Cooperative Learning Method of Teaching Economics

Cooperative learning is an instructional method in which students work together in small, heterogeneous groups to complete a problem, project, or other instructional goal, while teachers act as guides or facilitators. This method works to reinforce a student’s own learning as well as the learning of his or her fellow group members.

History of Cooperative LearningCooperative learning structures have been in and out of favor in American education since the early 1900s, when they were introduced by the American education reformer John Dewey.

The strategy of cooperative learning was developed as a means to reduce competition in American schools, which James Coleman (1959) identified as a negative component of the education system. Building on the work of James Coleman, Robert Slavin (1994) conducted research on a form of cooperative learning which he described as Student Team Learning. Slavin explains that there are various methods for implementing cooperative learning techniques into classes of all subject areas and grade levels; however, the underlying concept requires all students to work together and be responsible for each other’s learning.Through his review of the literature on cooperative learning, Slavin identifies three concepts that are fundamental to all cooperative learning/Student Team Learning techniques:

Students are rewarded as a team but are graded individually. The team’s success is not conditionally based on individual

performance of one student. All students must help each other to achieve learning goals.

All students are expected to improve based on their own previous performance, thus ensuring all students are challenged to do their best.

Meaning of Cooperative Learning:

Cooperative learning is a teaching method where students of mixed levels of ability are arranged into groups and rewarded according to the group's success, rather than the success of an individual member. Cooperative learning is sometimes thought of simply as 'group work,' but groups of students working together might not be working collaboratively. Cooperative learning is a technique that allows students to learn from each other and gain important interpersonal skills. Learn more about the benefits, strategies, and techniques involved in cooperative learning.

Cooperative learning is an organized and structured way to use small groups to enhance student learning and interdependence. Students are given a task, better known as an assignment, and they work together to accomplish this task. Each individual has responsibilities and is held accountable for aiding in the completion of the assignment; therefore, success is dependent on the work of everyone in the group.

In addition to learning from each other, students also learn how to work as part of a team and have others depend on them.

Definition of Cooperative Learning:

Slavin defines cooperative learning as “Instructional programs in which students work in small groups to help one another master academic content. Cooperative learning has the potential to capitalize on the developmental characteristics of adolescents in order to harness their peer orientation, enthusiasm, activity, and craving for independence within a safe structure.”

THE KEY ELEMENTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Cooperative learning researchers David, Roger Johnson and James A. Duplass (2006), the following are the most commonly found characteristics of cooperative learning:

Teacher’s supervision:

The teacher should always monitor group activity to ensure that students are not veering too far off task. The teacher should also be available to answer student questions and guide discussion if necessary.

Heterogeneous groups: The teacher creates groups of diverse ability levels and backgrounds. Positive Interdependence:

By setting group goals and working towards a reward or final learning outcome. Students have the sense that they're 'in this together,' feeling that each member's individual effort will not only help him, but the whole group. The grade of each student is dependent upon the effort of other group members.Face-to-Face Interaction:

students are encouraged to use verbal and nonverbal communication to solve problems and explain learning material. Students are promoting each others' learning through face-to-face activities where they discuss and explain assignment topics with each other.

Individual Accountability

Each student is accountable for their own contribution to the group. Clearly described goals ensure that each student knows what she is responsible for and what the group is responsible for. students are accountable for their tasks and for assisting the whole group meets learning goals. This accountability is enforced through student roles

Group Processing

Students are given a means for analyzing their group for how well the group has learned and whether or not collaborative skills are being used. Students engage in reflection on how the group functioned during activity.

Collaborative Skills

Students learn not only the subject matter, but interpersonal skills and how to work in teams. Students are taught skills of communication,

leadership, and conflict management during the early stages of cooperative learning sessions.

Social skills: the teacher needs to establish rules so that all students are respectful, speak in a manner appropriate to the classroom setting, and utilize their time wisely during group interaction.

Evaluation: all activities should include both individual and group assessment. Additional Elements of Effective Groups

Although team dynamics (how the individual team members work together) can differ from team to team, effective teams share the following characteristics:

Full participation - All team members contribute their time and energy to the project. More importantly, all team members participate in the decision making process.

