Cooperative Learning
Group Functions and Methods
There must be a defined and purposeful reason for you to have students work in groups. Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy to be used in planned implementation. Students may work in groups to collaborate on solving a problem, to discuss an issue without direct leading by the teacher, to brainstorm for new ideas or summarize what they have learned about ideas previously presented, to formulate concepts out of information and facts they have been given. Particularly valuable is the potential of a group to share the parts of a complex project or jointly produce an assigned product. Goals for the group might range from practice in-group communication processes to preparation for a presentation to the whole class group. Clear instructions, goals, and time-lines for group activities are essential to successful cooperative learning.
One instructional strategy for using cooperative learning is called "Jigsaw" (Aronson, 1978), a cooperative learning process for students from kindergarten through graduate school. The task to be learned and necessary materials are divided into as many sections as there are members on each team. For example, a biography might be broken into "early years," "schooling," "first accomplishments," and so on. A study of plants might be divided into "food sources," "chemical manufacturing," etc. A study of a country might be segmented into geography, culture, industry, transportation, and government.
First, members of the different teams who have the same section form "expert" groups and study together. Each then returns to his or her team and teaches that section to his or her teammates. Jigsaw requires that students depend on and learn from one another in a complex group setting.
Slavin (1995), King (1993), and Millis (1990) have reviewed many cooperative-learning methods available. The following three representative techniques illustrate cooperative learning's more salient attributes.
Student Team Achievement Division (STAD). Students are assigned to four-member teams that are mixed on the basis of gender, ethnicity, and performance level. Lessons are presented in a traditional manner, but students work together to ensure that all team members master the material. Students are tested individually and each individual student's score is compared to his or her past average. Team points are awarded based on the degree to which members exceed their earlier performance.
Teams, Games and Tournaments (TGT). This approach is identical to STAD, except students compete with those in other teams who are at the same performance level. Low and high achievers from each team compete with their counterparts, and the top scorers in these "tiered" tournaments win points for their teams.
Team Accelerated Instruction (TAI). Students study individually but are assigned to teams whose members check and help each other. Students are tested individually, but team rewards are given based on the number of individual assignments and tests that members complete. The method is useful in highly structured subjects where success depends on mastering pre-requisites.
Use the links below to find out more information about cooperative learning and strategies to effectively use cooperative learning in the classroom.
- Choosing Groups
- Group Skills and First Group Assignment
- Group Functions and Methods
- Cooperative Learning Group Rules
- Assessing Cooperative Learning Groups
- References
