Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Learning FIFTH EDITION David W. Johnson University of Minnesota Roger T. Johnson University of Minnesota Allyn and Bacon. Boston London Toronto Sydney , Tokyo Singapore‘Vice Present and Eaitorin hit, Socal Sciences and Eaventon: Sean W. Wakely “Ettoral Asttan Jessen) Barnard Masheting Mauger Brad Parks {Companion and Prepress Buyer Linda Cox Manuctaring Buyer Megan Coch (Carer Adminitor Jey art Povo Director Susan Dube Prodaction Administrator: Deora Brows Editorial Production Service’ PM. Gordon Asiocates ‘ANitcom Company 1e0 Gould Sweet Copyright © 1999, 14, 1001, 1987, 1975 by Allyn and Bacon Necdlnin Heights, Nesachostts 02404 Inger onnvaacon com All rights reserved. No parcof the material protected by this copyright nodce maybe reproduced ortized in an form or by any means ‘lectronieor mechanical neling photocopying, cording, or by any Information storage andl etal er, without tne writen permission of te copyright omer. Livery of Congress GrslogingnPablcaton Data Johnson, Dad W, 1940 Teening roger and sone: cooperate, compete, and indvduase earning / Did W.Jonnon, Roger. Johnson. — aihed Indudes bibliographical ferences and index ISBN 0-205-28771-9. 1. Grogp workin education. 2 Individualized instruction 3. lnterseonanapiin ednestion. 4 Leston planing. I Jetmon, Roger, 1988 IL Tide Etos2583 "To9e S712 deat 95-25086, ar Photo Cres: P. xi, Wil Fall p. 12, Robert Harbison (op), Wil aller (Bota): p48, {Wil ar (cop and bottoms p56 Wil Hare (op), Beta Sth (Bottom) p. 68, Bria Shih (op) il Har (ott) 9, Wil Faller p 102, Will Hart (top), Wl Faller {ostomy p. 124, Tony Nee; p.150, Wil Hart (top), Blan Smal (bottom); p 162, Wl Fler (ioph; Robert Harbison {side and bottom; p 168, Wil Hart (pad bottom), Printed in the United States of America BRIO (07 06 08 oFPREFACE ix (COOPERATIVE, COMPETITIVE, AND INDIVIDUALISTIC LEARNING Structuring Learning Goals Cooperative Forts 5 Competitive Efors 6 Individuals Efore ‘The Choice: Appropriately Using Interdependence 10, What Isin This Book? 11 Summary 1 COOPERATIVELEARNING 13 Types of Cooperative Learning Groups 14 ‘Teacher's Role: Being “A Guide on the Sle” 17 Preinstructional Decisions 18 Seructuring the Task and Cooperative Structure 28 ‘The Cooperative Lesion $1 Monitoring and Intervening 42 Evaluating Learning and Processing Interaction 45 Summary and Conclusions 46 INFORMAL COOPERATIVE LEARNING 49 ‘The Cooperative Classroom 50 Appropriate Use of Lectsring 81Informal Cooperative Learning Groups 55 Lecturing with Informal Cooperative Learning Groups 56 Conclusions 57 COOPERATIVE BASEGROUPS 59 Cooperative Base Groups 59 (Chast ase Groups 80 Schoo! Base Groups 61 The Aiisee or Home Room Base Group 62 Cooperative Learning and Social Support 63 Need for Long:Term Permanent Relationships 64 Conclusions 67 ‘BASIC FLEMENTS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING 69) Making Potential Group Performance a Reality 70 Forces Hindering 74 Appling dhe Basi of Cooperation — 75 Positive Interdependence: We Instead of Me 75 Individual Accoumabilty/Personal Responsibility 80 Faceto¥ace Promotive Interaction 82 Incerpersonal and Sinai Group Skills $2 Group Processing 84 Positive Interdependence and Intellectual Conflict 87 Reducing Problem Behaviors 88 Summary 88 INTEGRATED USE, OF ALL TYPES OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING 91 Fifty Minute Css Sesion 91 NinexyMinute Clas Session 93 Examples of Integrated Use of Cooperative Le The Evokeion of Cooperative tearing 98 Personalizing the Learning Environment 100 Conclusions 101 ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION 105, Conducting Awessments 108 Making Assessments Meaningful and Manageable 306 Assessment Procedures 108 Setting and Managing Learning Goals 108‘est and Examinations 110 Compositions and Presentations 111 {odividual and Group Projects 113, Portfolios 113, Observing 115. Interviewing — 116 Atiude Questionnaires 117 Learning Logsand Journals 118 Total Quality Learning 118 Teaching Teams and Asessment 119 Giving Grades 120 Summary 122 STRUCTURING COMPETITIVELEARNING 125, Nature of Competition 127 Characteristics of Compesition 129 Esablshinga Competitive Structure 135, Essential Elements of Competition 143 Summary 18 STRUCTURING INDIVIDUALISTIGLEARNING 151 Nauire and Appropriate Use of Individualiie Learning 151 Essential Elements of individualistic Si 153 Establishing an Indvidualistie Structure 155 Individuals Seils 159 Summary 161 INTEGRATED USE OF COOPERATIVE, COMPETITIVE, AND INDIVIDUALISTICLEARNING "163 Appropriately Using Interdependence 168, Frequency of Use of Each Goal Structure 164 Integrated Use of All Three Goal Example ofan integrated Unit 165 Helpful Hints for Conducting Imegrated Units 167 Conclusions 167 REFLECTIONS 169, (Changing Paradigm of Teaching 169 Using Cooperative Learning Appropriately 172Integrated Use of All Three Goal Structures 175 ‘Teaching Students Social Skills 179 Uslizing Creative Confict 179 Empowering Saf through Gooperasve Teams 180 Creating aLearning Communiy 180 TnRewospeet 181 APPENDIX A: GOAL STRUCTURES, INTERACTION AMONG STUDENTS, ‘AND INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES 183 History of Cooperative Learning 184 Research on Social Interdependence 195 TIntersetion Paterns 196 Learning Outcomes 208 Effort to Achieve 202 Interpersonal Relationships 206 Paychological Health and Peychological Adjustment 211 Social Stills 214 Reciprocal Relationships among the Three Outcomes 216 Reducing the Discrepancy 218 REFERENCES 219 GLOSSARY 233, INDEX 243,{As you may have surmised, we are brothers, and as such we are very familar with competition. Grosting up, we raced to sce who would get through a door ft, mca sured to see who gotmore cake (or more of anything), and angued to see who would ‘icy the window in the car: One incident we both remember vividly isthe corncob fight. Fora few years while growing up in Indiana, we lived (and worked!) on a farm. ‘We regularly practiced our throwing accuracy with corneobs, and more than acc. sionally we practiced on each other. In one ofthese desperate battles, we each had gathered a large feed sack full of cobs and were finging and dodging our way through the bara. When the older brother gained the upper hand, as he usvaly did, the younger brother scampered up the ladder into the hajloft taking 2 wel! simed cob in the seat ofhis pans. Tae hayloft advantage provided a problem for the older brother as he was nipped a couple of times without even coming close to his ‘opponent. So taking his sack of comeobs between his teeth, he started up the lad der (the only way to the loft). As he got about halfway up, he realized he was geting pelted with more cobs than could be thrown at one time and looked up to see the Jounger brother standing atthe top ofthe Ider shaking out his bag of comncobs And enjoying himself immensely. The tables turned, however, when the older brother reached the top of the ladder and the younger brother discovered he was ‘out of ammunition. Then it was the younger brother's turn to be pelted 25 he crouched in the hay while the older brother lec him have it—one by one. We still argue about who got the most out ofthe bate, the younger brother releasing the ‘waterfall of cobs dow the ladder or the brother delivering the onetby-one pelting, inthe haylon ‘We are sure that people who knew us then are surprised to see us coopera ‘0m this book and in the related teacher workshops we conduct It should be no sur pile; the ideas presented here on Low to recognize appropriate and inappropriate competve, individualiste, and cooperative effort are important enough for even to brothers to cooperate, We are lso accidentally, but admirably, suited t0 work together on this tie. Davi struggled through graduate school at Cohimbia Univer sig, gaining the skills of an acadeanic social psychologist, while Roger, ater teachingfor several years atthe elementary schoo! level, took the easy route chrough the Unik versity of Calfornia asa partcime staff member in teacher education, With the years ‘of elasroom teaching experience and the research and writing in social psychology represented by our combined backgrounds, and brought together atthe University innesota, we realy recognized the potential ofthis conceptual scheme—strue turing learning in ways cosistent with instructional aims. "We believe that all three goals structures—competiive, individualistic, and ‘cooperative-can be ued productively and integrated into the same lesson, We believe that all students should be able to compete for fun and enjoyment, work autono- rmously on their own, and cooperate effectively with others. just as important, st dents should know sehen to compete, when to work om thelr own, and when to coop- trate, While all three goal structures may be effective under certain conditions, competitive and individualistic efforts are effective only when used in the context of 8 larger framework of ccoperation. Carefully planned cooperation becomes the framework within which compestive and individualistic efforts take place. The di {erent sypes of cooperative learning (formal cooperative learning, informal cooper ative learning, and cooperative base groups), furthermore, may be used in an inte trated way to maximize tke success of any clas sesion. Tn our work wit teschers in workshops and in our own clases atthe Univer= sity of Minnesota, we have found a few obstacles that hinder implementation. Fist, teachers often do not realize the potential that implementing appropriate goal struesures has for their cssroom. The research is clear (See Appendix A). Achieve ‘ment will go up, relationships will become more postive, and psychological health will improve when goal sructures are used appropriately. After all, goal structures Concentrate on wha isthe most powerful variable in che learning situation—the nteraction patterns and interdependencies of the students as they work toward a goal. The second obstacle to recognizing the importance of using cooperative as well as competitive and irdividualized activities isthe powerful mythology that sur rounds competition. How many times have you heard 2 version of socal Darwinism that suggests "i's a dogeatdog world” or “a survivabofshefitest sociey” or that “students need to learn how to compete so they ean survive in the business world?" Even the business world does not belive thatthe world is savagely competitive. Asa social peychologiet with nanagement waining, David could spend much of his time teaching people in business and industry how to reduce inappropriate competition tind increase cooperation in their companies. Society cannot be described as conte pufitive itis by definition cooperative. Within the cooperative framework of society, hholever, there iecompettion, sometimes too much. ‘Another obstacle we have observed is the “'malready-doingthat” feeling ‘many teachers have when we describe cooperation. I'you really ae doing it as well asit ean be done, much of this book all nat be useful. Yet frequently we Hind that teachers who say (or think) they are using goal structures appropriately are sur prised by certain aspects af exch when these goal structures ae carefully described from a social psychological point of view and when the steps fr implementing and ‘monitoring them are explained. Finally, the educational history of many students and teachers is such that hey find cooperating within the school rather strange andAiea. Our own students seem eeved when thy find that they are not going tone a compete gach nen anda igh oe secs to fo dough he Clauroom when the copersive approach s mouneed. Suudenty however, Ae “aly sorneat reluctant et cooperate it each oer and ten to Work indiidalialy when they shold be cooperating. I takes some rladonship buling and rc devlopmen: ec they re able share West hep cach ater eflcvel to produce true roupeffore our sdents may hase of te tame ates (0 may te teachers in your shoo) andthe do, youinay need ‘Sachand encourage he sie nerSed ower together We vsh we could be wih Youssou plement pproplt goal sutures in your structions prog, We wold ik to elp.Formes-oyou,thisbook and he Teesshared here re heb we can do Westie Your cael lsc = ur tren have anda thowe of eachers rea shine, One tng evan: for seo ou who wan to atch the sppropat sant nteracon paterns wh neucosal foalsan vantto move to. predoninantycowperate Gssou the radonae for Sing wos ere, ad youl be abe od gel erring fund wt anyone ‘Wie hope that enough ofthe ages have bean gen, bt implementing lcs Jour profeaton andi meting et ont we eat to nd and ince Aone Lier the proce. Practice your own ila ou encourage them in our st dens So aye ty te Cooperating ito ache! In ft we sugges tha he bs wy to work withthe Mew in tha book's wo approach the ak Coopers Grey wih sed ad low teacher wth whom share tough and ster nj youre, persevere, and accent any realing suc wth ure modes. “Fhe are dco any pope thet hep ring tis book ed prepa fing the manoscrpt: Cred must e give to Hayne Johnsen Holub, out ser, ‘ho'sraye thereto lend a and eerily hen needed: and ina Johnsen, ‘io rao hen called on to asemole te whole fom sand places Weslo owe Inuch o many socal choose wn hae eonducted Feta ana formulated teaches We owe ch the teachers hw have ened over beige bailing and gen ws bp insceonareting when we needed fe We ove mucho turaudents hs hae been paint ih our ens andl ia challenging Sh implementing our dese Pinal, we owe much to our wes and cildres for ‘aking our ves ly cooperate David W,fobnson Roger Tbs‘Once, in the remote pasta tribe of people after years of wandering generally in 2 southern direction, decided to sete ina valley in a remote part of what is now the United States. They faced the challenges of building shelter, ensuring an adequa supply of water and food the year ound, providing for their defense, and creating a ‘good life for themselvesand ther children, To achieve these goals, they had achotce Among three waye