Trust - Members trust that each member will add value to the project, and members work to ensure that everybody contributes and that appreciation is expressed for different contributions.

Open communication - Communication is the glue that holds a team together. Communication is effective when all members:

Contribute ideas. Provide feedback constructively. Ask for clarification on anything that might be confusing. Provide frequent updates. Listen to each other carefully.

Social/business balance - Although teams shouldn't socialize 100% of the time, it shouldn't be all business either. Casual conversation allows members to know each other better, leading to better working relations.

 

COOPERATIVE LEARNING METHODS/ Techniques

Cooperative learning techniques can be loosely categorized by the skills which the able to enhances. Many cooperative learning exercises can be developed to fit within multiple categories. Some techniques for cooperative learning are as follows:1. Reciprocal Questioning

This method is used after a teacher has presented a lecture or lesson, and students work in groups of two or three, where they ask and answer each others' questions about the material. Teachers provide prompts or 'stem' questions that help students develop lesson-specific questions, such as: What would happen if...? or What is the meaning of…?

2. Jigsaw

This is a cooperative learning approach where one member of the group is responsible for teaching something to one other member of the group. Each member is first given a part of the material to learn, and after it's learned, he is the designated expert on that part. When each expert teaches another student, they eventually all learn the whole lesson.

3. Discussion:

"A good give-and-take discussion can produce unmatched learning experiences as students articulate their ideas, respond to their classmates' points, and develop skills in evaluating the evidence of their own and others' positions." (Davis, 1993, p. 63)

i) Think-pair-share: As probably the best known cooperative learning exercise, the think-pair-share structure provides students with the opportunity to reflect on the question posed and then practice sharing and receiving potential solutions. Its simplicity

provides instructors with an easy entry into cooperative learning and it is readily adaptable to a wide range of course constructs.

ii) Three-step interview: This structure can be used both as an ice-breaker which introduces students to one another and to provide students with a venue for soliciting opinions, positions, or ideas from their peers. Students are first paired and take turns interviewing each other using a series of questions provided by the instructor. Pairs then match up and students introduce their original partner. At the end of the exercise, all four students have had their position or viewpoints on an issue heard, digested, and described by their peers.

4. Reciprocal teaching: explaining, providing feedback, understanding alternative perspectives. Slavin (1996), in a review of hundreds of studies, concluded that "students who give each other elaborated explanations (and less consistently, those who receive such explanations) are the students who learn most in cooperative learning." (p. 53) 

i) Note-taking pairs: Poor note-taking leads to poor performance. Designing an exercise which requires students to summarize their understanding of a concept based on notes taken (with directed questions such as what is the definition of a concept, how is it used, what are the three most important characteristics of a topic) and receiving reflective feedback from their partner provides students the opportunity to find critical gaps in their written records.

ii) Jigsaw: For more complex problems, this structure provides students the opportunity to develop expertise in one of many components of a problem by first participating in a group solely focused on a single component. In the second stage of the exercise, groups are reformed with a representative from each expert group who together now have sufficient expertise to tackle the whole problem.

5. Graphic organizers: discovering patterns and relationships

"Graphic organizers are powerful tools for converting complex information in to meaningful displays...They can provide a framework for gathering and sorting ideas for discussion, writing, and research." (Barkley, Cross and Major, 2005, p.205).

i) Group grid: Students practice organizing and classifying information in a table. A more complex version of this structure requires students to first identify the classification scheme that will be used.

ii) Sequence chains: The goal of this exercise is to provide a visual representation of a series of events, actions, roles, or decisions. Students can be provided with the items to be organized or asked to first generate these based on a predetermined end goal. This structure can be made more complex by having students also identify and describe the links between each of the sequenced components.

