truthsandmisconceptions

When analyzing cooperative learning, it is important to differentiate between what things are true and what things are misconceptions. It is important to keep in mind that all group work is not cooperative. If a group of students is sitting as a group but still working independently or relying on one member for the group's product, cooperation is not a factor. "Cooperation requires a sense of positive interdependence and a "sink or swim together" perception" (NARST). Cooperative groups involve collaboration towards a group goal where one person's contributions are "celebrated by all group members" (NARST). Thus, in order for cooperative learning to occur, groups and projects must be assigned to promote this group collaboration. Also, teachers must encourage the attitudes and skills that are involved with cooperative learning. These things must become a classroom norm in order for cooperative learning to be beneficial. By doing these things, students are able to develop the specific skills associated with working cooperatively (Lundgren, 1991). By making cooperative work the classroom norm and providing activities that are conducive to cooperative work, students are able to work towards a group conclusion or product (Lundgren, 1991). Students gain the experience necessary to develop the skills that ensure an equal division of the task (Lundgren, 1991). Finally, by providing all students opportunities to develop these cooperative skills, most students will naturally acknowledge that group grades are fair (Lundgren, 1991). If students do not perceive these grades as fair, it is probably due to the fact that the students need more opportunities to further develop cooperative and collaborative skills.

One could also look at cooperative learning in comparison to realistic settings. It is a fact that "changes in the workplace increasingly demand teamwork, collaboration, and communication" (NCTM, 2000, p.348). Additionally, college courses increasingly emphasize oral and written communication as well as group collaboration (NCTM, 2000). Consequently, "almost all human activity is cooperative" (Lundgren, 1991). Thus, it "makes sense" to use cooperative learning in schools. If students are going to be faced with cooperative learning in college, the workforce, and life, then why not prepare students to work cooperatively? By providing students opportunities to work in collaboration with other students, we are allowing them to develop skills that they will use throughout their entire lives. Students who learn in cooperative goal classrooms will develop the skills of communication, leadership, collaboration, and conflict resolution that are "basic to productive working teams" (NARST).

Finally, by allowing students to work in small, cooperative groups, we are enabling students of all abilities to learn the material. There is evidence that students who "talk through" material with their peers learn and master the material better than students who work individually (Slavin). We can attribute this to a couple main characteristics of cooperative learning. First, individual accountability is a main feature of effective cooperative groups. In order for cooperative learning to be successful, "all group members need to understand the material and be able to explain the group's answers" (NARST). This requires all students in the group to be individually responsible for the material even though the students are working together towards a group goal. Thus, all students are responsible for learning the material themselves as well as helping their groupmates learn. Consequently, the second main characteristic of cooperative learning that promotes better learning for all students is that it requires students to not simply give answers to each other but rather to explain ideas and skill to each other (Slavin). By providing students the opportunity to work towards group goals, we are motivating students to "help one another to learn" (Slavin, p.3). This has a positive effect on all students. The higher achievers get a better understanding because while they explain ideas to other students, they are also learning the material in more depth. Whereas, the lower achievers are able to hear an explanation in "kid language" rather than "teacher language" (Slavin, p.3). In addition, all students benefit because "they can provide individual attention and assistance to one another" (Slavin, p.3). Cooperative learning provides much more one-on-one attention between students than a teacher can provide in an individually-based classroom.

(National Association For Research in Science Teaching. Research Matters to the Science Teacher: Encouraging Student/Student Interaction.)
(Slavin, Robert E. Cooperative Learning and the Cooperative School)
(Lundgren, Linda. (1991). Cooperative Learning Merril Biology. Lake Forest, IL: Glencoe, p.2)