of onganiing themselves: 1. The wie could emphariae comfeilon among temembers io determine who was bes, Teisimportant to place the bes an the brightest in eharge ofthe tbe. Bor each ak, members would compete tose who could doit better and faster than anyone else. Toe who won wee placed in postions of aathoity and were given the mos food and the most comfort caves. Those who were lst were considered of no real impor. tance and were given sry Hite od and the coldest an Tes secre exes In this, the ube baleved they would Meursh by constantly ensuring thatthe songest, quik ft and mot sucess memben ofthe bene 2 The tribe could emphasize working alone, individually on one's oa, Bach ibe member would do eich ta aloe, separate and apart fom ll oihers When a person as hungry, wasup wo him or her to hunt or gfow food. When danger threened, tach would be responsible fr is or her fey Each peron was expected to be ai ‘eteme individual, ‘The tribe could emphasve working together, cooperavely. For each ti, be mam bets would crete a dision of kbor in which everyone bad a partand all onbaed Allbenetted, sharing equal inthe results Some would hunt some would rom food, some would take cae of and educate the children, and some would bail and repair2. COORRAIWE COMPETIVE AD NDNOUALSTIC LEACUNG ‘the homes. Each wold at de other. Because everyone contibwed ia some way, the ube anembers worked on improving commision, leadership, decision making, land ways confit weresanaged They sa became avery fend tbe and had los of porter and fi. Gourd ERE Tea oe Prerencet Which way would you onganize the cvization? fn Table 1.1, rank the three alterns- dives from most preferred ("") to least preferred (°3") and explain why you ranked the alternative as you did, Find partner. Share your ranking and reasons. Listen 0 hisor her ranking and reatons. Come to consensus as 1o how the civilization should be organized. TAME mane INTERDERENDENGE REASONS. Compeiton — Invasions I Coopeaton Yor any task, humars can onganize ther efforts in dhese three ways: competi tively! individualsicaly, or cooperatively. Each has is advocates and critics, The {uth maybe that humansare good atall three, We compete for fun and excitement, ‘we take satisfaction from our individual and autonomous accomplishments, and we ‘cooperate with great focus and determination, Each may be effective under certain conditions. Each time we interact with another human being, we make a choice about che balance of these three waysin the relationship. lin order to make an informed choice among these three alternatives, duct tors must be able to answer the following questions (see also Figure [.1) | 1. Whasare cooperate competi, snd indian effore? ! 2. What are the expect otcomes of compere, compedtive, nd induc 1 ‘flock? 7 8. War ar dhe condkons under which compete, compete, and induc Cory be ed ete 44 How do you sruetireleons cooperatively compel or indliduaisaly? 5. How do ou use cooperative, competve, and dials learing nan integrated 1, Fora ber sending te ry of the sey faving ve with bid compton among ci ‘dan readars may we ooo tbr Mer Fans ohn, 7208 Carma, En steCOOPERATE COMPETE ANOINDMOUAISIC LEARNING 3 Understand What Goopentive, Competitive, and Individuals forts Are 1 Kou Expected Outcomes of Cooperative ‘Compete an irvalsi Eons 1 Know the Cations unde Which Each Goal Structure May Be Used Efectively 1 now Hew to Use Each Gal tact EMecively and Havethe Skis 086.9 1 Tnplement Cooperate: Competitive: and Indvdualiie fos nan Interne Way FIGURE L.1 Using Goal Stuur Appropriately STRUCTURING LEARNING GOALS In your classroom you (the teacher) have the same choice that the tribe did, You may structure lessons so that students 1, Engage ina win-love srugle tose who ie est in completing the assignment. 2. Workindependentto comple the asigament. 8. Work together in sll groups, eoaurng at al members complete the asigument ‘Students learning goals mas he structured to promote cooperative, competi- live, or individualistic efforts In every classroom, instructional activites are aimed at accomplishing goals and are conducted under a goal structure. Alearuing goal it 4 desired future sate of demonstrating competence or mastery in the subject area being studied. The goal structare specifies the ways in which students will interact with each other and the teacher t achieve the goal. Snidents may interact to pro mote each others succes or obstauct each other's succes. Student may also avoid interaction and thereby have no effect onthe success or failure of others. Whenever people strive to achieve a goal, they may engage in cooperative, competitive, or ind ‘idvalistic efor,TABLE1.3 Aspects of Cooperation Gat ‘hss members ar signed smal groups en haerogencus and instal oar th igo ster! (ener al oer BOHp Levels Coopeation _Cupettin ay be xen tothe cla by eaing hat everyone inthe hs st eared he sgn maria ane sche yearn that laude nthe seal ee rogrening sce lvl Iwaceton tem Stade prema each oar soc Stuer ccs teri with ch “they xan howto comple the ssn ten esc thers ‘panto, encourage each oer fo wrk Rar, provide sei {ep and asidanc, Tis nacon pom ets Been 2 al shin gop ‘Selasion of Oucomer A citrialrenced assent an evlston sen ied The fc it ‘uly ona ling ad eadense propre othe nd ss Setimay ako neude he group stale e cls and te soo rescarch (Appendix A) md (b) detailing the nature of construesve cooperative Tearning, che teacher's rle in implementing it, and the basic elements that make it work (Chapters 2-6). re eres (COMPETITIVE EFFORTS ‘We do iton the tennis courts and putting greens, in the boardroom and the playing. field, at che chalkboard and on the dance floor. Iti eulogized at business lub lu cheonsand exalted atjurior Achievement pep rallies, tis ballyhooed by economists and politicians as the eur for our financial ils and itis gloriied in locker room ser mons as preparation for if in the real world. Applause for competition dates back atleastas far asthe ancient Greeks. The language of business, politics, and even edt ‘ation isfilled with win Jae terms. You win promotion or raise, bent the opposition, ‘outsmarta teacher, become 4 superstar and put competitors in ther pce. Competing with and defeating an oaponent is one of the most widely recognized aspects of interpersonal interaction in our sociey ‘Competition is working against each other to achieve a goal that only one ora few students can atain. Within competitive situations, individuals seek outcomes ‘that are beneficial to thenselves and detrimental to others. Competitive learning ie the focusing of stident effort on performing faster and more accurately than dase mates (see Table L4). Sudents perceive chat they can obtain their goasif and only ifthe other students inthe class fal to obtain thelr goals (Deutsch, 1962; Johnson & Jobson, 1989).COORRARVE, COMETIVE AXO RDWIOUALSTICLARNING 7 TABLE 1.4 Aspects of Competition Goa ‘Gs marker a tue o peo trad mare accuately ‘an cman Leva of Competion _Canpationnay oem he gravy seeking ob he best crime the frou cles by esing tebe he een te {Sun esc snking psf ihe tan anyone an ‘heschob nd sometimer te raton oy serge prom higher than ayer be nthe county) lees Reanet be eed to iterpacy competion who becoring ino cope, Inicton tes dents cau ech ers succes, Stes Wo sone ide ee ‘wo fem ac the fe tipo asses and ay Irae nth ad sek tolomer ech others ooo laa, [lution ef Outcomes Anomernced elution atin sed. Theos of asesant Shdevalenion lon aig ser’ sade erancs em Soadents recognize their negatively Tnkeld fe (The more you gon, the lesser sme; the more I gain, the ls for you, strive to be better than classmates (Fan dat Jou), work to deprive others (My wining meons ou ki), view rewards such as {Grades as limited (Only afew of wl gt As, celebrate classmates failures (Your {faite aes it easier for me to wir), ancl believe that the more able and deserving individuals become "haves" and the less able and deserving individuals become the “have nots" (Winner olaays win, lors always lose). Most students perceive school asa predominantly competitive enterprise (Johnson & Johnson, 19832) ‘Considerable controversy has surrounded the use of competion in class rooms and schools. Like cooperative learning, competitive learning has both advocates and erties, This controversy may be resolved by (a) examining the research (Appendix A) and (b) detalling the nature of constructive competitive learning, dhe teacher’sroe in implementing it, and the basi elements shat make stwork (Chapter 7) INDIVIDUALISTIC EFFORTS Humans do not always interact with others. At imes, people desire solitude. A long hike toa mountain lake, a walk along a deserted seashore, recording thoughts in a Journal, reflecting on one's goals, planning one’s day, memorizing lines in a play, ‘and even writing a book are actives often done alone. Sometimes individuals act independently from each other without any interdependence existing among them. Individualstie efforts are working slone to accomplish goals unrelated ro and inde- pendent from the goals of the others (Deutsch, 1962; Johnson & Johnson, 1989) ‘Whether an individeal accomplishes his or her goal has no influence on whether other individuals achieve their goul. Within individualist situations, individuals eck outcomes that are beneficial o themselves, Indlvidualistc learning is working by oneself to ensure one’s own learning meets preset criterion independent from the effors of ether students (ce ible 13).18 cooreRIvE Couper, AND NOAMOUALSTC EARNING TABLES Aspects of Individuaistc Efforts ‘rater staan’ cadanie peormances eahes est on Each student hasbis or her own set of materials, worls at his or her own speed, tries not to distur classmates, and seeks help and assistance ony rom the teacher. Students are expected and encouraged eo focus on their own goals (Flow wel can I so), havea sic selFinterest (What's im ifr me), see their success as dependent on only their own abilities (/1 om ob, ev a high rad), celebrate only their ovn success (Fda it), and ignore asirelewant the sceesor flr of others (Whether my assmates achieve or not ds not affect me) The use of individwalisde learning in classrooms ha inspired some eontro- vetsy, and the practice has its advocates and its critics. This controversy may be resolved by (a) examining the research (Chapter 2) and (b) detailing the nature of constructive competition, the teacher's role in implementing it, and the basi ele ‘ments that make it work (Chapter 8). ‘Table L6 lists the major characteristics to these three modes of social nterde- pendence. TABLEL.6 Characteristic of Social Interdependence Cravexcrenisic ‘COOPERATIVE ‘cOwreTTVE INDIMDUALSTIC aw Mona Onpeate Independent Benet aa Dien sei Time especie Leg Tem Stor Tem Sheen dey Shared Relive Separate Cotton Maa Relate sa Revere Untied Lines Unites ation wise fxrnc ecnsie ‘aston or iy ety Colbie um Succes, wn ace, nm Sua ‘Ste Success ‘it Face Review the following twelve statements. Form a pair and agree on whether each statement reflects a coogeratie, competitive, or individualistic situation, Place each Statement in the appropiate column in Table 1‘COorERAIE, COMET, ANDINDMMOUALSTIC LEARNING 9 Statements 1. See for everyones succes. 2 Suive tobe beter than other. 5. Strive for one's ann suecest oy 4. Whar benef self doesnot ffectothers 5, Jolnesoecssis celebrated 6 2 8 8 ‘What benef self benefits others aly one’ own mcs i celebrated, DMoiated wo help and ast odes, What bene self deprive or hus others 10, Motivated only to maximize one's own productivi, 1. Own sscces anothers fit celebrated. 12, Modvated 1 ensue that no one see does better than onese TABLE 17 COOPERATIVE ‘COWPETIVE TNDMIDUALSTIC (i eae TE. Do Wow gres on iagreee Te followin is series of quotes fiom prominent historical figures about coopera tive, competitive, and indivdualiste efforts, For each quote, indicate the level of| youragreement. Disagree 12-345 Agree — 1 United e stand, divided we ill. (Watehword af the American Relation) —— 2 Winning ie not everything, iis the only thing. (Vince Lombardi) 5. stand on your own wo feet (Horatio Alger) —— 4 Acamelisa hore desgnedbys committe, (Anonymous) — 5 Itisnotwhedher you win orlose, ie how you play the game, (Anonymous) 6. Asingle sequoia tee i toppled by the first wind. (Biolog) 71. Two heads are better than ene. (Heywood) 8. Brery time you win, you are reborn; every dime yu lose, you dle alte. (George Allen, coach ofthe Washington Redtins)0 —— 9 God helps hore who help themches. (Benjamin Frankin) = 10, Groupsare forthe weak who cannot stand on theron. (Anonymous) 11 Winnings amcoo. (Anonymous siden’) 12, Wolves earisolaed sheep. The Koran) Cooperative Gomgsitve ——_—Invidualiatic —1 —2 as =a ss * —: —a = aay —u nt —— tot to To ~aevase he song on srdiems you score stove 12, you have postive athe tard of iedepenece ‘THE CHOICE: APPROPRIATELY USING INTERDEPENDENCE Ina toot kit there may bea hammer, a saw, and a sereneriver, Each has ite place and serves different purpose. You do not use a hammer to cut a piece of wood in tro and you do not use asa to ews in aserew. The same is tue for cooperative, com petitive, or individualist: learning, Fach has its place and serves a different pur pose. Cooperative, competiive, and individualist efforts are not in competition ‘with each other. Survival ofthe test does not apply when it comes to strcturing Tearning situations appropriately. When the three goal structures are used appro- priately and in an integrated way, their sum is far more powerful than each one ‘separately. When the goal structures are used inappropriately (such a the inappro- priate and overuse of competitive or individualistic earning), problems result for Doth students and teachers. For every lesson you teach you will have to decide ‘whether to have students cooperate, compete, or work individvalstical. Knowing howand when to use each ype of goal srscure is one of dhe most important aspects of teaching (see Table L$). ‘TABLE 1.8 Elements of