Cooperative learning is a method of teaching and learning in which students team together to explore a significant question or create a meaningful project. A group of students discussing a lecture or students from different schools working together over the Internet on a shared assignment are both examples of cooperative learning. It is a type of structured peer interaction emphasizing positive human relationships, collaboration between peers, active learning, academic achievement, equal participation and equal status of students in the classroom. It can be used to teach any subject matter.
The structural approach to cooperative learning
Kagan (1994; Kagan and Kagan, 1998) has developed roughly 200 classroom "structures", which may be thought of as steps to classroom activities. These structures stress positive interpersonal peer relationships, equality, self-esteem, and achievement. Students can work together by following the steps to the structure, using material or content selected by the students themselves or by the teacher.
The structures have various aims, such as: building team spirit and positive relationships among students; information sharing; critical thinking; communication skills; and mastery (learning/remembering) of specified material. Many of the structures can fulfill a number of aims simultaneously, depending on how the teacher uses them. Structures can be mixed and matched, and adapted to the particular student group.
According to Slavin,three concepts that are fundamental to all cooperative learning techniques are:
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.
A Brief History of Cooperative Learning
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.
In a two-year study of students at nine high schools in the Midwest, Coleman developed what he called a “climate of values” for the “adolescent society” he studied. Based on his findings, Coleman suggests that instead of encouraging competition in the academic setting, “which effectively impedes the process of education,” schools should introduce a more collaborative approach to teaching.
Building on the work of James Coleman, Robert Slavin (1994) conducted research on a form of cooperative learning he described as Student Team Learning. Slavin defines cooperative learning as “instructional programs in which students work in small groups to help one another master academic content.” Slavin suggests that 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.” 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.
The Following Video Presents and Overview of the Structural Approach to Cooperative Learning and How it Works, Along With A Short Biography of One of Cooperative Learning's Most Prolific Developers; Spencer Kagan.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Cooperative learning is a method of teaching and learning in which students team together to explore a significant question or create a meaningful project. A group of students discussing a lecture or students from different schools working together over the Internet on a shared assignment are both examples of cooperative learning. It is a type of structured peer interaction emphasizing positive human relationships, collaboration between peers, active learning, academic achievement, equal participation and equal status of students in the classroom. It can be used to teach any subject matter.
The structural approach to cooperative learning
Kagan (1994; Kagan and Kagan, 1998) has developed roughly 200 classroom "structures", which may be thought of as steps to classroom activities. These structures stress positive interpersonal peer relationships, equality, self-esteem, and achievement. Students can work together by following the steps to the structure, using material or content selected by the students themselves or by the teacher.
The structures have various aims, such as: building team spirit and positive relationships among students; information sharing; critical thinking; communication skills; and mastery (learning/remembering) of specified material. Many of the structures can fulfill a number of aims simultaneously, depending on how the teacher uses them. Structures can be mixed and matched, and adapted to the particular student group.
According to Slavin,three concepts that are fundamental to all cooperative learning techniques are:
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.
A Brief History of Cooperative Learning
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.
In a two-year study of students at nine high schools in the Midwest, Coleman developed what he called a “climate of values” for the “adolescent society” he studied. Based on his findings, Coleman suggests that instead of encouraging competition in the academic setting, “which effectively impedes the process of education,” schools should introduce a more collaborative approach to teaching.
Building on the work of James Coleman, Robert Slavin (1994) conducted research on a form of cooperative learning he described as Student Team Learning. Slavin defines cooperative learning as “instructional programs in which students work in small groups to help one another master academic content.” Slavin suggests that 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.” 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.
The Following Video Presents and Overview of the Structural Approach to Cooperative Learning and How it Works, Along With A Short Biography of One of Cooperative Learning's Most Prolific Developers; Spencer Kagan.