers would put students into three reading groupsthe Bluebirds, the
Redbirds, and the Blackbirds, for example). Today, we know that such grouping practices promote
inequality and are counterproductive to the learning process.

Based on the experiences of thousands of classroom teachers, these are the benefits of
cooperative learning:

Student achievement. The effects on student achievement are positive and long-lasting,
regardless of grade level or subject matter.
Student retention. Students are more apt to stay in school and not drop out because
their contributions are solicited, respected, and celebrated.
Improved relations. One of the most positive benefits is that students who cooperate
with each other also tend to understand and like each other more. This is particularly true
for members of different ethnic groups. Relationships between students with learning
disabilities and other students in the class improve dramatically as well.
Improved critical thinking skills. More opportunities for critical thinking skills are
provided, and students show a significant improvement in those thinking skills.
Oral communication improvement. Students improve in their oral communication skills
with members of their peer group.
Promoted social skills. Students' social skills are enhanced.
Heightened self-esteem. When students' work is valued by team members, their
individual self-esteem and respect escalate dramatically.

The Basic Elements of Cooperative Learning

Expert Opinion
Teachers have discovered that low-ability students actually perform better when they're placed
in heterogeneous groups (mixed-ability groups) than when they're in homogeneous groups (all
students of low ability).

Fire Alarm
Teachers have discovered that many of the positive affective, social, attitudinal, and academic
benefits of cooperative learning tend to emerge and be retained only after students have spent
4 or more weeks together in the same heterogeneous group.

As you have probably gathered by now, cooperative learning is much more than tossing a
bunch of students together into a group and asking them to answer all the odd-numbered
questions at the end of Chapter 12 in the textbook. The effectiveness of cooperative learning is
predicated on several essential elements. Include these suggestions in your classroom, and
you'll see more student achievement, less discipline problems, and increased levels of student
understanding:
Positive interdependence. It's important that you structure learning tasks so students
come to believe they sink or swim together. Students need to know that each group
member's efforts are required for group success and that each group member has a
unique contribution to make to the joint effort.
Face-to-face interaction. Arrange students so that they face each other for direct eye-
to-eye contact. Invite students to connect the present (material currently being learned)
with the past (previously learned information). Every so often, encourage them to orally
explain how to solve problems.
Heterogeneous groups. Groups should be comprised of three, four, or five members.
Mix the membership within a group according to academic abilities, ethnic backgrounds,
race, and gender. It's also important that groups not be arranged according to friendships
or cliques.
Clear directions and/or instructions. Be sure to state the directions or instructions in
clear, precise terms. Let your students know exactly what they are to do. When
appropriate, inform them what they are to generate as evidence of their mastery of the
material. You must share these directions with students before they engage in
cooperative learning activities.
Equal opportunity for success. Be sure every student knows that she or he has an
equal chance of learning the material. Inform every student that she or he can help the
group earn rewards for academic success. Be sure students understand that there's
absolutely no academic penalty for being placed in a particular group.
A clear set of learning objectives. You must describe exactly what students are
expected to learn. Let students know that cooperative learning groups are a means to an
end rather than an end in itself. Do not use ambiguous language; describe precisely what
students will learn or the knowledge they will gain.
Individual and group accountability. Give an individual test to each student or
randomly examine students orally. Plan time to observe a group, and record the
frequency with which each member contributes to the group's work. Invite students to
teach what they learn to someone else. Ask group members to discuss how well they're
achieving their goals or how they're maintaining effective working relationships. Help
students make decisions about what behaviors to continue, what to change, and what to
eliminate.
Sufficient time. Be sure you have sufficient time to learn the targeted information.
Groups should stay together until the designated subject matter is learned.