Appropriate Social Interdependence aaents COOPERATE ‘Cowpentnve INDMMDUALST | inercependence Posie Nee ‘ene Impotence fos! High low tow Aecounaily Indl, Coup Init Inia saci le I Compson None tae ‘ey lnlig Cores, Spl, ray, Simpl, Untan, ‘ive Now onde, onside New Oneraoad Proved Rae eae Ambiguous = tatIn the ideal clasetoom all three goal structures are weed. This does not mean that they should be used equally. The base foundation of instruction, the under. ing context on which all inserucion rests, is cooperation. Unless they are used ‘within a context of cooperation, competitive and individualistic Tearning lose much oftheir effectiveness. A cooperative goal structure should dominate the classroom, being used 60 to 70 percent of the time. The individualistic goal structure may be ‘used 20 percent of the time, and a competitive goal seuctare may be used 10 t0 20 percent of the time, All competitive and individualistic efforts take place within a broader cooperative framework, Cooperation isthe forest, competitive and individe ualstic efforts are but eres, WHAT IS INTHIS BOOK? “The purpotes ofthis book ate o kelp you (a) make the choice of which goal struc ‘ure to use with each lesson you teach and (b) implement each goal structure com petently and successfull. Appentix A focoses on the research comparing the effectiveness ofthe three goal structures, Chapters through 7 focus on Your use of| ‘cooperative learning. Chapter 8 feeutes on your use of competitive learning. Chap- ter 9 focuses on your use of individualistic learning. Chapter 10 discusses the inte grated use of all tree. Chapter I] summarizes what you have learned and points toward the next steps in gaining expertise in using the three ways of structuring student-student interaction effectively, SUMMARY Social interdependence isto human what water isto sh. Ie is constanty present, influencing everything we do. Yetbecause we are immersed in it it ean escape our notice. Two types of socal interdependence exist: cooperative and competitive. The absence of interdependence reals in individualistic efforts, Teachers have a choice of structuring every learning tsk sompevively,individualiscally, or cooperatively. ‘Which structure is chosen determines hove students interact with each other, which in tur determines the outcomes achieved, For the past iy years competitive and Iindividvalisie efforts have dominated classrooms. Cooperative learning has been relatively gnored and underutilized by teachers even though iis by far the most important and powerful way to structure learning sitions. Chapter 2, which reviews the basic research that has heen conducted on the three goal structures, ‘makes this point clearly. This doesnot mean, however, that competitive and individ tulistic learning should be abandoned. Each goal sructare has is place and when they are used appropriately, they orm an integrated whole. Inthe rest ofthe book, therefore, the appropriate use ofeach goal structare is discussed in depth.‘There is power to working in groups. A group of staff and trustees atthe Bronx aucational Servies shaped the fst nationally recognized adult iteracy school. A iroup of citizens in Harlem founded and operated the first Little League there in ‘more than forty years. Motorola used small mannfacturing groups to produce the world’s ightest, smallest, and highesc-quality celular phones {with only a few hune ‘red parts versus more thin a thousand forthe competition), Ford became the most profitable car company in the United Srates in 1980 on the strength of the use of| Small groupe to build ts Taurus model, Groups have existed for as Tong a there have been hurmans (and even before) Groups have been the subject of sountles books, Every human society has used groups to accomplish its goals an¢ celebrated when the groups were successful It ‘was groups that built the pyramids, constructed the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, created the Colosus of Riodes, and the hanging gardens of Babylon. It is obvious ‘dat groups outperform individuals, especially when performance requires mulipie skill, judgments, and experiences Many educators, however, overlook opportunt fies to uze groups ta enhance siden learning and increase thei own success. 1 opportunity to capitalize on the power of groups in schools begins with understanding the answers tothe following questions! 1, What cooperative learning 2. Why use cooperative learning 3. How do you structure formal eperaie learning lestons? 44 How do you use informal cooperative learning? Tis question was answered in Chapter his question ianswercd in Appendix A5, How doyou use operative base groupe? 6. Whatare the basic elemen's af cooperative learing dat make it work? 7. ow do you tse the thee spe of cooperative learning in an integrated way? Consider the fre sources of resistance to using cooperative learning given above. Rate yourself from "I" to "5" on each source a —s Low Middle High Nota Concern Somewiat Consistent and of ine Concer Sseongiya Concern The Causes ofthe Missed Ofportanities To Capitalie onthe Poser of Groups 1, Belief tnt isolated work the aural order af the word. Sach myopic focus binds edcators 0 dhe reaicaon that no one person cool have bt a cathe dial, achieved Ancrica’s independence from England, or crested a supereo puter 2, Resistance to taking responsibility for others. Many educators do not easly (@) ake responsi for the performance of ealeagues or (0) let colleagues ‘sume responsiiy for thelr work. The same educators may resis letting ste dents ake responsi foreach other'earing 9. Confusion about vat makes groupe work, Many educators may not know the di ference beoven cooperative leering groups and traional grouper. —— 4. Fear that they caanot use groups effectively o ence lnring and improve teaching. No all roupe work Most adults have had personal experiences with very nefectve ard inefBcient commits, tak farce, an hb and know Ast hhand how bd group can be, When many edacators weigh the poten power of ps aglnst the posal of fllure, they choose to ply iste ad atts quo of iolted work, Concern about tine and effort required to change. Using coopera learning requires educator to apply whats wn about effective groups in Siping’ way. Learing how to do s0 and engaging in such dicpined action may seer ‘Snoning TYPES OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING GROUPS ‘Tres proons renditions of cain, ries of ee. hen i for 12 erin sao eet en thea ond mere ortion ‘nore tregurgie iene ts Liter atti isi the ering ross on Dough such rach ets decmenting that wa wndestandng i eof act nstracaring om the rt of thax src ocr ough engenen i rem ping es wl roleae soling infer making ad incetgton, reli of entaicions, ond fing. The proses ll mandate fr mare atari ml of lucton a he ‘once oat presen by mst ttaons. Rath han bing pers end dendnt on te Insitutions nl te bmp think and era or testes. Ths, erg ends (ote cncioe of as somthing a rir dc, et sath thats dene earae (Catherine Fosnot (1989) Cooperative learning groups zr divided into three types. Formal cooperative earning groups lat from one class period to several weeks. You may stueture ay academic asignment or course requirement for formal cooperative learning, For ral cooperative learning groups ensure that students are actively involved tn the intellectual work of organizing material, explaining i, summarizing it and integrate ing it into exiting concepeualstracures, They are the heart of cooperative learning, Informal cooperative learning groups are ad hoe groups that et from.afew minutes {one cass period. You use them daring direct teaching (lectures, demonstrations, films, videos) to focus students’ attention on the material they are to learn, set 2 ‘mood conducive to learning, help set expectations sto what the lesson will cover, ‘ensure tha students cognitively process the material you are teaching, and provide ‘lure tan instructional session. Cooperative base groups ae longtert (lating for at least a year), heterogeneous groups with stable membership whose primary par pose is for members to give each other the support, help, encouragement, and assistance each needs to progress academically, Base groups provide students with long-term, committed relationships In addition tothe three types of cooperative learning, cooperative learning scripts are standard cooperative procedures for (a) conducting generic, epetiine lessons (sch as writing reports or ging presentations) and (b) managing elassoom routines (such as checking homework and reviewing a text). Once planned and com ‘ducted several times, scripted repetitive cooperative lestons and classroom routines become automatic aetvites in the cassroom, ‘When you use formal, informal, and cooperative base groups repeatedly, you ‘will gan a routine level of expertsein doing to. Expertise is reflected in your prof ciency adroitness, competence, and skill in doing something. Expertise in strctur ing cooperative efforts is reflected in your being abe toda the following: 1, Take any lesom in any subject are with any age sdent and atructre it conperaiey 2 Ure cooperative learning (ata routines level) 600 80 percent ofthe time '8. Describe precisely what you ar doing and wy inorder o (4) comminicate to others ‘the mare and advantages of competative learning and (0) teach clleagues how 10 lnmplement coopers leasing. 4. Apply the principles of cooperation wo oer setngs, such a clleagial relationships and fhculy meting You usually gain such expertis through a progressiverefinement procedure of (a) teaching a cooperative lesson, (b) assessing how well t went, () reflecting onhow cooperation could have been better structured, and then (d) teaching an | Improved cooperative lewon, (e) assessing how well it went, and so forth. You thus | ‘gin experience in an incremental stepbystep manner. The routinewse level of teacher expertise is the ability to tructace cooperative learning sitiations automate ically without conscious tought or planning. You can then use cooperative learning ‘ith fidelity forthe rest ef your teaching career. =] SEEDED RON Coperave Learning orm pais Using the spices belo, writ out the definition ofeach ype of cooper 2c leaning inourova words, FORMAL INFORMAL BASE GROUPSCOOFERATVELEARING 17 TEACHER'S ROLE: BEING “A GUIDE ON THE SIDE” At age 55, after his defeat by Woodrow Wilson for President ofthe United States, Teddy Roosevelt took a journey to South America. The Brazllan government sg. gested he lead an expedition to explore a vast, unmapped river deep in the jungle Known asthe River of Doub, it wat believed to be a tributary to dhe Amazon. Roo. Sevelt accepted instantly. "We wil go down the unknown river” he declared, and the Brazilian government organized sx expedition for the tip.“ had to go,” he said later, “twas my last chance to be aboy." Roosevelt, with his son Kermit and a party of eighteen, headed into the jungle "On February 27, 1914, shortly after midday, we started down the River of Doubt ino the unknown,” Roosevelt wrote, The journey was an ordeal. Hostile natives ofthe region harassed them, Five canoes were shit tered and had to be rebuilt Food ran short and valuable equipment was lost. One ‘man drowned when his canoe capsized. Another went berserk, klled a member of| the expedition, and then disappeared into the wilderness. Roosevelt ill wth fever, Daly injured hs leg when he tied 1o keep two capsized canoes from being smashed against rocks, Unable to walk, he had tobe carried. Lying ina tent with an infected Jeg and a temperature of 105, he requested (0 be left behind. Ignoring such pleas, “Kermit brought his father to safety with the help of the other members of the expe. dition, Teddy Roosevelt barely surived, but he and his companions accomplished their mission. The party mapped the 1,000mile River of Doubt und collected price- Jess specimens for the Museum of Natural History. The river was renamed in his honor, Rio Theodore ‘An expedition sich as Roose clt’s consists of four phases 1. Vou make a series of prejourney decisions about de number of people needed, the material nd equipment required, andthe Foute tobe taken, 2, You bee a parsipants on the gosl and objectives of he jour ey, emphasize that members serra depends of the oi fortsofaland describe the behavorsyou expect of members of the expedison. 5. You make te journey, careflly mapping the area collecting the targeted specaen. led and ‘4 You report your findings wo inteveted parses, eet om whist went right and wrong ith elow member, and write your memoir ‘A cooperative lesson is conducted in the same way. You, the teacher, make a ‘numberof preinstructiona decisions, explain to students the instructional task and the cooperative nature ofthe lesson, conduct the leston, and evaluate and process the results. More specifically, you folow these steps: 1. Mate pinsrucional dacs. ney etn you (a) formulate objectives (b) decide fon the size of groups, (€) choose method for aging students to groupe, () decideit 18 cooreearwe ARN ‘whic roles to assign group member, () arrange the room, and (arrange the mate- Tia stndent need cocomplete dh aignment. 