Principles of cooperative learning

The

Personal Interdependence Individual Accountability

When the achievement for one is a benefit for the others

Pair- and group work members see themselves as a team working towards the same goal

Equal Participation

Every participant contributes equally to the final achievement

Every individual is responsible for their learning

Every individual takes responsibility for their role in the group

Individuals have the ability to think as individuals, and also as members of the group

The learners can be cooperative and independent in their learning

Simultaneous Interaction

This engages as many learners as possible simultaneously

Positives

Cooperative Learning:

Social interaction

Learners get to know their classmates

Interact with classmates that they would not have automatically interacted with

Minimises the disengagement experienced by some learners

Allows the learners to take charge of their own learning

Allows for mixed-ability groups

Learners may have a better method in terms of explanation to their peers

Negatives

Learners may see this as a burden to their normal learning

Learners may have to be intrinsically motivated and this may prove difficult for lower-achieving learners

Teachers’ Role in Cooperative Learning:

Before the lesson

Objectives must be clearly outlined at the start of the lesson

Plan the group size

Identify the resources that are required

Clearly outline the criteria

Set the rules

Developing the learners' social skills by: Establish good teamwork by:

learners work together within their group encourage learners to ask questions encourage peers to provide explanations and not answers listen to each other help each other stay on the task the teacher should only be asked if everyone in the group has tried to explain without success the members of the group should face each other ensure all materials are ready each team member is assigned a duty team members take turns encourage terminology such as: "please can you explain?", "does everyone understand?" etc.