6. Writing: organizing and synthesizing informationThe Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse at Colorado State University encourages the use of written assignments across the campus because is teaches students to communicate information, to clarify thinking and to learn new concepts and information.

i) Dyadic essays: Students prepare for the in-class portion of this exercise by developing an essay question and model answer based on assigned reading. Students typically need to be guided to develop questions that integrate material across classes as opposed to ones that simply recite facts presented in the reading. In class, students exchange essay questions and write a spontaneous answer essay. Students then pair up, compare and contrast the model answer and the spontaneously generated answer. Subsequently, questions and answers can be shared with the larger class.

ii) Peer editing: As opposed to the editing process that often appears only at the final stage of a paper, peer editing pairs up students at the idea generation stage and peers provide feedback

throughout the process. For example, the relationship begins as each student in the pair describes their topic ideas and outlines the structure of their work while their partner asks questions, and develops an outline based on what is described. See also, peer review.

7. Problem solving: developing strategies and analysisResearch by mathematics educators Vidakovic (1997) and Vidakovic and Martin (2004) shows that groups are able to solve problems more accurately than individuals working alone.

i) Send-a-problem: Students participate in a series of problem solving rounds, contributing their independently generated solution to those that have been developed by other groups. After a number of rounds, students are asked to review the solutions developed by their peers, evaluate the answers and develop a final solution. (Example: Understanding the Impact of (Fiscal and Monetary) Policy)

ii) Three-stay, one-stray: Even students working in groups can benefit from the feedback of additional peers. In this structure, students periodically take a break from their work (often at key decision making points) and send one group member to another group to describe their progress. The role of the group is to gain information and alternative perspectives by listening and sharing. The number of times the group sends a representative to another group depends on the level of complexity of the problem. This method can also be used to report out final solutions.

Procedure of Cooperative Learning:

1. Begin with a QuestionThis is the simplest foray into critical thinking. What do you want to explore and discuss? It shouldn’t be a question you can answer with a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.’

You want to develop essential questions here. These are questions that inspire a quest for knowledge and problem-solving. They’ll support the development of critical thinking skills beautifully.

When you pose your question to students, encourage brainstorming. Write down possible answers on a chalkboard or oversized pad as a student reference. This is a big part of defining the problem in Solution Fluency. Have big open discussions where students can dissect and discuss questions.

2. Create a FoundationStudents cannot think critically if they do not have the information they need. Begin any critical thinking exercise with a review of related information. This ensures they can recall facts pertinent to the topic. These may stem from things like: reading assignments and other homework

previous lessons or critical thinking exercises

a video or text

Employ the above strategy of questioning to ensure students are up to speed.

3. Consult the ClassicsGreat literary works boast challenging narratives and deep characterization. They are a perfect launch pad for critical thinking. Use them for specific lessons on character motivation, plot predictions, and theme.

4. Creating a CountryHow does one create a country from scratch? This could be great project-based learning scenario. It requires sufficient research to discover what actually “makes” a country. In the process students learn history, geography, politics, and more.

5. Use Information FluencyPart of critical thinking is knowing when to pursue and when to discard information. Students must learn to amass the appropriate knowledge to inform that thinking. Teaching critical thinking skills can be supported by an understanding of Information Fluency.Mastering the proper use of information is crucial to our students’ success in school and life. It’s about learning how to dig through knowledge in order to find the most useful and appropriate facts for solving a problem. Critical thinking is deeply embedded in the process of Information Fluency.

6. Utilize Peer GroupsThere is comfort in numbers, as the saying goes. Digital kids thrive on environments where critical thinking skills develop through teamwork and collaboration. Show kids their peers are an excellent source of information, questions, and problem-solving techniques.

7. Try One SentenceTry this exercise: form groups of 8-10 students. Instruct each student to write one sentence describing a topic on a piece of paper. The student then passes the paper to the next student. The next student will add their understanding of the next step in a single sentence. This time, though, that student folds the paper down to cover their sentence. Now only their sentence is visible, and no other.Each time they pass, students can only see one sentence. They must keep adding the next step of their understanding. This teaches them to really home in on a specific moment in time. They learn to critically apply their knowledge and logic to explaining themselves as clearly as possible.