2 Blain he et nd operate trate In every leston yu (a) explain the academic assigmenttostidens, (b) explain the eiteriafor success, (0) stractre postive inte Alependence, (8) expain the ineividual recount nd (e) explain the behaviors yotrexpectto se darn the leon. |. Monier andntroene While you (a) conduct leson you (9) monitor each leering [roupand (interne when needed to prove takwork ad tamara () big, ‘onire tothe lson, 4, Beatuate end jr Yo (a) stesso ealuate the gualiy and. quantiy of student sehievement, (0) ensire stadentscarflly proces he effersenes of her learning troupe, (2) have students make a plan fr improvement, and (€) have sudents cle ‘rae the hard work ef group members. In each class session teachers must make the choice of being “a sage on the sage” or “a guide on the side." In doing so they might remember thatthe challenge fn teaching mot covering she material or the students, i's uncovering the material wih the students rf PREINSTRUCTIONAL DECISIONS Speci 1 the Instructional Objectives ‘The Roman philosopher Seneca once said, When you do not know to which port youare sailing, no wind is favorable." The same may be said for teaching, ‘To plan for i ‘lesson you must know what the leswon is aimed at accomplishing. You need to spe i ify academe objectives ‘based on a conceptual or task analis) and social sills objectives that derail what interpersonal and small group sills you wish to emphae i size duting the leson, You choose social kills by 1. Monitoring the fearing groups and eagnosing the specific ils needed to zoe problems tadent ar having working with each other i 2 Asking stent to deny socal skills hat would improve hee teamoek, I {3 Keeping ali of soci sil you tach to every cls. The nex one onthe list becomes j the hil emphasied in ods eon. | 4, Analping what social ail ae required o complete the augment, ‘The most sophisticated way to determine che socal shill students need 10 com H plete a lesson is through creating a flowchart. A flowchart is a simple yet powerful ‘sual tool to display all the step in a process. Creating a flowchatt involves sx steps, asillustrated on page 1,cooreeaWeLEARNG 19 1 nah anna ‘ennrg oc speci citabeitomns ted emmanie et gave | eee | 5: Conc por ae |_| tateise dens | aoe ace Somme vet the wc Deciding on the Size ofthe Group “Tere fk ying bout moves, ach notes rage and mal Bat sn they sk epee rs sig wha they cn do The same efor people ‘When ne work ogeter thereof aman ingen and potental Fr dens towers ogee th mbes rou To mag eso grou = os mus ede) how re prop soul er Group Size Depends on “Team” | (b) how students should be assigned to a group, ee ee cn a EI Rereymiea np) | Snbinaton of gp wtin the loon See Prt | ugh forme ering groups A See caty range in ss rom wot fo te fst oy n= stone naah| tht sth alte ete Tare iy howeve n oe ETRE) falancfor cooperate learning roup Aco ‘mon misakeisto have dens wr in groupsot or veranda en btoe the ates hve teal dso conpetnty In slecing ese of coopers {he learning groups remember inves 1. Witte ton ofc group soe hrs oh rou sac nce Ashe ite of the learning group increases sodoce (a) the range of ables, expertise, ls, () the ‘numberof minds avalale for acquiring and proces information, and (c) the vet sity of ewpoins 2. The short he prin fie geal he wal the ring rou sould ef her is only 8 bref pied of me svaabe for he lemon, then smaller groups sich aps il be more effecsve because they tkeless de to get organized, they operste faster, and (here emote “ar tine” per member20° cooreasve EARNING $8, These rp th ordi ii for aden the adnan share of ‘desk Small rouprinceave the vsibiliy of tadent” efor and thereby mae them tore accountable 4 Thole throu th mor sill group moni mast be 3p students have to n= age two interacdons. In a group of thre, there are six interactions to manage. Ina iroup of four ere are tree interactions to manage. As the sce of the group Increases dhe interpentonal and sal group dll required to manage the teractions among group members become fr more complex and sophia \ 5 Theleger the rp, th at the ineraction aang mens, What reals ies group cobe Sion, fener endship, and ese perianal suppor. 1, Thematoials andar the cf mature of theta nay date ago se When yo have ten compere and thirty ens you may wish to aign seen to groupe of three, ‘When the ask i pracie tennis group ae of wo sete nati The smaller he group te sit iso identfy amy fais students have in woking tage Problems ia leadership, unresolved conflcsamong group members sues aver power i and conto, tendencies sucha sting back and waling for others todo the work aad ‘ther problems stents have in working together are more visible and apparent when {roupe are anal. Groups need to be small enough fo ensure all students ae actively Tewolved and participating equal. ‘THE GROUP SIZE WHEELAssigning Students to Groups Si paras magna (Creat hing hase sal ging ‘SieFrancis Drake's Motto ‘There sno ideal group membership. What determines a group's productivity isnot who its members are, but rather how well the members work together. There may be times when you use cooperative learning groups that are homogeneous in ably to teach specific dlls orto achieve certain instructional objectives, Generally, however, there are advantages fo heterogeneous groups in which erudents come from diverse backgrounds and havedlifereat abilities, experiences, and interests: 1. Stadentare exposed to aariety fides, muliple perspectives an diferent problem salving method, 2 Students generate more cogaiivedsequiibium, which mlates learning, cea, and copie and sca developrient. 4 Students engage in more elaborate thinking, give and receive more explanations and engage in more frequent perspecvesakng in dscussing materia al of which increase the depth of understanding, the quali af reasoning, andthe accuracy of longterm ‘Tomake groups heterogeneous, you assign students to groups using arandom, or stratified random procedure (see he methods iste inthe able below). Teacher selected groups can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous, When students select their own groups they usually form homogeneous ones. Each ofthese meth- ‘dss explained next. LUTERATURE CHARACTERS (GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS ‘Ge stdetcrd withthe res of {ta ruberof coves or sates and hve cusses into rent eondy hve | sues woup hems according mor fesd. Asher gop wit charac om | prefered vit Vartns nee pong thesame sty py poom Examples aw” | Scordngto en peared vit arn Romeo end li Cp Hoak aera, | temeat eimai sminrn plea estes, rd Wend and Hane Gata Wed | hang ame expats 420 oh Speer Mami METHOD “STATES AND CAPITALS ‘The math mahad of asyping students 0 To asin suders grouse of woo fo, _Boupe as ene van Te bie ‘hi the ober dere nts las rece sto each tet sma ‘wo GO dvisediy 2» 19, Peck a peopaphie febiem anda thesuentn (aoe, | arate Unted Sots and wre ou om [8 Brdthe casemate whore pros haw | cade the nas of teen st enon ‘hosame answer andi fama guy. The | anche seta rd rn te are of ‘nuh rclen may vary mein sdtin | ter capt! cee Shull the ede and pe Inhofe ge conpleceqatiosin them ct talent Tho ave the toe Whe clase, Thay to fom groupot_ | find te lsat nha th machete thee you may dbs he owing ee | areal olor ou have | fcunirstheugoutthecise B=, | sdjacot aera tr capa combine. Wianyoeteij 22 cooreeaivestannc Random Assignment Therasst and most efcsive way to aig students to groups is ra ddom’y. You divide the number of stadents in your class by dhe size of the group ‘desired. Ifyou wish to have groups of three and you have thirty students in your cass, you divide thirty by thee, You have stents number offhy the result (eg, ten).Stw i ‘dents with the same number find each other (all ones get together, al twos get together, and to forth) favorite variation of one of the authors iso have students ‘count off in a diferent lmguage (e4., English, Spanish, French, Hungarian) each time they are assigned to groups Stratified Random Assignment A rated proceture ie atid random assignment. This is the sme as random asigament except that you choose one (or two) characteristics ofstudents (auch as read ng lve, learning style, tak orientation, or personal inter fx) and make sure thatone or more students in each group have that characteris \ To asign students to learning groups randomly, stratifying for achievement level use the following procedare: lt 1 Rank students rom highest to lowest in terms of preteston the unt ecent past ts, at grades, oF your bast guess asa cache. 2 Selec he est group choosing the highest student, dhe lowest stadem, andthe two ! middie achievers, Azign them to the group unless they ar all of one vex, chey donot fellct dhe ethnic composition of te clas, they are worst enemies, or they ae bes Friends Ifny ofthese ere, ave up or down one suden rom he middle to Fe sdjuse (You may mori the procedure ta sign student to groups of two or three ! members) ! Selec the remaining groups hy repestng this procedure with the reduced list If there se students left ove ake ane ot two groups of tree member ee ee / pee he res eeey ree teen et ales aarp es ee ome ogee ace Se a mere tera Pee a ee eee eee eer en reer Sage eresce terete sas caeceeeraas ee cee ree eee nee ee ree ere ee are ee ce ee eee | Seer nt ected anammetng dl eticerogeetin [ a ea em ree ee | aes peat tlic melee of ssdm aera ce | Se ee een eens | Preferences lave students write their fworte sport to participate in on a slip of ‘paper: Then have them find groupmates who like to participate in te same sport Nariations include favrie food, celebrity, sil, car, president, animal, vegetable, fairpsale character, and 0 forthCOOFERATVELEARNING 23 TeacherSeleted Groups You, the wacher, can decide who is going to work with whom. You can ensure that nonachievementoriented students are a minority in each group or that suadents who bigger dlruptive behavior in each other are not together. One of ou veri mathods is creating suport group foreach elated student You ask students list three classmates with whom they would like to work, From theit ists, you tally for each student the number of times classmates chose the student You can then identify the classroom isolates (students who are not chosen by any of| their classmates). These are the atisk students who need your help. You take the ‘most socially solated student and assign two of the most skilful, popular, apport ive, and caring sezdents inthe classto work with him or her. Then you take the sec: ‘ond most isolated stadent and do tae same. In this way you optimize the likelihood thatthe isolated students will become involved in the learning acivities and build positive relationships with classmates. You want to ensure that in your cases, no sie dent islefe out, rejected, or believes that he or she does not belong. SefSeleted Groups The least recemmended procedure isto have snudents select their own groups, Studentsclected groups often are homogeneous with high: achieving students working wit otter highachieving tudents, white sadents work ing with other white students, minority students working with other minority sudents and males working with oer males. Often there is more off task behavior in studentselected than in teache=selecied groups. A useful modification ofthe seleceyourcwn group method is to have stents ist whom they would like to work ‘with and then place them in alearuing group with one person they choose and one, two, or more students thatthe teacher selects For additional methods for asigning snidents to groups aswell asa variety of ‘team-building and warmup activities ee R. Johnson and D. W. Johnson (198). Lengh of Group Life 8 common concern is, “How long should cooperative learning sroups stay together?" The type of cooperative leaming group youuee determines one answer to this question Base groups lst for ar last one and ideally for several years Informal cooperative lerning groups ast for only afew minutes of at most one cass period. For formal cooperative learning groups there is no forma or simple answer to thisquestion. Groups usually sty gether to complete a tak, unit, or chapter. Dur Inga course every student should work with every other classmate Groups should ay together long enough to be succeful, Breaking up groups that are having trouble fuanotioning effectively is often councerproductive;stidents donot have the opporti= ny to learn the skills they need to resolve problems in collaborating with each other. Using Combination of Cooperative Learning Groups 19 many lessons you vill ant to ‘we 3 combination of formal and infrmal cooperative learning groupe aswell x base soups. You will use more than one Sze group in ny one lesson. You wll need ways to ‘igh seidentsto new groups quickly. You will need procedures for making transitions ‘among groups, moving students from pars to fours to pais to threes and 0 forth It sometimes helps to have timed drils on how fast students can move from a formal cooperative learning group to an informal par and then back to their formal group.ing Roles to Ensure interdependence Tn planning the Lesson, you think through what are the actions that need wo oceur to ‘maximie stadent earning. Roles preeribe what other group members expect from fstudent (and therefore what the stadent is obligated to do) and what hat person hha a right to expect from other group members who have complementary roles. ‘There is progression for using roles to stracoure cooperative efforts Il 1. Do not asiga roles tet tadent get wed Yo working together, 1 Assign only very seple roles to students such a forming roles or the role of reader. fl recorder and encourger of participation, Rotate the oles so hat exch group member ll Plays ech one several mes, i 3 Aud wo the rotation a aew role tat i lightly more sophisticated, such asa checker for Understanding, You age the fanconing oles a this point iI 5. Overtime ad formulating and fermenting roles that do not occur naturally in the i froup, soch as elabortor, Studs ply do not relate what they are learning to What they already knov unl you specticlly train them to dos Form a pais, For each type of sil, there are evo examples of the roles that may be assigned to ensure students work together effectively In column one, write the let ters ofthe two roles that each the sl, 1. ing quel Reagan prev ang Fncning sil Ghia, at people © Saying th on Fenmalaing sete 1 Gargng one ind oly ayy pada aire 1 Ceaning py ses ane asl ig ore ead conch (ne of the challenges in using cooperative learning isto describe group rosin an age-appropriate way. How you describe a roe to primary sudents obviously needs { tobe different from the wayyou describe the role to high school students Examples of| the ways roles are reamed o make them age appropriate may be found in Table 21CoorERATNELEARNG 25 ‘TABLE 2.1 Examples of Roles Appropriate for Each Age Level ‘careconr ROLE PRIMARY INTERMEDIATE SECONDARY Foming Tumiating——_‘Hityou, Taken Continue Famconag ‘Recor vwiter Record serve Encouagersf —Saynce things Gh postive Campinent "rlepaon ‘comes cise, Nowyousnyt —Syieinyour Parte poe ‘nwo coma Senoneagies —Roachapeement Resch consnsis Fomulsing —Sommaer——Futtogater Combine Sunimorze merce Gveanaher Ge sddonal Generate rower ‘rower arate Femening —_Aadartor ‘ey Aakseresens Akon isan Huteaton atone goer Say why Civ fc and Roles cam be sequenced so that more and more complex and difcultroles are assigned to students each week, month, and year, Initially, students may need to be 1ed roles that help them form the group. Second, roles may be assigned that help the group fanction well in achieving lesrning goals and maintaining good ‘working relationships among members. Third, roles may be assigned that help sn- dents formulate what they are Yearning and create conceptual frameworks. Fivaly roles may be assigned that help students ferment each other's thinking, Itis at this point tha cognitive and socal rolesmerge. The social skills represented by the roles should be taught like a spiral cucrilum with a more complex version of the skill taught every year Soleing and Preventing Problems in Working Together At times some students will refuse to participate in a cooperatie group or will not understand how to help the soup succeed. You can sole and prevent such problems when you give exch group ‘member a specific role to playin the group. Assigning appropriate roles may be use +o fulfil dhe following goals 1. Reduce problems such as one ormore member" making no contribution to the group orone member dominating the group. 