What are the principles of cooperative learning?
What is cooperative learning?
Why do we use cooperative learning?
What are the strategies in cooperative learning?
Principles of cooperative learning
There are important principles of cooperative learning that distinguish it from traditional group learning.
They are:
1. positive interdependence
2. individual accountability
3. group processing
4. social/interpersonal skills
5. face-to-face promotive interaction
Positive Interdependence
For a cooperative lesson to be effective, pupils need to understand that they "sink or swim together." In any cooperative learning situations, pupils have two responsibilities: learn the assigned material and ensure that all members of their group learn the assigned material. Positive interdependence exists when: (i) each group member's efforts are required and indispensable for group success, and (ii) each group member contributes to the joint effort because of his or her resources and/or role and responsibilities . There are many ways of structuring positive interdependence. For instance, positive goal interdependence is where each member completes a different part of task, pooling their work into one final product when they are finished. In positive resource interdependence, team members share limited materials where every member has his/her resource and works independently within a group.
Individual Accountability
This is the second principle that demarcates cooperative learning and ntraditional group work. It is realised when each pupil is assessed and given feedback of his/her mastery of assigned materials and the group is given feedback on how each member is progressing so that other team members know whom to help and encourage. Some ways to encourage individual accountability include: ·(i) giving each pupil an individual test , (ii) randomly selecting one pupil's product to represent the entire group, (iii) getting pupils to teach what they have learned to someone else, (iv) getting pupils to explain what they know to the group, and (v) pupils first learn how to solve a problem in a cooperative group and then they perform it alone.
Group Processing
This refers to the reflection by group members to evaluate how well their respective groups have functioned or worked previously, to reflect on their interaction and the use of social skills and plan how the group can work better the next time in achieving their goals. By discussing the process, the group tackles several issues like: (i) maintaining a healthy, working relationship among members, (ii) getting feedback on their contributions, (iii) reinforcing the positive behaviours of group members, and (iv) further practice of cooperative skills. Group processing can take one of these forms: (a) teacher gives specific feedback of how the students worked; (b) teacher directs students to ptocess on how each team members for instance, has enjoyed working in the group and how they can work more effectively in the future; and (3) teacher assigns an observer to look out for, count and report the extent to which the specific social skills have been employed.
Social/Interpersonal Skills
In contrast to traditional learning that assumes or rather ignores this respect, the fourth principle of cooperative learning advocates to the explicit or deliberate teaching of social skills, engaging in appropriate behaviour and employing germane language structures. Examples of possible social skills that can be taught within the cotext of a cooperative environment are: (i) "Taking turn to speak", (ii) "asking for help and giving help:, (iii) "prasing", and (iv) disagreeing without critising people". In teaching social skills, the students need to understand (a) why they are learning the skill; (b) what the skill is, conceptually and behaviourally, (c) ways the skill is practised; and (d) how well they have used the skill and how they can improve their use of the skill.
Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction
The fifth principle of cooperative learning allows students to be actively engaged, stimulating communication and sharing of ideas or resources. To foster such sense of involvement, students sit in cluster of 2-4 members in the manner that is termed as knee-to-knee or eye-to-eye. While interacting and asking questions of each other, students use each other's names, eye contact and appropriate body language. Such face-to-face mode of sitting and interaction results in higher incidence of answers, ideas or explanation being generated and put forward, which will then be examined, justifies or even be discarded by group members.