8. Problem-SolvingAssigning a specific problem is one of the best avenues for teaching critical thinking skills. Leave the goal or “answer” open-ended for the widest possible approach. This is the essence of asking essential

questions that have no easy answer. It requires discovery and synthesis of knowledge through critical thinking.

9. Return to RoleplayingRoleplaying has always been an excellent method for exercising critical thinking. It involves inhabiting another persona and it’s characteristics. It’s the main reason why actors do tireless research for their roles. Becoming someone else calls upon stretching both your analytical and creative mind.Pair students up and have them research an historical conflict. Ideally it should involve an interaction between two famous historical figures. Then lead them to decide which character they each choose to play. They’ll each have opposite points of view in this conflict. Have them discuss it until they can mutually explain the other’s point of view. Their final challenge will be to each suggest a compromise.

10. Speaking With SketchWe are inherently visual learners. It’s challenging to effectively communicate an idea without words, though. Translating thoughts to picture form encourages critical thinking beautifully.

11. Prioritize ItPut teaching critical thinking skills at the forefront of your lessons. Every subject offers opportunities for critical thinking. Check understanding and offer room for discussion. It will help even if such periods are brief. You’ll begin to see critical thinking as a culture rather than just an activity.

12. Change Their MisconceptionsCritical thinking involves intensive work and concentration. Students should be left to themselves for much of the process. That said, it can be helpful to step in partway through their process. You can do this to correct misconceptions or assumptions.Students will benefit from practicing critical thinking. Keep it at the forefront of your teaching. You’ll offer richer lessons, deeper exploration, and better lifelong learning.

Steps to Prepare for Cooperative Learning

1. Plan

Obviously you want to have goals and objectives for the academic task at hand, but there’s another element of planning that needs to happen with cooperative learning. You also need to consider objectives for social skills, such as team work or peer accountability. Other things to think about include group size and composition. Think about how long your groups will be formed and how many students will make up each group. (See this post for more information on types of groups.) Will you have a group leader? Will all the work be evenly distributed? Plan for all of these elements beforehand. You also need to consider which types of assessment are most appropriate for the assignment and how the students will help with that aspect.

Pre-Instructional Planning

Applying cooperative learning to your classroom effectively takes some pre-planning in the areas of setting objectives, creating positive interdependence, choosing group size and composition, identifying group decision making strategies, and choosing reporting out techniques.

i) Academic and Social Skills Objectives

Educators are used to developing academic goals for their students for each lesson. With cooperative learning, social skills or group processing skills are added to the mix. So you need to explicitly state these goals alongside the content goals you've set for your activity.

ii) Creating Positive Interdependence

Positive interdependence can be built into the project by creating and environment in which there:

is just too much work for one person

are tasks that require more than one person to do (such as peer review)

Ways to promote positive interdependence include (Smith and Waller 1997, p. 202):

Output goal interdependence- a single product is produced by the group

Learning goal interdependence- the group ensures that every member can explain the group's product

Resource interdependence- members are provided parts of the assignment or relevant information or the group is only provided one copy of the assignment

Role interdependence- members are given distinct roles that are key to the functioning of the group. There are a variety of different student roles that may be assigned.

The setup of the classroom can also foster the positive interdependence you want.

"Knee-to-knee and eye-to-eye" is a good catch phrase for how students should be arranged. This close proximity enhances the collective feel among the members.

iii) Group Size and Group Composition

How involved is the project? How many students are needed to do the job? Ideally, that's how many students you want to group. For short or simple tasks, often a pair is sufficient. Groups for a big project or base groups for an entire course will usually be larger.

Smaller groups are more effective and easier to work with than large ones, as students are less likely to be able to duck their share of work. Research suggests that groups of 3 or 5 are ideal for base groups and formal cooperative groups. Informal groups are best with 2-4 students.

b) Group Composition

For brief exercises, it shouldn't be a problem for students to work with their friends, but for formal cooperative learning, there are a couple of issues to consider when letting students assemble into groups of their own choosing:

Heterogeneous groups tend to learn better together (Wenzel, 2000 ), although students of similar backgrounds are more likely to start off as friends.

Close friends may fail to fully involve other students in some activities.

