Cooperative Learning

Modern pedagogy seeks ways to help learners become more independent in the learning process and keen to become lifelong learners. In order to gain this kind of learners’ autonomy, cooperative learning can be used in the classroom.

DEFINITION small teams of students different levels of ability work together – various learning activities Group work – not individual Ss explain, discuss, teach what they know and help classmates learn. Learning community - atmosphere of achievement

Achievement of many social and academic benefits. build cross-ethnic friendships experience enhanced self-esteem build life-long communication skills create critical and creative habits of mind, which they will need in order to function as productive members of society later on in their lives..

What is the teacher's role? Cooperative Learning - a must for teachers -communication and social relations developed with students. represents a major change from teacher-fronted instruction. using CL does not mean abandoning teacher-fronted mode; it means combining various modes of learning.

the teacher's role is that of "task setter." As groups work on tasks, teacher - facilitator moving from group to group to monitor the learning process. Teachers teach ss social skills Collaborative skills include leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management skills

Principles of CL Heterogeneous Grouping Students involved in CL tasks : mixed in terms of ethnicity, social class, religion, personality, sex, age, language proficiency, and diligence. Collaborative Skills Collaborative skills are those needed to work with others. (leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict-management skills)

Group Autonomy This principle encourages students to look to themselves for resources rather than relying solely on the teacher. Equal Participation Traditional classroom: only one student participating at any time. By working in teams, ALL students are encouraged to contribute.

“All for one, one for all” feeling. Individual Accountability Individual Accountability: all students involved and responsible for their own learning. Positive Interdependence Lies at the heart of CL : what helps one member of the group helps the others and what hurts one hurts the others too. “All for one, one for all” feeling.

Conclusion Cooperative learning offers many potential benefits. These benefits include increased self-esteem, greater liking for school, enhanced inter-ethnic ties, and improved complex thinking. Because CL may be difficult at first, it requires serious initial thought, long-term vision, and persistence to succeed.

“Society cannot survive without the cooperation of its members. The society of man has survived because the cooperativeness of its members made survival possible.... It was not an advantageous individual here and there who did so, but the group. In human societies,the individuals who are most likely to survive are those who are best enabled to do so by their group”. (Ashley Montagu)

Reference: Courtney K. Miller & Reece L. Peterson Johnson, Johnson, and Holubec Dr. Robert Slavin Dr. Spencer Kagan Cohen Stanne Kohn Sapon-Shevin