2. Ensure dat wel group sls are enacted in the group and that group members ear targeted sks 5. Greate interdependence among group tember. You sructre tole interdependence ‘by asigning each member eomplsmentary.andintercontected roles,26 coomanvetexwnc ‘Arranging the Room ‘The design and arrangement of classroom space and furniture communicates ‘what is appropriate behavior and what learning activities will tke place, Desks in 4 row communicate a different message and expectation than desks grouped in ‘small circles, Spatial desgn alo defines the circulation patterns in the classroom. Circulation is the flow cf movement into, out of, and within the classroom. I is ‘movement through space. You determine what students se, when they see it and ‘with whom students interact by the way you design your elassroom (as shown in the exercise below) PSE Forma par. Rank the folowing outcomes of classroom design from most important (17) to least importanc "9". Studentsa achievement. The way in which nor pace i signed infwences {he amount of me sient pond on ak arth varies alec achieve Stevia aay foc, The way in whleh nr spe eed eats overall ‘ul ere foes loon and ent Sco. Stans pcan nearing rosa ace. Caseoom design iene te pat ‘er sce a ech parption nacional aces the emergence of ed Ship in nang geupe ad te pts of communication rong dens and Been Soler and aches, —Opporantesfr ot conte and edison stds earings The design ofr ace alec den ad teacher fing (uch ts comiot, enjoyment, weltbrng, ange. and depression) and genea) merle. Good ‘psi dein dp tude fel scr by deleting eeuciedeaing aes —— Ghesroon managenon, Spatial dentin preenis dscpine problems by defining ow acd here sets werk, How fo leteac with the, and how to move Hecugh ‘he clastoom, student sens sity oma quick talons ram ane ging to anche, racks movement rm group 1 goyp 2 manor st Iacton carly dng theleson scat each eh, aca, arg ati: [No single classroom arrangement will meet the requirements of al! lessons. Reference points ad wlldefined boundaries of work spaces are needed to move students from rows to tiads to pairs to fours to rows. Color, form, and lighting (a) focus student vival attention on points of emphasis in the classroom (the learning group, you, inructional materials) and (b) define he territorial bound- aves of workspaces. You can define boundaries in various ways:1. Ung lab and nett designate anes 2. Ung caso aura viesal tention and define group an individual spaces 28 well a Aiferent storage areas and resource centen. 8. Tang ineron the floor or wal w define the different work areas, 4. hing aera frms (uch as arrows) taped on dhe wal or hanging from the cling ‘ouditeet tention, You can desigate work area by hanging mobiles tom te cling. Using ighting to define specific work aveas.Disected ight (illuminating pat of the room while leeing other areas din) intensifies and directs tien stention Brightly liareas can dra people toward -he sreas an suggest city More dimly it azeas uc rounding the ighted ones become area boundaries Ae th stiy inthe clssoom hangs, the Highsng could alo change, ©. Moving rite define work ard resource arcs. ven tl plants when placed in pots ‘vith wheels, cat be moved wo previde spatial boundaries 1 Displaying group work to desguas work spaces. I cooperative groupie to remain together for a pried of several eas or weeks, members may wi ol! 4 poser oF Collage tha designates ther work aes. You can use many ofthese some procedures to control acoustically levels of noise in the classroom, Planning the Instructional Materials “The types of tasks stadents are required to complete determine what materials are needed for the lesion, You, the teacher, decide how materials are tobe arranged and istibuted among group members to maximize their participation and achieve- ‘ment. Usually, you will wish to disuibute materials to communicate thatthe assign- rents to be joint (not an individual) effort. You create 1, Mates ntdendoncby giving each group only one copy ofthe materi, The sti ‘dents wi dhen have to work together in order to be sucess. Thee expecially eer te the ft few times the group meets, Aer students are accustomed to Working cooperatively teachers can give acopy ofthe materials to cach siden 2 Infrmatoninteriapndee by arzarging material ke xg pre so that each student has part of du materials needed ip complete the amignment. Ese group mere ean receive different books or resour atralso be ynthesed Such proceduresreque that every member parcipate in order forthe group tobe succes 3: Intrepndene fom eutsde metab srsetsriog materia into an ntergtoup turns ‘ment format au hig group compete osc who as lead the mat. Sach proce are was introduced by DeVies ind Edrard (1973) Inthe teamegamestournanien ‘ormat suvdenware divided int eterogencons cooperative learning teams to prepare ‘members fora townatnent i which they compete with the other team Daring the Jmergroup competion the student indhidualy compete agent eters of shout the atme ability level from other eas, The team whove members do the best ia the ‘competion is pronounced the winner bythe teacher.28 cooravetEAmanc ‘STRUCTURING THETASK AND COOPERATIVE STRUCTURE Explaining the Academic Task Atthis point you have planed your lesson by making the preinstructional decisions and preparations. The next step is o face your cass and inform students of (a) what to do to complete the assignment and (b) how to doit The steps are explained on the lowehact. Explaining the Tsk: Flowchart 5. nn gpm he 2: Sop eearablgcneso ! Stgnmentneetriotea cea; -—m| ” enurevarstrand ection esuabetsk Cojerves maybe estes arcs Al on lesson oil be abeto ‘apa hecnses ofthe French an rian a lain the cones © pnts aod sae etn tosae ing | 4. Bop the procaine sei } esol im comple te E sere Te laon and relate thro oder prt exparncet eel hi i 5 Rage a ible prodatbat 6 Aas amber specie cxchstudentsgns Ts kegs [>]. questions to check he Sento a a bs Shasoandoget he crate theywilbchave Sign 7, Asstdens anova ipa adhe quo he Ten les ono cuban pecans aout what ho leson al cover an) orgie saree ‘ahatthy kro abou he pie Explaining Criteria for Success | ‘While explaining to students the academic tak they are to complete, you need t0 communicate the level of performance you expect. Cooperative learning requires ‘riterion-based evaluatir. Crterion-eferenced or categorical jadgments are madeRG by adopting fixed set of standards and judging PSEC | tne cach stent gant theres 5-300 dards. A common version of criterionreferenced 5-06 grading involves assigning leer grades on the 5.06 Dass of the percentage of testitems answered cor- 514 rect Oryoumigh¢say, "The group isnot Bnished iestin6i || until every member has demonstrated mastery Sometimes improvement (doing better this week than one did last week) may be set as the exterion of excellence. To promote intergroup cooperation, ou may ao set criteria for the whole class o reach. "Ewe asa clas can score over 520 words correct on our vocabulary test, each student wl receive to bonus points" Structuring Positive Interdependence Positive goal interdependence exiss when a mutual or jine goal is established 30 ‘hae individuals perceive chey can attain their goals if and only if their groupmates attain cher goals (see Jobson & Jonnson, 1992, 1992). Members know that they ‘cannot sueceed unless all other members of their group succeed. Positive interde pendence is the heart of cooperatire learning. Without positive interdependence, cooperation does not exist Studenis must believe dat they are in a “sink or swim together” learning situation. Posie interdepen- dence willbe discussed in detail in Chapter 4 Fit, you sructure poiive gral independence Every cooperative lesson begins with positive goal Interdependence. To ensure that students think “We, not me" you say to students, "You have three responsibilities. You are responsible for learning fhearsgned material. You are responsible for mak- ing sure that all other members of your group learn the assigned material. And you are responsible for making rure dt all oer clase members succesfully learn the ‘assigned material” Second, sou supplement positive yal intordapendence with ether types of asi inde. pendence (such sresrd, ale, moun, ride. Posie reward inode, for exam ple, ay be structed through providing group rewards" ll members of our group Scare oe 90 erent an he tet each oye wil rete fice Bons ints" Usually the more ‘ways positive interdependence is srverured ina lesson, the beter. Poti nuerpendenc eens pe encouragement and support for learning; Such posi tive peer pressure indliences underachieving students to become academically Involved. Members of cooperative learning groups should give two interrelated mes ‘ges "Doyourwork—we're counting on you!” and "Hw an Thelp you todo better?” Structuring Individual Accountability In cooperative groups, everyone Ins to do his or her fair share of the work. An underlying purpose of cooperative learning i to make each group member a stronger in-20 vidual in his or her ows right. This is accomplished by holding all members accountable to earn the assigned material and help other group members learn, You do thi by 1. sessing the perforbane of ach individual member 2, Giving the resulsbuekiosheindividual andthe groupto compa to preseritria, The fee enables members (a) reogalze and celebrate efforts to feaen and cont tions to groupmates Farnng, (9) provide immedinteremediton and any netded sistance or encouragement, and (reas responsiblies to wold any redundant ‘ors by members. Individual accountailiy resus in group members knowing they cannot hitch hike on the work of others loa, or geta free ride. Ways of ensuring individual accu ably include keeping group size small, giving an individual test to each student, ving random individual oral examinations, observing and recording the frequency vith which each member eonwibutes to the group's work, having students teach what they know to someone else, and having saudents use what they have learned on di ferent problems. Structuring Intergroup Cooper ‘You can extend the posite outcomes resulting from cooperative learning through ‘outa whole clas by structuring intergroup cooperation, You establish class goals as ‘well as group and individea goals. When a group finishes its work, you encourage ‘members to find other groups (a) who are not finished and help them tnderstand how to complete the assignment successfully or (b) who are finshed and compare answers and strategies. ‘Specitying Desired Behaviors ‘When you use cooperative learning you must teach students the small group and interpersonal skills they reed to work effecdvely with each other, In cooperative Tearning groups, students must earn both academic subject matter (taskwork) and the interpersonal and small group skills required to wotk as part of a group {team work). Cooperative learnig is inherently more complex than competitive or ind ‘dualistic learning becaue: students have simultaneously engage in taskwork and ‘earawork, students do not learn the teamwork sls, then they eannot complete the aslovork. The greater the members’ ceamwork sil, the higher wl be the qual ‘and quantity of their karning. You define the needed teamwork skills opera tionally by specifying the behaviors that are appropriate and desirable within learning groups. How to do so is discussed a length in Chapter 5 ‘Three rules of thumb in specifying desired behaviors ae as follows: Re specific Operationally define each social skill through the use of a TChart (see Chapter 5) ‘Start smail.Do not overload your students with more socal skills than they ean learn atone time. One or two behaviors to emphasize for afew eswonsisenough. Students‘need to know what behaviors appropriate and desirable within a cooperative learn- ing group, but they should not be subjected to Information overload. Emphasis er Inerning. Having students practic= sills once or ewice is not enough. Keep ‘emphasizing 2 sil until the students have integrated it into thee behavioral reper tojres and do it automatically and babitually ‘THE COOPERATIVE LESSON Daring the lesson students work together to complete the assignment. Their actions ‘ean be loosely or highly prescribed by explicit scripts (Johnson & Johnson, 1994). At the highest level