Random groups, especially for one-shot projects, are easy to assemble. They can be set up:

Outside of class using a roster

Having students count off (better than random, in some ways, as it rearranges students who started class sitting together into different groups)

Having students draw group membership from a hat (using playing cards or affiliation cards which signify group and/or roles)

Having groups line up and divide (based on a value line which represents a continuum of perspectives on an issue)

iv) Group Decision Making

While some group-functioning issues are taken care of when members are assigned specific roles, there remains the issue of group decision making. Once groups are formed it may be necessary to provide members with group processing techniques, especially for more complex, formal exercises. Barkeley, Cross and Major (2005: p. 73) offer a number of common approaches to group decision making:

Authority: open discussions are followed by a single leader making final decisions.

Majority: the groups holds a vote on the issue for which there are multiple perspectives

Negative minority: groups eliminate the most unpopular options sequentially

Consensus: discussions and negotiations occur until all group members agree

Using criteria: groups first identify criteria for developing a solution and then evaluate options in light of these

Compromise: groups combine solutions or parts of solutions rather than choosing one over another

v) Reporting Out

The end of any cooperative learning exercise provides an opportunity to share with the larger group. The method by which this reporting out is done varies by objectives, time constraints, and number of groups. Common reporting out techniques include:

Stand up and share: one representative from each group is asked to share output. This can be implemented in multiple round cooperative learning exercises as well as what is shared and who does the sharing changes for each round.

Three Stay-One Stray: one group member rotates to another group to share and receive while others remain as a member from a different group joins. After a few rounds of sharing all groups have interacted.

Poster session: students develop a visual representation of the group product. One group representative stays with the visual as others mill about asking questions. Changing the individual responsible for representing the group at their poster allows for greater engagement. Posters can be developed as part of the in-class group work or developed out-of-class with the sharing component commencing the following class period.

Gallery walk: gets students out of their chairs and actively involves them in synthesizing important concepts, in consensus building, in writing, and in public speaking. In Gallery Walk teams rotate around the classroom, composing answers to questions as well as reflecting upon the answers given by other groups. Questions are posted on charts or just pieces of paper located in different parts of the classroom. Each chart or "station" has its own question that relates to an important class concept. The technique closes with a oral presentation or "report out" in which each group synthesizes comments to a particular question.

2. Introduce

Clearly communicating your goals and objectives to your students is vital. You will need to explain criteria for the academic task, as well as behavioral expectations for working with peers. Time limits, accountability, and decision making within the group all need to be discussed before the project even starts. It may be helpful to develop an assessment rubric and go over it with your students so they know exactly what to expect. Allow time for questions from your students to ensure that everything is clearly understood. This step is very important, for if your students do not know what is expected of them academically and behaviorally, their cooperative learning experience may not be successful.

3. Monitor

Once students have begun to work in their groups, it is your job to monitor and observe. You should be available to answer questions and provide clarification as needed but you should also be spending some amount of time in each group listening and monitoring. Observe how the students are working together and ask questions to stimulate thinking if necessary. Make notes about each group to assist you in the assessment step.

4. Assess

With cooperative learning, assessment can be tricky at times. You want to hold both individuals and the group accountable for the academic work and possibly even the social objectives. Using a mixture of self assessment, group assessment and your own judgement usually works well to determine a final grade.

5. Process

Allow time for your students to reflect upon their cooperative learning experience and give feedback on the academic assignment and the group structure. Hear what worked well and look for ways to improve upon next time.

Student Roles

Assigning roles to students is one way to encourage positive interdependence, interaction, and group processing, which are among the five key elements of working in groups. Usually roles are responsibilities on top of the project itself.

Appropriate roles will depend on group size and the nature of the cooperative learning task. The lists of roles described below are intended to be representative but not exhaustive.

POTENTIAL PROJECT ROLES:

Leader/Editor: This student is in charge of organizing the final product of the project, be it a paper, a presentation, etc. That doesn't mean technical details, but of making sure that the project meets the standards set out by the instructor (often as a rubric), plus any extras stipulated by the group. These standards generally include punctuality and completeness.

