Cooperative learning is defined as “ a student-centered, instructor-facilitated instructional strategy in which a small group of students is responsible for its own learning and the learning of all group members” (Li & Lam, 2005, p.1). It is a process where students work in groups to complete tasks or solve problems. In cooperative learning however the teacher still has a major role to play. The teacher maintains control of the learning and is responsible for structuring the groups and the learning activities. The teacher has responsibility for helping the students to develop the social interaction skills that are part of and necessary for cooperative learning to be successful. Cooperative learning builds on Vygotsky’s theory that social interaction helps in developing of thoughts, languages and reasoning. A successful cooperative learning experience must include five main elements- positive interdependence, face-to-face interaction, individual accountability, development of social skills, and group evaluation. Each of these elements will be described.
Positive interdependence. The members of any group or team in cooperative learning have a contribution to make to the process; the goals of the group cannot be achieved without the efforts of each member of the team. If any one member of the team does not fulfill his responsibility the whole team suffers. All the team members therefore have to learn to rely on each other in order to achieve their goal.
Face-to-face interaction. As Felder and Brent (2007) explain some group work must be done interactively. Face to face interaction involves group members “ providing one another with feedback, challenging reasoning and conclusions, and perhaps most importantly, teaching, helping, supporting, applauding and encouraging one another in order to reach the group’s goals” (p.2).
Individual accountability. Even though it is a group effort, every member of the group must be held accountable for his part of the work. Additionally he will be held individually accountable for mastering all the material to be learned in the project. Therefore even though the resulting product of the collaborative effort may be submitted as one artifact, each member must still hold himself accountable for learning what was required in the project. One of the challenges of cooperative learning is the individual accountability, since usually the team gets a grade for the assignment, including those who did not pull their weight in the activity. Team grades need to be adjusted for individual performance in order to ensure individual accountability.
Development of social skills. The cooperative process allows the students in the groups to develop certain social skills which are necessary for successful group activity. Not only do they develop these skills but by working consistently in the groups they get to practice these skills. Some of the social skills developed during collaborative learning include “ trust-building, leadership, decision-making, communication, and conflict management skills” ( Li & Lam, 2005, p.4). Active listening is also an essential skill in group work; members must be respectful of each other in communicating. Slavin (2014) includes being able to explain ideas and opinions as another essential group skill, which demands “metacognition, evidentiary thinking, summarizing, paraphrasing, and listening to others thoughtfully” (p.24). The social skills required for the success of cooperative learning must be taught in small groups. Igel and Erquhart ( 2012) point out that not everyone is naturally good at getting along with others, and so some may need some training.
.Group evaluation. In addition to the individual learning that takes place in the cooperative learning project, the group has to be able to assess whether or not they have achieved the goals set by the group for the efficient and effective functioning of the group. The group therefore needs to periodically assess what they are doing well and what changes they need to make in order to improve their functioning. Igel and Urquhart (2012) state that “establishing cooperative goal structures within groups is an effective way to promote interdependence among participants” (p.18).
Felder and Brent (2007) point out that all these five elements must be present in order for an activity to be described as a collaborative learning project. Collaborative learning is not simply a different form of a group project. However, collaborative learning can be applied to any type of assignment that students need to complete and has been applied in many disciplines at various educational levels. Slavin ( 2014) also emphasizes that a cooperative learning team must be made up of a diverse group of students, particularly in academic ability, and not just a group of students randomly thrown together. All members of the group must care about helping each other.
Cooperative learning has been shown to enhance learning in many ways including that weak students get peer help, strong students fill their knowledge gaps when they have to support the weaker students (Felder and Brent, 2007). Despite the benefit s of cooperative learning some teachers are reluctant to use it in their classrooms. Slavin (2014) explains that classrooms can become noisy during cooperative learning and some students may think it is an opportunity to socialize and have fun rather than applying themselves to their work.
Although teenagers today are considered highly social their communication is done through social media and not necessarily face-to-face. Not all of them know how to learn in groups and so cooperative learning must be introduced to them (Igel and Urquhart ,2012). Team work is becoming the norm in workplaces and so it is necessary for education to include opportunities for cooperative working in the curriculum. These 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills will prepare the student better for the future world of work.
