BENEFITS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING SRUCTURES

Seeing the level of involvement of students in class when Cooperative Learning Structures are used, it comes as no mystery why all students are making dramatic academic and social gains. Research backing up these claims is summarised and referenced in Dr. Kagan’s book ‘Cooperative Learning.

Social Skills

Cooperative learning increases a long list of social skills, including: listening, taking turns, conflict resolution skills, leadership skills, and teamwork skills. Students coming from cooperative learning classrooms are more polite and considerate of others. Here are some of the main social skill benefits I’ve seen:

• Students stay on task and are less disruptive.
• Students demonstrate higher self-esteem.
• Students are more responsible for themselves and respectful toward others.
• Students are more encouraging to each other.
• Students have more friends.
• Students develop responsibility for each other.
• Students in classrooms in which there is cooperative learning feel more accepted, liked, and cared for.
• Students show enjoyment working with others.
• CL establishes an atmosphere of cooperation and helping schoolwide.
• CL creates a community environment within the classroom.
• Cooperative learning leads to increased liking for school, class, academic content, and the teacher.
• Students are more capable of taking the other’s perspective; they are more empathetic.
• Students feel more relaxed and secure in the classroom.
• CL encourages students to seek help and accept tutoring from their peers.
• CL encourages a ‘Can-Do’ attitude rather than a ‘helpless’ attitude.
• Students learn how to work in teams, preparing them for the team-based workplace of the 21st Century.
• Students show more satisfaction with the whole learning experience.
• CL encourages understanding of diversity amongst students.
• Students learn to criticise ideas, not people.

Here are main academic benefits I’ve witnessed:

Academic Skills:

• CL increases peer tutoring opportunities leading to enhanced motivation.
• CL develops higher level thinking skills.
• CL allows the assignment of more challenging tasks without making the workload unreasonable.
• CL leads to more and better questions in class. Students feel able to explore alternate solutions in a ‘safe’ environment
• CL allows students to model problem solving techniques for their peers.
• CL fosters teambuilding and a team approach to problem solving while maintaining individual accountability.
• CL helps students to clarify ideas through structured discussion and debate.
• CL develops oral communication skills and improves memory/recall.
• CL fosters metacognition in students and encourages responsibility for learning.
• CL develops ‘student voice’.
• CL weans students off considering the teacher as the sole source of knowledge and understanding.
• CL allows students a sense of control lacking in a traditional class.
• CL enhances self management skills.
• CL promotes higher achievement and attendance.
• CL increases students’ ‘staying power’, they are more likely to complete tasks and assignments.
• Weaker students improve their performance when grouped with higher achieving students.(See Achievement Gap.)
• CL is especially helpful in motivating students in specific curriculum areas.
• CL is excellent in Foreign Language and ESL courses where interactions involving the use of language are important.
• CL is especially beneficial in Mathematics courses as the students are provided with deeper understanding that only teaching material (cognitive rehearsal).
• Jigsaw structures and group project designs are ideal for Science Lab lesson and Design Technology projects.
• CL addresses learning style differences and Multiple Intelligences among students.
• CL can be adapted to large lecture to allow students to be interactive.
• CL provides formative assessment opportunities by providing immediate feedback.

It is impossible to single out just one explanation for why cooperative learning works so well on so many dimensions. Cooperative learning is a teacher's dream but a researcher's nightmare. When students interact in a positive way on a consistent basis, many variables are effected. It is probable that the positive benefits of cooperative learning flow from all of the above.