Cooperative Learning

The best answer to the question,

“What is the most effective
method of teaching?” is that it
depends on the goal, the student,
the content, and the teacher. But
the next best answer is, “Students
teaching other students.”
(Wilbert McKeachie)
 Defining
conditions
Overcomin Structur
g es &
resistance Cooperative benefits

Conflict Learning Forming

manageme teams
nt
Individual Positive
accountabili interdepende
ty nce
 Overview

• What is cooperative learning?

• Formal CL activities
• Benefits
• Implementation tips
 Cooperative Learning
Students work in
groups on structured
learning tasks under
conditions that meet
five criteria:
 CL Criteria
Regular self-assessment
of group functioning

Face-to-face Appropriate use of

interaction interpersonal skills

Positive Individual
interdependence accountability
• Cooperative learning is not
– students sitting around a table studying
together
– group projects with one or two students doing
all the work
• Cooperative learning implemented
properly minimizes or eliminates the
problems that invariably occur in poorly
implemented group work.
 Overview

• What is cooperative learning?

• CL structures
• Benefits
• Implementation tips
Team Homework

• Assignments done by teams

• Only names of participants on final product
• One grade per team, adjusted for individual
performance
• For problem sets, solutions outlined
individually, completed by team.
Option: Individual outlines and group solution
turned in
 Team Projects

• Project (design, lab, class

presentation) done by
teams
• Specialized training
provided for individuals
(Jigsaw)
• One grade per team,
adjusted for individual
performance
 JIGSAW (For projects with clearly
identifiable subtasks)

• Form home teams.

• Form expert groups, provide

specialized training

• Regroup in home teams, complete

assignment
 Peer Feedback

• Individuals or project teams help each other

– brainstorming ideas
– critiquing first drafts
– proofreading final product

• Collect and grade critiques to help students

improve critical thinking skills
 Structured Controversy
• Topic with well-documented
positions and complexity (ethical,
safety, environmental issues)
• Structured debate in pairs or
groups of 4
• Groups have goals to
(1) reach consensus on the
issue, (2) master all the material
relevant to each side as
measured by a test, and (3) write
a group report.
 Testing
• Pairs Testing. Students
take test in pairs assigned
by the instructor.
• Individual Test…Pair (or
Group) Test.
• Students take test
individually
• Same test is given to pairs
or groups
 Overview

• What is cooperative learning?

• Formal CL activities
• Benefits
• Implementation tips
 Exercise
Thousands of research studies have
shown that CL, properly implemented,
offers a number of benefits to students &
instructors.

Speculate on what the benefits are.

 CL Benefits
Improved
• student-faculty and student-student
interaction
• information retention and grades
• higher-level thinking skills
• attitudes toward subject, motivation to
learn it
• teamwork, interpersonal skills
• communication skills
• understanding of professional environment
• self-esteem, level of anxiety (less emphasis
on competition)
• race, gender relations (maybe)
PLUS, far fewer (and
better) papers to mark
 Why It Works
• Active/interactive learning.
• Individuals get stuck, give up. Groups
keep going.
• Students see & learn alternative
strategies.
• Students, like professors,
learn best what they teach.
 Overview

• What is cooperative learning?

• Formal CL activities
• Benefits
• Implementation tips
 Forming CL Teams
• 3-4 person teams for most
applications
• Form formal CL teams yourself.
Criteria:
 Mixed ability levels
 Common blocks of time to meet outside
class
 Early in the curriculum, don’t let at risk
underrepresented populations (e.g. women
in engineering) be outnumbered in groups.
• To get ability heterogeneity within each team:
 Option 1: Form groups using grades in
pre-requisite courses or on college
entrance examinations. (First-day survey)
 Option 2: Form practice groups randomly.
After first test (2-3 weeks), re-form groups
using test results.
First-day survey. Ask students for
- Gender (optional)
- Ethnicity (optional)
- Grades in selected courses
- Times not available during week for group
work
Form groups following given guidelines based
on survey responses.
• (Option for homework teams) Re-form
teams once during the course.
• (Option for project teams)
Announce project topics, use
lottery system to let students
sign up for preferred topics.
• Note: Self-selected teams are better than
no teams at all.
Promote positive interdependence
• Assign different roles (coordinator,
checker, recorder, monitor,...) and
rotate roles.

• Use Jigsaw

• Give bonus on test (2-3 points) to

groups in which the team average is
(say) 80 or higher.
 Require individual accountability
• Primarily individual testing
• Call randomly on team
members to present or
explain results
• Peer ratings of team citizenship
• Last resort options
 Periodic self-assessment
of team performance
• Are we meeting our goals and
expectations?
• What are we doing well?
• What needs improvement?
• What (if anything) will we do differently
next time?
Celebrate Success