of implementation you (the teacher) learn an expert system con sisting ofthe five basic elements and the teacher's role and use it wo creat lessons ‘uniquely tailored for your sdents curriculum, needs, and aching circumstances Expertise in using cooperative learning is based on a conceptual, metacognitive tunderstanding ofits nature. Besides implementing an expert stem, other ways to implement cooperative lesons exist One sich method is group investigation (Sharan & Her-Lazarowitz, 1980), in which students form cooperative groupsaccording to common interests ‘topic, All group members help pn how to research thei topie Then they divide the work, Each group member caries out his or her part ofthe investigation. The {group synthesizes its work and presents these findings to the class ‘You may use highly structured serps, structures, and curviculum packages that are implemented in a prescribed lociatep manner Dansereau (1985) and his calleagues have developed a numer of cooperative learning scripts that structure ‘student interaction as they work together, Kagan (1991) has identified a number of| ‘cooperative learning structures—iajs of organizing the interaction of students by prescribing sudent behavior step by step to complete the assignment. Cooperative ‘eurricalum packages include Team Games-Tournament (TGT), a combination of ingroup cooperation, intergroup competition, and instructional games (DeVries & Edwards, 1974). Students then meet in cooperative learning teams of four or five members (a mixture of high, mediam, and low achiever) to complete set of work- sheets on the leson, Students ther. play academic games 2s representatives oftheir teams, Who competes wth whom is modified each week to ensure that students ‘compete with clasamates who achisve ata similar Tevel. The highest scoring teams tare publicly recognized in a weekly class newsletter, Grades are given on the basis of| Individual performance. Stident Team Learning (STAD) (Slavin, 1980) isa modi ‘ation of TGT that has students tke a weekly qui instead of playing an academic game, Team-Asssted Individualiztion (TAI) is highly individualized math cur ‘eulum for grades 3 to Gin which dents work ndividualsically to complete math asignments using selfinsructional (programmed learning) curriculum materials (Slavin, 1983). Cooperative Integrated Reading And Composition (CIRC) consists ‘of a set of curriculum materials to supplement basil readers and ensure that coop- ‘erative learning is applied to reading, writing, spelling, and language mechanics (Stevens, Madden, Savin & Farnith, 1987).During the lesson, sutJents work together to complete the assignment. Using cooperative learning effectively is an at based on engineering lesons so that they include the ive base elements. There are, however, standard procedures thatcan be used over and over again to provide a pattern and flow to classroom life, A class ser sion, for example, can incloe the following cooperative procedures 1. Checking homework 5, Dali and seiewing 2 Engaging in dscusions 6, Writing compo 3 Takingnotes 1 Resolving intllecrual cons 4 Reodlngasigned material 8, Conducting projects (Read and Explain Pas, Reading Compre Tris Jigs) Students ar to bring their completed homework to class and understand how to do Cooperative ‘Students meetin their cooperative base groups, which are heterogeneous in terms ‘of math and reading ability to ensure that all group members understand how to complete all pars ofthe axignment correctly, Procedure 1. tthe beginning of ass dents meetin cooperative bas groups 2. One member ofeach group, the runner, goes to the teacher's des, picks up the roup'sfolde,and hands out any materials the folder wo the appropiate member. 3. The group reviews the asgament step by step to determine how mich ofthe aire ment each member comaeted snd how wel each member unde-vands how to cot plete the material covered. Two roles ee ullaed: the exphiner (explains y step how the homework is comecl completed) and the accuracy checker (vers chat the ‘explanation ls acurse, encourages other grup sembers and provides coaching ff needed). The rol of explains isolated so that cach member takes tur explaining stepbystep howa portior of thehomework iscorect completed. The other metsbers ste aceuracy checkers. The base groupe concentrate on larg the pats ofthe sigument that one or more members Go not understand.‘coomeearietsaRNine 33 Bspected Criteria for Succest {All group members understand how tocomplete each partof the assignment correctly. Individual Acomtabiity ‘Through reyular examinations and by randomly selecting group members daily sax dents learn how to solve randomly selected problems from the homework Alternative of Directed Homework Review Seucients are assigned to pare. Teacter randomly picks questions from the home- ‘work assignment. One student explains the coreect answer step by step. The other ‘Sudent listens, cheeks for accuracy, and prompts the explaner if he or she does not [know the answer. Roles are evitched fo each question24 cooretavettamene ‘Students may read material more effectively in cooperative pairs than individually. 1. Assign student to pai one high reader and one lw ederim each pie, Tell su ‘dente what apeific pages yo mh them to vend. The eeced trim fr sucess tha both members are ableto explain the meaning ofthe sage mater correctly 2. The tats to lear the marl being zead by exabliching the meaning of each pare sph an integrating the meaning ofthe paragrapss The cooperative goal for both ‘members to agree on te meaning ofeach paragraph, formulate aint summary, nd Seabie tn expintemeaning tothe teacher 8. The provlueto be used bythe sent pe flloms 1 Realall the headings to getan overview 5. Both sadens silent read the at paragraph. Stent Ais nally the suas snd Soadent Bisthereciracy checker Sent toate he oles afer each praareph The summuaraer summariagsn his or her own words the conten of the paragraph tos or ber partner 4. The accuracy checker listens cael, corrects any mistatements and ads any- ‘hing left out Then he or she ells ow the material eats to something hese sirens knows The midents move onto the next paragraph, svt roles and repeat the proce dre, They continue unl they have read al dhe assignments They summarize and agree on the overall eaning ofthe aged materia. During the fesioo, the eacher ssematall (a) monitors each reading pair and ait saudents in flowing the procedure, (0) ensires India aecountabiisy by randomly asking stdenso stmmarize what they have ea sor, and (e) remind iden ht they can use intergroup cooperation (whenever is helpful, they nay check proce ‘dures ansves, and strteges with abother group or compare ansvers with those of ‘anther group if they na eal) Gonyprefension Tas EER Tate 1. Red the (poem, chapter, sory of handout and anaver the questions. 2 Practice the sil of ehecing. Cooperative 1. The teacher will acep: one setofansrers rom the group everyone has ogres, every fone has wo beable to expan each srmer 2. Hall members score 90 percent at beter on the tes, each member wil recsvefve bonus poate 3. To faciate the group's work, each member wil be uigned a roe, sich as reader, recatdet, checker,‘coomeArveisARNNe 35 Expected Criteria for Sueest _Everyome must beable to answer each question correct. Individual Accountability 1, Onemember rom your group wil be randomly chosen 1o explain the groups answers. 2 Atestwill be given on the ssigued reading that each member takes individually 8. Each group member wil be required to explain the group's snavers 0 a member of another group. Bypeted Behaviors Active participating, checking, encenraging, and elaborating by all members. Intergroup Cooperation Whenever it is helpful, check procedures, answers, and strategies with another group. When you ae finished, compare your answers with those of another group ‘and discuss, Whenever there is material you wish to present to a clas or you wish students to read, the jigsaw method is an aerative to lecture and individual reading. You ssgn stents to conperative groups, give all groups the same topic, and divide the ‘material into parts like a jigsaw puztle so that each student has part of the materials heeded to complete the asigument, You give each member one unique section of| the topic to learn and then teach the other members of the group. Members study the topic and teach their part to the rest f the group. The group synthesizes the presentations of the members ino the whole picture. In sudying the life of Sojourner Truth (a black abolitionist and women’s rights activ, for example, you igive one student material on Trut’s childhood, another material on her mide life and another material on the final years of her life. Group members, therefore, cannot learn about her total ifeunles all members teach their pars. Ina jigsaw tach student then has to participate actively in order for his or her group to be suc- ‘earful, The taskfor students sto learn all he assigned material. The operative goal Tor each member to ensure that everyone in the group learns all the assigned ‘material, The jigsaw procedure iss fllows: 1. Cuperatie groups Asgn stems to cooperaine groups (You usually use groups of thre, bat you mayen materi or groupe of nyse), Dirbate x act of materials toveach group ro that cach gro gets one part ofthe materials. The set needs to be ‘vile nto the nusiber ol members ofthe gromp, Number each part (Part 1, Par, Pars)36. core EARNING 2. Preparation pairs Ask sudens to form a prepaiton par with a member of another {oup who has the same part they do (You wl wind up with a pair of Pare Is, pair of Parc2s apa of Part and s0 on). Stents Rave so ass 2, Learning and becoming an expert on thel art ofthe lesion materials. 1b, Panning how teach thei part ofthe material tothe other members of els groups. Seen eo esp of he mtr gee, sng he lending proce are nhrcy ttc sen et each yap Cr Sa (or | ent rma ang ad th her seen chee summary aca fd) seston les er exh pra ong, pat ets Sold tt he mor pt oy wh teach lt paca se reed wo major fins etn dope he content andere procebres Sisal ler mene poop cent puste lume Tue copa i ito rene ene ecg pla 0 the tro mens nhs member fe sé ‘sc Hach ember ets or brn cop tte pan | 2: Patan shen fn race patra member fetes oup who {ction party doth sin aden preperation The error themes spacer tng the parole eed mae ine rey f the pares pre end interac bes ics Borsa oersprsaon | init oer, Te pt aioe tbh mene te paced t fuente 4. Caymateppe Sxdexs cect cope poup: Te sae alos bs Tolan eating eh hoe member Tr emptiness teers ner al ar ote aged nae 5 Manning While he pin and the oopratie groups war You gensaly more to rou tooup al masta long teats 6. ntti See! Gegree of masey ofthe mately ngs et hat ‘ct ak inal, ou may vege members of grouse mabe ‘Soe 0 peer abe ve bons plCcoomeeanveLsARNne 37 ? | ase nplerens the flowing roe, 5 Pasi Asc epee arpa sey ero res ae oe algeria etch face ‘Be ina eed sey Septem an | 5 states aed we ew «he aeciny often brows encouigenentand cachinges oe Fab [7515 Where ple cpl he role spb eat set acca th" "Sanatierpat okey 6 ot age, they rashes robe nl theres conse Sabai doa tanker an ete wok fleas i 7 | | ‘The procedure eoptinues until problems are imple. Faeries ‘When your leson includes student writing an essay, report, poem, sory, or review (of what dey have read you should ave cooperative wing and editing pairs. Tasks \Wirite« compostion and edit otherstadent! compositions. Criteria for Sues ‘Avwellwttten composition by each student, Depending on the instructional objec: tives, the compositions may be evaluated for grammar, punctuation, organization, content, or other eritera set by the teacher. Cooperative Goat {All group members must verify that exch member's compasivon is perfect accord ing to the criteria set by the teacher. Suidents receive an individual score on the ‘quality of cheit compositions. You can also give a group score based on the total fhamber of errors made by the pair (the numberof errors in one partner's compo- sition plus the numberof ears the other parzners composition).38, coor EARNING Individual Accountability Each saident writes his or her own composition, Procedure 2. The teacher ang stents tops ith atleast one good reader in ech pit 2, Smident A deseribes oSuudent B what he or hei planning to wre Sadent Bfstens caretlly probes with ase of questions and ouilies Sent A's composition The ele ten outne given to Sadent A | 3. This procedure is revesed with Student B deserting what he or she e going to write ard Student listening and complesing an one of Suen Bs composition, which iethen given to Student B 44 The students research indvidualitcally the material they need to wit their compost Hons, Reepng a eye cut for material wsfulo their partners ‘The two students work ogether to write the frst paragraps of each composition, This ‘ensure that both havea clear start on thelr compositions ‘The students write dhe compostons individually ‘When completed, the students proofead each other's compositions making core il ‘ons in captalzaton, punetation, spelling, language uge, topic sentence usege, nd other aspects of wing specled by the teacher Seiden iso give each al Bestons for tevin, 8. The stents reise thle compton, making all ofthe suggested revisions. 