COOPERATIVE

LEARNING

Cooperative learning is a set of

instructional models used to help students
meet specific learning and interpersonal
groups.

According to Slavin (1995) and Johnson

and Johnson (1999), most of the
cooperative learning instructional models
have common set of purposes founded on
the following assumptions and beliefs.

Purposes of
Cooperative Learning:
1. Cooperative learning is designed to encourage
students to help and support their peers in a
group rather than compete against them.

2. To boost the achievement of students in all

ability levels.
3. Cooperative terms are believed to be more
motivating for majority of the students.

According to Cruickshank, Jenkins, and

Metcalf (1999), cooperative learning can be
categorized into four.

Attributes of
Cooperative Learning:
1. Groups/Teams are formed. Groups must be
heterogeneous in terms of gender, academic
ability, race, and other traits.

2. Kinds of tasks. This refers to the units of

tasks teachers assign to the teams.
3. Groups rules of behavior. This refers to the
rules of behavior required for team members:
-individual responsibility
-accountability to oneself

-tutoring
-cooperation

4. Motivation and reward system.

Cooperative learning is characterized by a
unique system of rewards.

Arends
(2004)
elucidated
cooperative
learning
has
instructional goals.

that
three

Cooperative
Learning

Academic
Achievement

Tolerance and
Acceptance of
Diversity

Social Skills

Outcomes of
Cooperative Learning
1. Academic achievement
Cooperative learning aims to improve student
performance on important academic tasks.
Higher achievers tutor the lower achievers, thus
providing special help from peers who have the
same youth-oriented interests and language.

2. Tolerance and acceptance of diversity

Cooperative learning presents opportunities for
students of varying backgrounds and
conditions to learn to appreciate one another by
working interdependently on common tasks
and using cooperative reward structures.

3. Social skills
Through cooperative learning, students
develop cooperation and collaboration skills.

To guide teachers in the planning,

implementation, and evaluation of
cooperative learning lessons, Johnson and
Johnson (1984) came out with the
description of what cooperative learning
is not.

What Cooperative
Learning is Not
1. Cooperation is not having students sit side
by side to just talk with one another as they do
their individual assignments.
2. Cooperation is not having students do a task
with instructions that whoever finishes first
must help the slower students.

3. Cooperation is not assigning a report to a

group of students, wherein one student does all
the work, and others just put their names on the
finished product.

Arends (2004), in his studies, arrived at

six major phases in the conduct of
cooperative learning when carried out in
the classroom.

Six Major Phases in

Cooperative Learning
Phase 1: The lesson begins with the teacher

going over the goals of the lecture and

motivating students to learn.
Phase 2: Presentation of information is in the
form of a text rather than a lecture.
Phase 3: Students are organized into study
teams.

Phase 4: Students, with the assistance of the

teacher, work together to accomplish

interdependent tasks.
Phase 5: The groups end product or testing
on what students have learned is presented.
Phase 6: Group and individual efforts are
recognized.

Cooperative
Learning
Models

Formal Cooperative Learning

Three formal cooperative learning instructional
models have been developed over the years:
1. Group investigation (GI)
2. Jigsaw II
3. Student Teams Achievement
Divisions (STAD)

1. Group Investigation
This model is based o John Deweys
educational philosophy, which contended that
students can only learn to live in a democratic
society if their education provides them with
actual experience of democratic decision
making and problem solving.

Six steps in implementing GI:

a. Topic selection
b. Cooperative learning
c. Implementation
d. Analysis and synthesis
e. Presentation of final product
f. Evaluation

2. JIGSAW II
Based on the work of Aronson and Patnoe

(1997).
Requires students to learn working together to
enhance their total understanding of a topic.

Steps to follow:
a. Inform students that they will be
working in their Jigsaw groups to
achieve the lessons goals.
b. Create heterogeneous groups.
c. Present rules to govern group
behavior.

d. Present content material to the whole

class.
e. Develop expert groups.
f. Organize expert groups.
g. Return to study teams to teach
expert-knowledge.
h. Evaluate students knowledge.
i. Provide team recognition.

3. STUDENT TEAMS
ACHIEVEMENT
DIVISION
This model developed by Slavin (1995), is a
form of cooperative learning that uses a multiability team to teach facts concepts, and skills.

Implementing using STAD

STADS lessons focus on concept or skills.

The lesson is introduced, the content is
explained, and students are involved in guided
practice.

PHASES IN IMPLEMENTING LESSONS

USING STAD
Phase 1 : Instruction
Phase 11: Transition to teams
Phase 111: Team study and monitoring
Phase 1V: Assessment
Phase V:
Recognizing achievements.

Informal Cooperative
Learning Models
Three informal cooperative learning models:
1. Jigsaw I
2. Think-Pair-Share
3. Role Playing

1. Jigsaw 1
Developed by Aronson and Patnoe (1997) to
increase student interdependence. It is
cooperative learning plan in which six-member
teams work to investigate a common topic.

Syntax for Jigsaw 1

(Gunter, Estes, & Schwab, 2003 )
Introduce Jigsaw 1
Assign heterogeneously grouped students to

study teams
Assemble expert groups to study materials.
Experts teach their study teams.
Evaluate and provide team recognition

2. Think-Pair-Share
- by Frank Lyman et al. (1981)
- This model changes the assumption that all
recitations or discussions need to be held in
whole-group settings.