Recorder/Secretary: This person takes notes whenever the group meets and keeps track of group data/sources/etc. This person distributes these notes to the rest of the group highlighting sections relevant for their parts of the project.

Checker: Someone needs to double-check data, bibliographic sources, or graphics for accuracy and correctness.

Spokesperson/Press Secretary/Webmaster: This person would be responsible for the technical details of the final product and would be ready to summarize the group's progress and findings to the instructor and to other groups.

Facilitator/Encourager: This student gets discussion moving and keeps it moving, often by asking the other group members questions, sometimes about what they've just been saying.

Timekeeper: Someone needs to make sure that the group stays on track and gets through a reasonable amount of material in the given time period.

Summarizer: Every so often (perhaps once per question for a list of questions, or at the end for one question), this student provides a summary of the discussion for other students to approve or amend.

Reflector: This student will listen to what others say and explain it back in his or her own words, asking the original speaker if the interpretation is correct.

Elaborator: This person seeks connections between the current discussion and past topics or overall course themes.

Assessment of Cooperative Learning

Assessment activities can be categorized as either formative or summative, both of which are appropriate for cooperative learning exercises as they provide opportunities to enhance key components of cooperative learning exercises such as positive interdependence and

individual accountability (which is one of the five key elements of cooperative learning).

Formative assessment activities are used to provide feedback, evaluating learning progress in order to motivate students to higher levels.

Summative assessment activities are used to judge final products for completion, competency and/or demonstrated improvement.

Nearly any evaluation can be developed to fulfill either formative or summative assessment goal. For example, written reports can include a revise and resubmission process which provides students with feedback on which aspect of their work is in need of improvement prior to evaluation of the final product.Assessment activities can be implemented at different stages of the cooperative learning exercise and can be conducted by either the instructor, the student, or group peers.

Timing of Assessment Activities

1. Pre-Exercise Assessment

Developing assessment strategies that are implemented before the exercise is to take place are most appropriate when cooperative learning exercises are more complex, time intensive, and make use of more sophisticated content. The success of such exercises hinges, in part, on the preparation of students and pre-exercise activities can provide a signal as to the importance and complexity of this work to students. 

"Tickets to participate" are a form of assessment that requires individual students to complete a task prior to the start of the cooperative learning exercise. The purpose of these assignments are to prepare students, focusing their attention on content relevant to the exercise and reducing the likelihood of unprepared students. Those who fail to complete the assignment are placed in a group

together and required to complete the exercise. In all likelihood, such unprepared students will create output that is of lower quality than their otherwise prepared peers resulting in a valuable lesson learned.

2. Assessment during the ExerciseAssessment can occur at either the individual or group level during the cooperative learning exercise, facilitated through careful monitoring and intervention or by a formal break in the exercise with all groups checking in on their progress. 

Assigning roles to group members, such as summarizer, reflector, elaborator, and/or recorder/secretary provides a more formal mechanism for evaluating the progress of the group.

It is also possible to make individual accountability part of your group-work monitoring by periodically requesting random student reports or oral exams (graded at the instructor's discretion). 

3. Post-Exercise AssessmentIn order to make sure that all students are working towards the same standards, it is helpful to provide a detailed description (possibly a rubric or checklist) of how the project will be graded.

Individual accountability: In many or most cooperative learning classes, students still take individual tests or quizzes (in part to make sure that everyone is doing the reading). Group projects can also result individual products. With the peer review method, for example, the paper is the responsibility of the author, and sometimes the reviewers comments on their own are also subject to grading. (Learn more about using peer review)

Group accountability: Gradable group products include presentations, posters, and papers.

Who Conducts the Evaluation?

1. Instructor

Evaluation by the instructor provides students with feedback on the understanding of content, concepts, and applications. It is the most traditional of all formats and typically is the primary basis for evaluation. 

2. Individual, Self-Assessment

Students can develop a better understanding of their learning process, a metacognitive perspective which enhance future learning, through active reflection on their achievements. Such assessments also build writing and speaking skills as students demonstrate their knowledge of the subject, problem solving skills, and contributions to group processing.