8, Thetwo students then reread each others cmposons and sgn ther names (nd hi ‘ng that sey guarante that no evors exit inthe composition): While the students work, the teacher monitor the pair, intervening where appro- i priate w help students master the needed writing and cooperative skills, When sir j {Gents complete their compositions, they discuss how effectively they worked together i (listing the specficactions they engaged into help each other), plan what behaviors they are going to emphasize in the next writing pai, and thank each other for the | help and assistance received,cooreeAIVEteARING 39 essen ‘ght A summan casts wists SNe ERE ren aME i feeancstoinmoset asin Beene ato. Aca Ce COMONIIE (eS ae * Creating intellectual confit (controversy) to improve academic learning is one of ‘he most powerful and important instructional tools (Johnson & Johnson, 1995¢) ‘Academic controversies require a csoperatve context and are actualy an advanced form of cooperative learning. The basic format for structuring academic controver- fics ea follows: 1. Choos top that ha content manageable by the stunts and on which at eat 0 trelllocumented posions (pro and con) , Tae a teston both pastons individually all group members score ore the pre- sererteria oF excellence (90 percent), each recete ve bons points. L ‘You can find a more detailed description of conducting academle controversies in Jolson and Johnson (1995c), Peggy Tiffany, 2 fourth-grade teacher in Wilming- ‘on, Vermoni, regularly conducts an academic controversy on whether the wolfshould be a protected species. Se gives sudents the cooperative assignment of ‘writing report on the wolf in which they summarize what they have learned about the wolf and recommend the procedures they think are best for regulating wolf populations and preserving wolves within the continental United States. She ran- Aomly assigns students to groups offour, ensuring that both mle and female and high, medium. and lowachieving students are all in the same group. She divides the group into two pairs and assigas one pair the position of an environmental organization that belicves wolves should he a protected species and assigns the ‘other pair the postion of farmers and ranchers who believe that wolves should not bea protected species. ‘Me. Tiffany gives each side a packet of articles, stories, and information chat supports their postion, During the irs clas period, each pair develops theie pos- tion and plans how to present the best case possible tothe other pair. Near the end of he petiod, pairs are encouragedto compare notes with pais from other groups ‘who represent the same position. Daring the second class period, each pair makes its presentation, Fach member of tve pair has to participate in the presentation. ‘Members of the opposing pair take notes and listen carefully, During the third class period the group discusses the issue (following a set of rules to help them ‘rtiize ideas without criticizing people), differentiates the two positions, and sasesss the degree of evidence an loge supporting each position. During the first half of the fourth hour, the pairs reverse perspectives and pretent each other's positions. Stidents drop ther advocacy positions, clarify heir understand- ing of each other's information axd rationale, and begin work on their group report. Stcents spend the fist half ofthe fifa period finalizing their report. The teacher evaluates the report on the quality ofthe writing, the evaluation of opin- fon and evidence, and the oral presentation of the report to the clas. The stu dents then take an individual test en the wolf and, if every member of the group achieves up to eiterion, chey all receive the bonus points. Finally, during the sixth class period each group makes a teasminute presentation to the entire class sum: ‘arizing ts report. All four members of the group need to parteipate orally inthe presentation. ‘Within this leson you structure positive interdependence by (a) having each group arrive at a consensus, submit one written report, and make one presentation; (@) jigsawing the materials othe pars within the group; and (c) giving bonus points all group members score well on the tet. You structre individual accountability by having (a) each member ofthe air orally participate i each step ofthe contro- very procedure, (b) cach member ofthe group orally participate in the group pre sentation, and (6) each member take an individual test on the material, The socal skilsemphasized are those involvedinsstematially advocating an intellectual pos tion and evaluating and criticizing the postion advocated by others, aswell asthe skills involved in synthesis and consensual decision making. Seadents derive numer ‘ousacademic and social benefit from paricipacing in uch structured controversies (ohnson & Johnson, 1995c)..42 coorenerve eam Bietee BT “Joint Project Task Complete project. Cooperative Each group completes one project. Members sign the project to indicate that they have contributed ther share of the work, agree with the content, and can present of ‘explain it. When a variety of materials are used (such ar scissors, paper, gli, oF markers), assign each team member a responsibil for one of the materials. If appropriate, asign each group member a speci role Criteria for Sueexs ‘A completed project that each group member can explain or present Iividual Accountability 1. ach group member mis he gen diferent color pens markers, or pencil 2 Each group member presents the group project toa member of nether group. 5 Bach student taker tert -nvidvally on the content covered bythe project. Expected Socal Skits Presenting ideas eliciting ideas, and organizing work, Intergroup Cooperation ‘Whenever itishelpfil check grocedures, information, and progresswith other groups Bvamplee 1. Using compas readings draw a tesre map for another group to follow 2 Make alist ofthe reasousfor nat growing up (consider, far example, the reason given {Par Pony eM Bar). MONITORING AND INTERVENING ‘Theol king ht eds ori hf he fr: Fmt pare he rid, the sud eat tr dn ray uae rth an dpa fl mat. the Ene quid fic Stephen Covey (Once the students begin working in cooperative learning groups the teacher's role isto monitor students interaction and intervene to help scents learn and {interact more skilfullyCoOrERATVELEARWNG 43 Monitoring Students’ Behavior ‘Your job begins in earnest when the cooperative learning groups stare working. ‘Resist that urge to geta cup of coffee orto grade papers You observe the interaction among group members to asess scents’ (a) academle progress and (6) appropr- ate use of interpersonal and small-gromp sil ‘Observations can be Formal (wits an observation schedule on which frequencies are tallied) or ancedotl (informal descriptions of students’ statements and actions), Based on your observations, you can then intervene to improve students academic Jearning and interpersonal and smallgroup skills Remember, students rape! what we ‘nspc. To monitormeans to check continuous, Monitoring has four sages 1, Proparingorouring the learning groups by deciding who wil be the observers, choos ‘nghtobmereton forms tous, rsning the obwervers 2 Obsrsingo ase the quality of cooperative efforts a the learning groups 3. Inurvning whe iis neesary to improve a group's taskwork oF tarwork. 4. Hecing student th gut of iran nial paripationn the leaning groups ‘o encourage selfmonitoing haog groupe assss he level of tele effeeuvenes, and raving bots indvidealrand groups et gro goals saat monkoring cooperative lesing groups, fr teacher ean flow these sidelines: 1. Planavoute through de casroom and the lng fie spent observing cach group so that al groupe ae obeerved cing eso, 22 Use formal observation sheet count the number of timer you observe appropriste Behaviors being usd by students The more concrete the dats, dhe more useful esto you the weacher) and o tadent. ‘8. Inia do noc uy wo count too many diferent bears. You may wish simply o keep track of who lke Your aberration should foc on postive behaviors. ‘4. Supplement and extend the frequeney data with nots on specific stadent actions Especially wef are descriptions of sill interchanges tat can be shared with tr dens later and with paren in conferences or eephone conersations [5 Train and utilize student observer. Student observers can obtain more complete data con each groups funesoning and may lean important lesone show appropine Inappropriate behavior. We can rawember oe fistqrade weacher who had a student ‘rho talled all dhe te (evento himself hile working alone). He tended to dominate {ny group hewasin, When she ltodcedstdent observers to he cla she made him fh abeerver. One important rule for observers was not to interfere inthe tsk but 10 {gather data without talking. He was gathering daa on who alls and he did a good jb, Soden thatone student bad done quite bof tlking inthe group whereas another ‘na talked very, The next daynien he wasagroupmembet and tere wasanotber obser he wat seen starting to lk, camping his hand ovr is month, and landing avthe observer He knew what waseing observed and he di’ ewancto be te onl onevith marks. The teacher sid he may hav lstened for dhe st imei the year So the ‘Sbserver often benefits learning abou group ail 6. Allocate sufficient timex the end of ach group sesion for discussion ofthe daa gah red bythe observers. Providing Task Assistance Cooperative earning groups provide teachers with window ino students minds, Through ‘working cooperatively students make hidden thinking processes overt and subject to ‘observation and commentary. From carefully listening students explain to each ‘other wat they are learnirg, eachers can determine what students do and do not lundersiand, Consequently. You may will wish to intervene to clarify instructions, review important procedures and sttegis for completing the assignment, nner ‘questions, and teach both task skills 38 necestary. In discnssing the concepts and information tobe learned, you should make specific statements, uch as "Yes, chat is ‘one way o find the main idea ofa paragraph,” not "Yes, thats right” The more spe tific statement reinforces he desired learning and promotes posiive transfer by helping the students ascodate a term with their learning, Metacognidve thought ‘may be encouraged by asking stadents (a) “What are you doing?” (b) "Why aze you doing it?” and (c) “How willt help you?” Intervening to‘Teach Social Skills Cooperative arming groupe brovide eachrs with pictur of students sca sil, The socal skills required for productive group work are discussed in detal in Chapter. ‘They, along with activites shat may be used in teaching them, are covered in even ‘more depth in D,W, Jolson and F Johnson (1997) and Johnson (1981, 1997) While monitoring the learning groupe, you may intervene to suggest more elfecive procedures for working together or reinforce particularly effective and skilful behaviors. Choosing when 0 intervene is partof the art of teaching. In intervening, ask group members to follow the following procedure, 2. Seated ik |r| 2: uisentoyoiresnementarne ablen I <3: cre ee pos ion grate oy In one third-grade clas, the wacher noticed when distributing papers that cone student was siting back from the other three group members, Amoment later the teacher glanced over and only three students were sitting where four were a‘moment before. As she watched, t three students came marching over to her and complained that Jobnny vas under the able and wouldn’® come out. ‘Make him come out!” they insisted (the teacher’ role: police officer, judge, and execu! ‘done:). The teacher told them that Johnny was a member of their group and asked what they had wed to solve their problem. "Tried?" the puzled reply. "Yes, have you asked him to come out?" the teacher inquired. The group marched back and the teacher continued distributing papers to groups. A moment later the teacher glanced over to their table and saw no heads above the table (which gone ‘way to solve the problem). After a lew more minutes, four heads came struggling out from under the table and che group (including Johnny) went back to work ‘with great energy. We don't know what happened under that table, but whatever fe-vas, it vas effective, What makes this story even more interesting is that the ‘group received a 100 percent score on the paper and later, when the teacher was standing by Johnny's desk, she noticed he had the paper clutched in his hand. ‘The group had given Johnny the paper and he was taking home, He confided to the teacher that this was the firs ime he could ever remember earning 2 100 on anything in school. (IF that was yeur record, you might sip under a few tables yourself) EVALUATING LEARNING AND PROCESSING INTERACTION, Providing Closure to the Lesson You provide closure to lessons by having smadents summarize the major points in the leson, recall ideas, and identify final questions for the teacher (see Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, 1992). Ar the end of the lesson students should be able to summarize what they have learned and to understand how these skills wll use it in future lessons Assessing the Quality and Quantity of Learning “The quality and quantity of student learning should be regulary astessed and occasionally evaluated using a eriterion-referenced system. This is covered in {depth in Chapter 7. Itis covered in even more depth in Meaning end Manageable ‘Astsement through Corpeative Learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1996). Cooperative learning, furthermore, provides i arena in which performancebased assess- iment (requiring students to demonstrate what they can do with what they Enow by performing @ procedure or skill, authentic assessment (requiring stents to demonstrate the desired procedure or skill in areal life context), and total quality Tearning (continuous improvement of the process of students helping teammates learn) can take place. A wide varieyy of asessment formats may be used and students may be directly involved in asessing each other's level of learning and then providing immediate remedietion to ensure all group members learning is maximized,‘Asan illustzation, have students form into pairs and rank each ofthe following. columns from most impeetant (*") to least important, WHATS ASSESED PROCEDURES WAYS HELPS Aeademisning Geos ing Aion souess of aber Reasoning sieges tong Mor oles nese Stil competences compton — More cra otcomes dee —— Prenat resco iran — rantin Devalopmantt nts tag, jose spleen improve plan Processing How Well the Group Functioned ‘When students have completed the asignment,orat the end ofeach class session, sa dents describe what member aeons were helpful (and unlelpful in competing the ‘group's work and make decisions about what behaviors to continue or change. Thisis ‘igcused in detal in Chapter 6. Group processing occurs at two levels in each learn ing group and in the classas a whole. In small group processing, each group member discusses how effectively te group worked together and what could be improved, In ‘whole-lass processing tecchers give the class feedback and have students share incl dents that occurred in their groups. Processing is made up of four parts 1. Feeback You ene that ach dent, each group end the casas whole rece (and ges) feedback on the effectiveness of tskwork snd tamork Feedback given 1 se ‘ent shouldbe descrip and spc, no enlivened general ee Johnson, 1997), 2, Reflection: You ensu= that stadens analyze and reflect on the feedback they receive You avi questions that ean be sere yex or no, Ista of sng, "Did everyone Ihelp exch other learn” you should ak, "How frequently did cach member ()explin hora soe problem and (b) corer or clarify eer members explanations? 