achers have fully established cooperative learning techniques and strategies in their classroom environment.
In other words, the term "cooperative learning" has both a conceptual and operational component to its definition with the operational component consisting of several concrete steps that must be taken in terms of implementing the cooperative educational effort. These steps, listed by Margolis, McCabe and Schwartz as crucial to the establishment of a cooperative learning group, are:
(1) Selection of academic and social objectives appropriate for students' grade and skill levels.
(2) Teacher provision of explanation for all assignments and procedures to be used to complete assignments.
(3) Teacher provision of description as to the social-cooperative skills upon which students will be evaluated.
(4) Initial groups always to be small and centered upon discrete, easy to evaluate tasks.
(5) Provision of reinforcement for behavior demonstrating student tolerance and understanding of differences among group members.
(6) Monitoring and reinforcement for collaborative processes as well as individual accomplishments.
(7) Attention paid to the physical arrangement and sound level of the classroom to make sure that it facilitates rather than disrupts learning.
(8) Using cooperative groups for an appreciable amount of time.
(9) Ensuring that all techniques and strategies are adjusted to fit teachers style of teaching.
(10) Establishing written guidelines and norms for group work that define suitable behavior in clear terms.
Theoretical Foundations Of Cooperative Learning
Theoretically, the question may be asked: How is it that cooperation in learning transfers the success of one student to other students? According to Johnson and Johnson (1974), understanding this transference can be attained through examination of the structure of learning goals.
Johnson and Johnson report that values underlie ...