3. Peers

Allowing the opportunity for group members to assess the work of their peers provides important feedback on the relative merits of contributions and promotes cooperation as students realize their accountability to the group. A word of caution is appropriate, however, as the peer review process is complex, it relies on well-defined criteria and evidence-building that is clearly understood by all participants. (Learn more about using peer review)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cooperative Learning:

Advantages:

Positive Interdependence

Students perceive that they need each other in order to complete the group's task ("sink or swim together"). Teachers may structure positive interdependence by establishing mutual goals (learn and make sure all other group members learn), joint rewards (if all group members achieve

above the criteria, each will receive bonus points), shared resources (one paper for each group or each member receives part of the required information), and assigned roles (summarizer, encourager of participation, elaborator).

Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction

Students promote each other's learning by helping, sharing, and encouraging efforts to learn. Students explain, discuss, and teach what they know to classmates. Teachers structure the groups so that students sit knee-to-knee and talk through each aspect of the assignment.

Individual Accountability

Each student's performance is frequently assessed and the results are given to the group and the individual. Teachers may structure individual accountability by giving an individual test to each student or randomly selecting one group member to give the answer.

Interpersonal and Small Group Skills

Groups cannot function effectively if students do not have and use the needed social skills. Teachers teach these skills as purposefully and precisely as academic skills. Collaborative skills include leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management skills.

Group Processing

Groups need specific time to discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships among members. Teachers structure group processing by assigning such tasks as (a) list at least three member actions that helped the group be successful and (b) list one action that could be added to make the group even more successful tomorrow. Teachers also monitor the groups and give feedback

on how well the groups are working together to the groups and the class as a whole.

Motivate Group Performance

In simple motivational terms, grading a group for the group's work provides an incentive for individual students in the group to put forth maximum effort. If you grade individuals based on their respective roles and contributions within the group, you don't provide a natural motive for students to think interdependently. In fact, rewarding individuals within the group can lead to people sticking to perceptions of their own roles and not focusing on sharing their talents and ideas within the group. Additionally, conflict resolution is usually necessary for group success, and group grades offer an incentive for members to work through challenges.

Accurate Assessment

Grading a student group for the results it produces is the most accurate assessment of the performance against the stated expectations. If you put students in a group and convey criteria for success, your measurement of that success should align. In other words, if a group produces a paper or project that is incomplete, not thorough or of poor quality, a collectively poor grade is the most accurate assessment of that group's output. Accuracy in grade feedback is necessary for students to analyze their performance and work to improve on team skills and group interaction.

Varied Student Goals

One of the more valid and constant criticisms of cooperative learning group grades is that students in a group may not have common goals. In a high school or college group, for instance, some students may want an A grade on the project and in the class. Others may simply want to pass or have more modest grade expectations. This leads to different levels of motivation and commitments to the group. This contributes to group tension as some students feel as if they

contribute more and have more invested than others. Peer evaluations and adjustments to individual scores are methods some instructors use to offset this issue.

Inaccurate Individual Assessment

While a group grade accurately assesses group output, it doesn't necessarily provide feedback to each team member on his own team-orientation or skills. In the long run, student groups are temporary collaborations. While group success is important, it is more important that each student develop a team orientation and teamwork skills to take into his future career. Again, peer evaluations and some form of instructor critique of individual contributions and performance can offset this.

It has been shown to have a positive effect on student learning when compared to individual or competitive conditions:

Students may explain things better to another student than a teacher to a class. Students learn how to teach one another and explain material in their own words

Questions are more likely to be asked and answered in a group setting

Positive interdependency is achieved as individuals feel that they cannot succeed unless everyone in their group succeeds

Interpersonal and collaboration skills can be learned in a cooperative learning activity

Cooperative learning has the potential to meet more learning style needs more of the time than individualized direct instruction

Sends the symbolic message that the class is egalitarian and classless

Higher ability students are in a position to be experts, leaders, models and teachers; lower ability students get the benefits of having higher ability students in their group.

