Cooperative learning in schools involves placing students in groups to discuss and work together toward the solution of a particular problem. For example, students in a middle school might be asked to estimate the weight of a large cylindrical shipping container full of golf balls, given the dimensions of the cylinder, and the diameter and weight of a golf ball.
Students would be required to use the formulas for the volume of a sphere and cylinder to estimate the number of golf balls that would fit in the cylinder and compute its weight. In such an exercise, it is expected that various members of the group would contribute suggestions and from this discussion, learn from each other. Issues would be discussed in student language rather than a more formal teacher vocabulary. It is also expected that students would also develop social skills by participating in discussions and learning how to speak as well as listen.
By sharing the problem-solving experience, it is hoped that the weaker students, who might be overwhelmed by such a problem if confronted with it alone, could see how other students simplify the problem by breaking it into simpler “sub-problems.”
Cooperative learning is particularly useful at higher levels in courses involving deep social issues, in which there is no single correct answer. Such questions as “How would you solve the problem of homelessness in an urban environment?” are useful in promoting diverse ways of thinking and entertaining different perspectives. When applied effectively, students emerge with a deeper understanding of the complexities of such questions and an appreciation of different perspectives.
In spite of the effectiveness of cooperative learning, there are also elements that can make it counter productive. Cooperative learning, like groupthink, often fails because some people with deep insights are outnumbered by the mediocrity of the group and their insights are diluted by the weight of majority opinion.
Another pitfall of cooperative learning, as applied in the classroom, is the natural inclination of some students to take the leadership, while others, called “loafers” sit back and let the leaders do the work. When marks are assigned equally to all members of a group for the group project, the leaders resent the loafers who shared equally in the rewards. It’s the old biblical parable about the vineyards replayed several millennia later in history.
The key to cooperative learning is to use it where appropriate as only one part of the instructional process, and monitor it carefully when implemented to ensure that everyone is making a contribution. All students should have part of their grade dependent entirely on their own work. That is the only way to measure the student’s level of mastery of a subject.