Think-Pair-Share Strategy
(Lyman, 1989)
Step 1: Thinking
Step2 : Pairing
Step 3: Sharing

Think-Pair-Share Model
(Gunter, Estes, & Schwab)
Step 1: Teacher poses a question
Step 2: Students think individually
Step 3: Each student discusses his/her answer
with a fellow student.
Step 4: Student share their answers with the
whole class

Think-Pair-Share
created by Kagan (1990)
students are required to use academic skills

such as hypothesizing, inductive reasoning,

and application
enable students to develop concepts and
critical thinking skills (Lasley II, Matczynski,
& Rowley, 2002)

ThinkPair-Share
(Lasley II, Matczynski, & Rowley, 2002)
a. Provide students with a topic or ideas.
b. Let students reflect independently about the
meaning of the topic.
c. Allow students to pair up with other students
to discuss the topic and share respective
thoughts.

d. Instruct the students to share their thoughts

with the class.

3. Role Playing
This strategy gives the students an
opportunity to work with others in determining
how an individual or group might behave in
response to a particular situation.

Steps in Role Playing

(Gunter, Estes, & Schwab, 2003)
Choose an interesting situation.
Select the teams.
Assign the problem and explain the task.
Teams prepare the role play and select the

players.

Assign task to the observers.

Teams present the role play.
Teams return to their groups to discuss the

role playing experience.

Class discussion.
Evaluate.

Johnson and Johnson (1999), in their

investigation, identified five elements that
should be included in any investigative
learning activity.

Elements of
Cooperative Learning
1. Positive Interdependence
It can be structured through mutual goals
(goal interdependence); division of labor
(task interdependence); division of materials,
resources, or information among group
members (resource interdependence);

casting unique roles to students (role

interdependence); or giving group
rewards(reward interdependence).

2. Face-to Face Interaction Among Students

Tasks that call for significant interaction
among group members are preferred over tasks
that can be accomplished by having group
members work on their own.

3. Individual Accountability
Each member should receive any needed
assessment, feedback, or instructional
assistance.

4. Instructing Students in Appropriate

Interpersonal and Small-Group Skills
Students need instruction in skills, such as
asking and answering questions; ensures that
everyone participates actively and is treated
with respect; assigning tasks; and organizing
cooperative efforts.

5. Group Processing
Students must have the time to assess how
well the group is performing and to discuss the
group members actions that are helpful or
unhelpful.

According
to
Arends
(2004),
cooperative learning lessons can be
characterized by the following features:

Features of Cooperative
Learning
1. Students work in teams to master learning
goals.
2. Teams are made up of high, average, and low
achieving students.
3. Whenever possible, teams should include
different races, culture, and genders.

4. Reward systems should be oriented to the

group as well as to the individual.

Cooperative learning entails good

leaders. For Cruickshank, Jenkins, and
Metcalf (1999), the qualities of good
leaders are as follows:

Qualities of Good Leaders of

Cooperative Learning
1. They believe in the importance of getting
learners to work together for the individual
and common good.
2. They are able to get diverse learners to work
cooperatively.
3. They are competent presenters and use
independent study assignments effectively.

4. They are effective organizers and coordinators

of work.
5. They are effective diagnosticians and
clinicians (e.g. able to identify and help
students and teams who are having
difficulties).

Guidelines for Using Cooperative Learning

Teams
(Gunter, Estes, & Schwab, 2003)
Study teams should be changed at the

beginning of a new unit or study or every

few weeks.
Encouraging students to become

independent learners.
References other than textbooks may be

incorporated.

Guidelines in Conducting Cooperative

Learning Lessons
(Arends, 2004)
They must learn to help each other

and respect individual differences.

Make available more visual presentations and
explanations for students with disabilities.

Prepare for giving assistance and feedback.

Help them understand how their peers

with disabilities differ and what they

can expect from them.

Help other students understand cultural norms

of various ethnic groups.

Help all students become familiar with aids.

Guidelines in Implementing STAD

(Slavin, 1995)
Conduct a pretest.
Rank students in descending order.
Divide students.
Present the lesson as normally as possible.

Let the students study worksheets that

focus on the goals covered by the teacher.

Monitor groups.
Administer individual quizzes to students.
Assign team scores based on individual

score points.

Guidelines in Encouraging ProjectCentered Learning

(Kellough & Kellough, 2003)
Develop individual skills in cooperation and

social interaction.
Develop students skills in writing,

communication, and higher level thinking and

actions.

 Foster student engagement, independent

learning, and thinking skills.

Optimize personal meaning of the learning to

each student.
Provide the opportunity for each student to

become knowledgeable and experienced in one

area of subject content.

 Provide opportunity for students to become

intrinsically motivated to learn.

Provide and opportunity for students to make

decisions about their own learning.

Provide an opportunity for students to make

some sort of contribution.

Guidelines in Teaching and Evaluating the

Collaborative Process
(Johnson & Johnson, 1999)
Teaching how to communicate ones own

ideas and feelings.

. Make the messages complete and specific.
. Make verbal and non-verbal messages

congruent.

 Convey an atmosphere of respect and support.

Demonstrate how to assess whether the

message was properly received.

Teach how to paraphrase anothers point of

view.

 Demonstrate how to negotiate meanings and

understandings.
Teach participation and leadership.