One of the most effective ways for One of the most effective ways for students to learn is bystudents to learn is by……

learning from each other

by working together in groups

This is called:

How does this happen?

The team members must all be engaged and involved in the process

They also must be held

accountable for their

individual tasks on the project…

which means they can’t just cruise through and mooch off the other

groups members’ work

These are important

21st century skills

that students will use one day in their adult jobs

Sounds great, right?

Let’s look at the advantages and limitations of this strategy

Cooperative Learning

Advantages: Limitations:

Multiple ability level groups can be used

Formal or informal groups can be used

Same groups used

again for future lessons

Small groups needed to ensure learning is optimal

Overuse of strategy can lessen its effectiveness

Grouping by similar ability levels does not benefit all

Can be used in

any subject area

Overall, because the teacher often can control for the limitations…Cooperative Learning can be a

very effective strategy

So, how do you use this in the classroom?

Classroom use:

Groups discuss material, create presentation, and “teach” it to the

class

Classroom use:

They can use a computer program that allows groups to either work together at separate computers

or at a single computer

So, do you want

Or this one?

Consider Cooperative Learning as your new

Instructional Strategy

compiled by: Trenna Brooks

Resources:

Smaldino book: Instructional Technology and Media for Learning

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