Cooperative Learning

WELCOME
What?
Why?
&
How?
What is Cooperative Learning?
 A teaching strategy designed to promote productive
and mutual learning among a group of students.
 Cooperative Learning is an instructional strategy
where small teams of students, usually two to six
members, work together to maximize their individual
and collective learning.
 Ultimately the shared goals are accomplished
individually by each team member, and collectively
by the group as a whole.
 What Does a Cooperative Model
Look Like?

• Students work cooperatively compared

with traditional models where individuals
are only looking out for themselves.
• Team members are responsible for their
own individual learning as well as for their
teammates learning.
• Teams are made up of high, medium
and low academic achieving
students.
• Teams are heterogeneous in gender,
race, culture and socioeconomic
status.
What Does a Cooperative Model
Look Like?

• Team members cooperate and

collaborate.
• Team members benefit from the
contributions of the individual team
members.
• Team members acquire new
skills and knowledge. Rewards
are oriented towards individual
and group.
 Five Elements of
Cooperative Learning:
1. Positive Interdependence

• tasks and goals are clearly defined

• efforts of each team member benefits the individual as
well as the group
• commitment is made to both personal as well as group
success

2. Individual and Group Accountability

• each team member must contribute to the
group as a whole
• each team member is accountable for helping
the group reach its goals
3. Interpersonal and Small-Group Skills - Each team member must:
• be motivated
• provide effective leadership be able to make decisions be able to build
trust
• be able to communicate be able to mange conflict
 Five Elements of Cooperative
Learning Continued:

4. Face to Face Promotive Interaction - Students

• Promote one another's success by sharing resources
Encourage, help, and applaud each other's efforts Support
one another academically and personally Explain how to solve
problems
• Teach each other
• Check for one another's understanding Discuss
concepts being learned Connect present with past
learning Foster the groups mutual goal

5. Group Processing (Reflection) - Students

• Communicate openly, freely, respectfully discussing their concerns
• Maintain effective working relationships
• Describe what member actions are helpful/unhelpful
• Make decisions about behaviors to continue/change/discontinue
• Process status of goal achievement and accomplishments
 Essentials of Effective Cooperative
Learning Groups:
Participation
• Each team member should contribute their time and energy
• Each team member should participate in the decision making
process
Trust
• Each team member should trust that other team members
will be contributing to the group
Communication
• Each team member should listen respectfully and attentively to
other team members
• Each team member should contribute ideas
• Each team member should ask questions when clarification is
needed
• Each team member should give constructive feedback
What children can do together
today, they can do
alone
tomorrow
. (Let Vygotsky,
1962)
 How to use Cooperative Learning in the classes..

Cooperative-learning
techniques revolve
around the use of a
particular tool : SMALL
GROUPS, they can be
used with almost any
other educational
strategy.
 Planning for Cooperative
Learning:
There are six key steps involved in
planning for cooperative learning:
1. Choose an approach
2. Choose appropriate content
3. Form student teams
4. Develop materials
5. Plan for orienting students to tasks and
roles
6. Plan for the use of time and space
 Chose an Approach:
Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD)
• Students in heterogeneous groups of four to five
members use study devices to master academic
material and then help each other learn the material
through tutoring, quizzing and team discussions.

Jigsaw
• Each member of a five or six member
heterogeneous group is responsible for
mastering a portion of the material and then
teaching that part to the other team members.
 Chose an Approach Cont.:
Group Investigation
• The most complex cooperative learning approach
and most difficult to implement.
• Students are involved in planning the group topics
as well as the ways in which they will proceed with
their investigations.
• Once students select topics for study, they conduct
in-depth investigations and then prepare and
present a report to the whole class.

The Structural Approach

• The teacher poses a question to the entire class

and students provide answers by raising their
hands and are called on with the goal of increasing
student acquisition of academic content and
teaching social skills.
 Chose an Approach Cont.:

Think-Pair-Share
• The teacher poses a question to the entire class and the students spend
a moment thinking alone about their answer.
• The teacher asks the students to pair off with one classmate and
discuss their answers with their partner for four to five minutes.
• The teacher asks the pairs to share their answers with the entire
class.
Numbered Heads Together
• The teacher has groups of three to five members number off so that
each member has a different number.
• The teacher asks either a very specific or very broad question,
depending on the subject matter.
• Students put their heads together to arrive at an answer and make
sure that everyone knows the answer.
• The teacher calls out a number and the students from each group with
that specific number share their answers with the entire class.
 Choose Appropriate Content:

• Teachers must be sure to choose

content that will spark and keep the
interest of the students.
• If the students do not find the content
interesting and appropriately
challenging, they will quickly lose
interest and the cooperative learning
approach will fail.
• Research shows that the more
conceptual knowledge is emphasized
the more successful cooperative
learning will be.
 Form Student Teams:

• The formation of student teams will vary according

 to the goals and objectives of the lesson as well as
the diversity among racial, ethical, gender and

ability groups.
• Teacher-selected groups have been proven time and
again to be the best method of forming teams
because it ensures a good mix and avoids friends
from working together, which neglects to achieve the
goal of improvement of social interactions among
students who do not know each other as well.
 Develop Materials:


• Teachers usually provide verbal

information along with worksheets,
outlines and study guides during a
cooperative learning lesson.

• Good materials take time to develop and

must be both interesting and at an
appropriate reading level for the students
or they will no be able to understand the
lesson and will quickly become
uninterested and give up.
 Plan for Orienting Students to
Tasks and Roles:


• Students who are unfamiliar with the cooperative learning

model will need to be taught about the model and be clear
on their roles as well as the teacher’s expectations during
this type of lesson.
• Help students develop social skills naturally or by specific
teaching of the required skills.

Avoid:
Placing students in situations before they have appropriate
skills, e.g., placing them in conflict before they have conflict
resolution skills
 Plan for the Use of Time and
Space:


• Most teachers underestimate the amount of

time it takes to conduct a successful
cooperative learning lesson. Research shows
the minimum time for a cooperative learning
lesson to produce real cognitive change to be
at least 4 weeks.

• Cluster seating is a popular seating

arrangement for cooperative learning because
it allows students to sit in groups of four or six
during their small group discussions.
 Conducting Cooperative
Learning Lessons:
Clarify Goals and Establish Set
• The teacher clearly defines the aim of the
cooperative learning lesson by explaining the
student’s specific roles and the specific
procedures that they are expected to follow.

Present Information
• Information can be presented verbally and/or
through text.
• It is crucial that the students are able to clearly
understand the information.
• The effective teacher will assist the students in
comprehending the information before moving on
with the lesson instead of assuming they will be
able to understand it.
 Conducting Cooperative
Learning Lessons Cont.


Organize Students Into Learning Teams

• It is best to verbally explain how you would like the students to
change and then physically assist them in the process rather
than tell them their group members and expect them to figure
out how to get into those groups.

Assist Teamwork and Study

• It is very important to find the appropriate amount of teacher

involvement during cooperative learning lessons. Many
teachers consider themselves to be “facilitators”.
• However, if the students seem unclear about the directions
or are not understanding the lesson, it is commanding that
the teacher steps in so that they can accurately complete
the lesson.
 Cooperative Learning

Advantages Disadvantages
• Helps foster mutual • Some students don't work
responsibility. well this way.
• Supported by • Aggressive students try to
research as an take over.
effective technique. • Bright students tend to
• Students learn to • act superior.
be patient, less
critical and more
compassionate.