5. Improvement goals: You help individuals and groups et gal for impronng She qual ingot tte work 4, Calebratlon: You encourage the clebraon of members’ hard work and the group's SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS A this point you know vhat cooperative learning is and how itis diferent from ‘competitive and individualistic earning. You know that three pes of cooperativelearning groupe exist formal cooperative learning groups, informal cooperative learning froups, and cooperative base groups. You know thatthe essence of coop- erative learning i postive interdependence where students recognize that “we are in this together, sink or swim.” Other essential components include individal accountability (every student is accountable for both learning the assigned material and helping other group memberslearn), fuceo-face interaction among students (seadents promote each other's successes), the appropriate use of interpersonal and {group sills, and the ably to process how effecuvely the learning group has fence tioned. These five exential components of cooperation form the conceptval basis {or constructing cooperative procedures. You know that the research supports the proporition that cooperation reeulsin greater effort to achieve, more positive inter Personal relationships, and greater psfehotogieal health and selFesteem than do ‘competitive or individualistic efforts, You know the teacher's role in implementing Formal cooperative learning. Any asignment in any subject area may be sacred cooperatively. In using formal cooperative learning, the teacher decides on the objectives ofthe lesson, makes a nuniber of preinstructional decisions about the size ofthe group and the materials required to conduct the lesson, explains to students the askand the cooperative goal soucture, monitor the groups as they work, inter vvenes when itis necessary, and then evaluates. ‘Teacherswho have mastered the use of cooperative learning have told us many times, “Don’t say it is easy!" We knov it'snot.Itcan take years to become an expert ‘There isa lot of pressure o teach [ke everyone els, to have students learn alone, and not to let students look at each other's papers, Students will not be accustomed. to working together and are likely to have a competitive orientation, You may wish to start small by using cooperative learning for one topie or in one class until you feel comfortable, and then expand into other topics or classes. Jnplementing formal ‘cooperative lerningin your caserom i nol easy, bu it ts worth the effort Tn addition to formal cooperave leaning, teachers use informal cooperative learning and cooperative base grosps. These techniques will be discussed in the next two chapters.eis 12,596.86. A small group of hunters surround aband of reindeer as they ford an icyriver. The hunters are armed with harpoons dipped with spear heads carved from reindeer antlers the seindeer wallow in the water the hunters run in and slaughter them. It is the coordinated action of the group of Cro-Magnon hunters that makes them more successful than their Neanderthal cousins, who hnntas individuals. ‘Our origins are somehow linked wih the fae of the Neanderthals. We have never been proud of our extinct predecessors, partly because of their looks. Never theless, dhe Neanderthals representa high point in the human story. Their lineage goes back tothe earliest members ofthe genus Homa. They were the original pio- neers. Over thousands of years, Neanderthals moved out of Atia by way ofthe Near Eastinto India China, Malaysia, anc into southern Europe. In recent times, 150,000 ‘or so years ago, they pioneered gladal landscapes. The Neanderthals were the frst to cope wth climates hospitable only to woolly mammoths and reindeer. "There is no anatomical evidence that the Neanderthals were inferior to us (the Cro-Magnons) cerebrally and no doubt whatever that they were our physical Their strongest individuals could probably lit weights of hala ton ors We are quite puny in comparison. But we gradually replaced the Ne derthals during an overlapping period of a few thousand years. Ie may have been a matter of strtion and population pressure, As the glaciers from Scandi navia advanced, northern popiavons of Neanderthals moved south while our “ancestors were moving north out of Africa, We metin Europe. They vanished about 50,000 years ago [Numerous explanations exist or the disappearance ofthe Neanderthals, Per- hhaps they evolved into us. Pethaps we merged. Perhaps there wae an intergroup ”50 competition for food, with the Neanderthals unable to meet our challenge and ‘ying off in marginal area. Perhaps the Neanderthals were too setin their waysand ‘were unable to evolve and refine better ways to cooperate whereas we were contin ally organizing better cooperative efforts to cope with changing climatic conditions. ‘There seem to be litle doubt that we were more able t9 form and maintain coop> erative efforts within small groups ‘During the time we (tae Cro-Magnons) overlapped with the Neanderthals, our ancestors developed highly sophisticated cooperative effecs characterized by socal ‘organization, group-huting procedures, creative experimentation with a variety of| ‘materials, sharing of knowiedge, divisions of labor, trade, and transportation sj tems. We sent out scouts to monitor the movements of herds of animals we preyed ‘on, The Neanderthals protably did not. We cached supplies and fist aid materials to aid hunting partes far avay from our home bases. The Neanderthals did not [Neanderthals apparently engaged their prey chiefly io direct combat. We learned more efficient ways of hunting, such as driving animals over cli, that changed fun ddamentaly our relasonship with the rest of the animal kingdom (Le, instead of behaving ke Hons and other earnivores by going ater young, old, and sick animals to weed out the less fit, large-scale game drives wiped out entice herds and perhaps entire species). We develojed more sophisticated tools and weapons to kill from 2 distance sich asthe spear tarower and the bow and arvovt The Neanderthals prob- ably did not. The Neanderthals used local materials to develop tools. We were more Selective often obtaining special fine-grained and colorful fits from quarries s far 235250 miles away. This too« a level of intergroup cooperation and social organiza. tion that Neanderthals did not develop. We improved the toolmaking process through experimentation snd sharing knowledge. The Neanderthal did not The Neanderthals used stone smost exclusively for tools. We used bone and ivory to make needles and other tools, We “tailored” our clothes and made ropes and nets ‘Our abiy to obtain more food than we needed resulted in wading and the forma tion of farranging social networks. Status hierarchies, the accumulation of wealth, artistic efforts, lav, and story telling to preserve waditions followed 2s more com. plex forms of cooperation were developed. Whether we replaced or evelted from ‘he Neanderthals, our ingenuity was especially evident in organizing cooperative efforts to increace our standard of ling and the quality of our lives, We excelled at ‘organicing effective small-group efforts. ‘Humans are small grcup beings. We alvays have been and we always willbe. As John Donne said, "No man isan island, entte of ise” Throughout the hisory of ‘ur species we have lived in small groups, For 200,000 years, mans lived in small Ihunting and gathering groups For 10,000 years, humans lived in small farming ‘communities. tis only recently, during the pas 100 years or so, chat large cities have become the rule rather than the exception ‘THE COOPERATIVE CLASSROOM Caserooms perhaps should primarily be small group places, and there is more to "using cooperative learning groups than Formal cooperative learning. Teachers also tue informal cooperative leaning and cooperative base groups. Informal coopers:INFORMAL COORIINELEARNING $1 Lie learning is used with direct teaching. Base groups involve long-term cooperative efforts The three ypesof cooperate leringare then integrated into coherentiessons. Direct Teaching, Lecturing er sure of echingmathods gps tha. fo wan student to come wore in ening arin and thinking hy ae oped mae ine ato, meaning arn fd thinking justin end pated ren formation. Mekeachi (1986) Direct teaching includes leeturing, showing films and videos, giving demon- strations, and having guest speakew. Lecturing is currently the most common teacher behavior in secondary and elementary schools (as wel as in colleges and universities), Even in caning programs within business and industry, lecturing dominates. A lecture isan extencled presentation in which the teacher presents fa ‘ua information in an organized and logically sequenced way. I typically results in long periods of uninterrupted teacher-centered, expository discourse that relegates students to the role of passive “spectators” in the claesroom. A lecture has three parts: the intredvetion, the body, and the conclusion, Proponents of lecturing advise teachers to “Tel Uuem what you ate going to tell them, then tll them; then tell hem whatyou told them.” First you describe the learning objectivesinaveay that alerts suidents to whatisto be covered in the lecture. You then present the material to be learned in small teps organized logically and sequerced in ways that are easy to follow. You end with an integrative review of the main points. Normally lecturing includes using reference notes, occasionally using visuals to enhance the informa tion being presented, and responding to students’ questions as the lecture pro- agresses or at its end, Occasionally, students are proved with handouts to help them follow the lecture. The lecturer presents the material to be learned in more or lse {inal form, gives answers, presents principles, and elaborates the entire content of wnat is to be learned, APPROPRIATE USE OF LECTURING. Some of the reasons why lecauring iso popular are that itcan be adapted to differ fentaudiences and time frames and it eps the teacher atthe center of ll eomm- nication and attention in the clasxoom. Leetuting and other forms of dicect teaching are appropriate under certain conditions (eee Table 3.1). Prom the research direcdy evaluating lecturing (se reviews by Bligh, 1973; Costin, 1973; Eble, 1983; McKeachie, 1967; Verner & Dickinson, 1967) Itmay be concluded that leet. ing is appropriate when the purpose 30 1, Disseminate information. Letaring x appropriate when ficult wh to communicate large amount of material to many sudentsinashortperiod of tine, when fact Wish to mpplementeuriculum miter that need updating or elaborating, when the ate Sal ato be organized and presented ina particular we, or when fay Wa pro- ‘ide an introduction to an sea‘TADLE3.1 Direct Teaching ard Lecturing (APRROPRIATE USE PROBL enews ise inoraton Decrees sidentatinton —_Pesccpaton wih pt or Present nermaon at Sequvesneliget motiates —_Enaonl moods auch at ‘alibeekewbow cin leaner eae fraton Savestuer tine necting frome loweriellaming, —Stdennck of nret in ematon sect eration tel pens owe side itweting ——_Allaadentsnend sane Fale to nde teal ‘woe ‘nlorratn,peseted ‘beng presnead| ‘iy inpesnaly a same pace opie Teach tan whoa sauenstendnota Hike ——_‘esingto senation om ce and school ean, ear Asus ede oa marily ve igh eesonabors at ‘sng nemo, poses ‘ep compet of oud por ome mnie incrmatonproceseng tg are {2 Present material hat not salable clewhere. Lectving i appropriate when infor mation i not aalable in arena aces sane, the information ie riginal, or the information might be to complex snd diffi oe students to learn oa thei ov. 5. Expose students to conten! in able Une that might take dhem much longer to locate fon thelr own. Loctring i appropriate when fly need to teach information that, ‘must be integrated rom ny sourcesand students do not have the time, resources, o tlle odo so. 44 Arouse students interestic the eubjet, When aectree presented by x highly author: lade person or in sei way with los of humor and examples, students may be Sntegued and want to find out more about the subject. Sill delivery ofa leetre Includes maintaining eye comars, avoiding ditractng behaviors, modulating vice pitch and volume, and ing appropriate gestres Achievement higher when pre {cations are ces (Good Brows 1977; Smith Land 1081), delivered with ent Siam (Arment, 1077, and dolvered wich appropriate gestures and movements (osensine, 1968). 5 Teach students who are primarily auditory learners. Problems with Lecturing “While direct teaching may be appropriately used, there are alto problems with direct, teaching that teachets must eep it mind, Much of the research on leccuring has ‘compared lecturing with group dizcussion. Although the conditions under which lecturing is more success than group discussion have net been identified, a num. ber of problems with leccaring have been found,