Cooperative Learning

Definition: 

Cooperative learning takes many forms but most cooperative approaches involve small, heterogeneous teams usually of four or five members, working together towards a group task in which each member is individually accountable for part of an out come that cannot be completed unless the members work together.

Positive interdependence is critical to the success of cooperative learning, because of the dynamic of interconnectedness helps students learn to give and take. When cooperation is successful, synergy is released, and the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. For cooperative learning to be effective, members should engage in teambuilding activities and other tasks that deal explicitly with the development of social skills needed for effective teamwork. Members should also engage in-group processing activities in which they discuss the interpersonal skills that influence their effectiveness.

Johnson, Roger T., and Johnson, David W.

Cooperative Learning is a relationship in a group of students that requires positive interdependence (a sense of sink or swim together), individual accountability (each of us has to contribute to learn), interpersonal skills (communication, trust, leadership, decision making, and conflict resolution), face-to face interaction, and processing ( reflecting on how well the team is functioning and how to function even better)