The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of cooperative learning in education. The discussion begins with a definition of cooperative learning in terms of both defining the construct and providing a set of discrete behaviors that operationalize the technique. This discussion is followed by an explication of the theoretical assumptions and principles of cooperative education. Finally, research related to the applications of cooperative learning principles in social studies classrooms is reviewed.
According to Sharan and Sharan (1987), cooperative learning refers to several instructional strategies used by educators to foster learning through peer cooperation and communication. As Slavin (1982) puts it, cooperative learning techniques can be defined as:
. . . instructional methods in which students of all levels of performance work together in small groups toward a common goal. The essential feature of cooperative learning is that the success of one student helps other students to be successful (p.6).
In the last two decades, cooperative learning has been the focus of much educational research. In this regard, Johnson and Johnson have noted that as early as 1978, educators had found cooperative learning strategies to be instrumental in producing gains in students': (l) academic achievement; (2) ability to understand others' perspective; (3) social and cooperative skills; (4) motivation to learn; (5) emotional involvement in learning; (6) attitudes toward school and teachers;
(7) psychological health and sense of interdependence with others; and (8) attitudes toward peers. In more current research, these findings have been replicated repeatedly (see: Johnson & Johnson, 1991).
Simply having students work in groups is not sufficient to term the effort one of cooperative education. Rather, as noted by Margolis, McCabe and Schwartz (1990), several discrete instructional steps must be taken to guarantee that te...