#4 Key Elements of Cooperative Learning

In my last blog I mentioned four key elements of cooperative learning that set it apart from group work. The ones I will list here are slightly different with the addition of one.

1. Positive Interdependence: Students will feel as if they "sink or swim together". The feeling that each person's efforts will benefit not just him/herself but the whole group.
2. Individual Accountability: The idea that students "learn together, but perform alone." This will ensure that no one will " hitch-hike" on others' work.
3. Face-to-Face Interaction: Promoting each other's learning by explaining how to solve problems, discussing the concepts being learned, and connecting past knowledge with present learning.
4. Interpersonal and Small Group Social Skills: A group, in order to be effective, will provide leadership, decision making, trust-building, communication and conflict management.
5. Group Processing: Students will analyze how well their groups are functioning and how well social skills are being used.

The next question is how do we implement these 5 key elements? There are a number of techniques to use, but I will discuss one for each element.

Positive Interdependence:

• Big Project: When a student cannot accomplish a learning task in a reasonable amount of time students are assigned to work in groups. Some examples of projects are indoor and outdoor labs, jigsaws, interactive cases, and interactive role playing.

Individual Accountability:

• Within-Group Peer Assessment: Students anonymously rate their group peers. The average rating from all the group members is included in their grade. This discourages students letting others do their share of the group work.

Face-to-Face Interaction:

• Student Roles: Teacher will assign roles that require interaction as they work. They could check data, keep the group on task or keep records.

Interpersonal Skills:

• Practice: Allow students time to learn how to work together. Assign groups early in the school year to help them learn schedules and strengths of each other.

Group Processing:

• Reflections: Have students write reflections on their learning. Have them tell which group members and parts of the project contributed to learning. Then have the students come together as a group to discuss the project.

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http://serc.carlton.edu/introgeo/cooperative/whatis.html