Disadvantages of Cooperative Learning:A burden is making the students responsible for each other’s learning apart from themselves

One study showed that in groups of mixed ability, low-achieving students become passive and do not focus on the task

Depending on an individual’s motivation and interest on a particular subject that will determine how well they would learn

The goal of scaffolding is for students to become independent and able to think by themselves, without the help of others

High stakes create increased chances for conflict and therefore need for conflict resolution skills

It is difficult for the teacher to be sure that the groups are discussing the academic content rather than something else.

Higher ability students may not experience the stimulation or challenge that they would with other higher ability students.

Lower ability students may feel perpetually in need of help rather than experiencing the role of leader or expert relative to the others in their group

References:

1. Coleman, J.S. (1961). The Adolescent Society. New York: Free Press of Glencoe. [return]2. Slavin, R. (1994). Using Student Team Learning. 4th ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins

University, Center for Social Organization of Schools. [return]3. Slavin, R. (1994). Paragraph 4. [return]4. Slavin, R. (1994). Paragraph 4. [return]5. Slavin, R. (1994). [return]6. Holt, D., Chips, B., & Wallace, D. (1991). “Cooperative learning in the secondary school:

Maximizing language acquisition, academic achievement, and social development.” National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education Program Information Guide Series. Number 12, Summer. [return]

7. Holt, D., Chips, B., & Wallace, D. (1991). (Paragraph 14). [return]8. Kagan, S. (1989). “The structural approach to cooperative learning.” Educational

Leadership. 47(4): p. 12-15. [return]9. Kagan, S. (1989). “The structural approach to cooperative learning.” Educational

Leadership. 47(4): p. 12-15. [return]10. “Effective Cooperative Learning.” Performance Learning Systems Newsletter. Date

Accessed: 22 October 2008. http://www.plsweb.com/resources/newsletters/enews_archives/05/2000/12/04/ [return]

11. Duplass, J. (2006). Middle and High School Teaching: Methods, Standards, and Best Practices. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. [return]

12. Shindler, J. 2009, Effectively Managing the Cooperative Classroom, [Online], Available: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/jshindl/cm/Chapter12CooperativeLearning-final.htm [2012, March 21]

13. Tejada, C. 2002, Research on Cooperative Learning, [Online], Available: http://condor.admin.ccny.cuny.edu [2012, March 22]

Web Resources

The Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota  (more info) : Run by David and Roger Johnson, this site contains essays, information about their books and workshops, newsletters, and an FAQ on the theory and practice of cooperative learning, especially at the college level.

The Cooperative Learning Network  (more info) : This site belongs to a group at Sheridan College in Ontario promoting cooperative learning, especially at the college level and contains links to essays and discussion forums.

Doing CL  (more info) : Substantial collection of resources including detailed instructions for various cooperative-learning techniques and an annotated bibliography. Brought to you by the National Institute for Science Education.

International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education :IASCE supports those who are interested in the study of cooperation in education by providing a forum in which to share research and lessons about the practice of cooperative learning.

Active/Cooperative Learning: Best Practices in Engineering Education : This NSF-funded project at Arizona State University has interviewed over 20 faculty who offer suggestions for preparing students for teamwork, developing instructional materials, and implementing and assessing cooperative learning lessons and activities. The site also contains content-specific engineering projects.

University of Minnesota ResearchWorks: Cooperative Learning : This article from the ResearchWorks publication of the University of Minnesota profiles Drs. David and Roger Johnson who run the Cooperative Learning Center on Campus. The article also provides some basics of what cooperative learning is.

Changing a Course from Lecture Format to Cooperative Learning  (more info) : This essay describes the experience other instructors have had when switching a class (marine geology in this case) from a traditional lecture format to a cooperative-learning format: citing increased achievement, motivation, and attendance on the part of the students. However, the author also writes about the changes he experienced switching roles from lecturer to facilitator: both good and bad.

Smith, Karl A. Engaging Students Through Active and Cooperative Learning.

Heller, Kenneth and Patricia. Using the Learning Knowledge Base: The Connection Between Problem-Solving and Cooperative Group Techniques.