Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning was proposed in response to traditional curriculum-driven education. In cooperative learning environments, students interact in purposively structured heterogenous group to support the learning of one self and others in the same group.

In Online Education, cooperative learning focuses on opportunities to encourage both individual flexibility and affinity to a learning community (Paulsen 2003). Cooperative learning seeks to foster some benefits from the freedom of individual learning and other benefits from collaborative learning. Cooperative learning thrives in virtual learning environments that emphasize individual freedom within online learning communities.

Cooperative learning explicitly builds cooperation skills by assinging roles to team members and establishing norms for conflict resolution via arbitration. Cooperative learning should also provide the means for group reflection and individual self-assessment.

"Cooperative learning (CL) is an instructional paradigm in which teams of students work on structured tasks (e.g., homework assignments, laboratory experiments, or design projects) under conditions that meet five criteria: positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-toface interaction, appropriate use of collaborative skills, and regular self-assessment of team functioning. Many studies have shown that when correctly implemented, cooperative learning improves information acquisition and retention, higher-level thinking skills, interpersonal and communication skills, and self-confidence (Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, 1998)."
--Deborah B. Kaufman, Richard M. Felder, Department of Chemical Engineering, North Carolina State University
--Hugh Fuller, College of Engineering, North Carolina State University

Cooperative Learning and Technology
A natural outgrowth of cooperative learning is its pairing with technology that affords learners the chance to bridge distance and time.

David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson's article 'Cooperation and Technolgy' go into detail about cooperative learning (its relationship with collaborative learning) and technology's potential to play a role in facilitating learning that takes place in group environments. What follows is a summary of that article.

Three Theoretical Perspectives
1.Behavioral

Groups stimulate and punish
Groups offer more pros than they do cons.

2.Cognitive / Constructivist

Knowledge and Learning are social in nature.
Learning comes from figuring out unexpected occurrences together

3.Social Interdependence

Cooperative

Group as a 'dynamic whole'
Positive Tension
High levels of interaction

Competitive

Negative Tension

Four Types of Cooperative Learning
1.Formal

Teacher-planned

Learners given explicit roles and goals.
Learners monitored.
Learners prompted to reflect on process, personal and group contributions.

Groups may exist for one class period or several weeks.

2. Informal

Temporary groups with short-term goals.
Less structure...

3.Base Groups

Long-term (months to a year)
General support for overall academic success

4.Academic Controversy

Elicit controversy between students.
State case for each side
Withstand questioning from opposing viewpoint.
Come to consensus.

Grouping
Heterogeneous vs. Homogeneous Grouping

Heterogeneous Groups

High Achievers never lose
Usually better
Male/Female pairs most off task

Homogeneous Groups

Low Achievers fastest to quit
More interaction in all female groups than all male

Benefits of Cooperative Grouping

Increased Self Efficacy
Increased Retention
Higher Motivation
Preference for Future Coop-Learning Episodes

Building Better Groups

Outcome Interdependence - Goal attainment depends on group
Means Interdependence- Members carry out vital, distinct yet overlapping roles
Individual Accountability

Feedback from members
When needed assistance
Reassign tasks to promote balance

Task Complexity- Task is too complex for any single member to complete it.

Competing Paradigms
Cooperative vs. Collaborative learning

Normally used interchangeably.
Cooperative learning can imply more structure than collaborative learning.

Cooperative vs. Competitive Learning

In Cooperative Learning, learners must work together in order to succeed and personal success only springs from group success.
In Competitive Learning, in order to succeed, other learners must fail.