1. A teaching strategy for covenant and content
Cooperative Learning
A teaching strategy for
covenant and content

2. COOPERATIVE LEARNING WHAT IT IS NOT:
The panacea for all your instructional problems…
The only way to teach effectively…
The best way to teach everything….

3. Differences Between Traditional Groupwork and Cooperative Learning
Positive interdependence
No interdependence
Individual accountability
No individual accountability
Heterogeneous groups
Homogeneous groups
Shared leadership
One leader
Shared responsibility for each other
Responsibility to self only

4. Differences (con’t.)
Task and group behavior emphasized Only task is emphasized
Social skills directly taught Social skills assumed
Group processing on teamwork No group processing

5. ELEMENTS OF COOPERATIVELY STRUCTURED LEARNING
 Group heterogeneity
 Positive group interdependence
 Individual accountability
 Leadership skills
 Group processing

6. SOME BENEFITS OF COOPERATIVELY STRUCTURED LEARNING: THE RESEARCH
 Facilitates higher achievement, particularly among students in the lower 50th percentile.
 Increases student perspective-taking
 Can foster better attitude toward school
 Increases retention at school
 Increases intrinsic motivation
 Can foster more positive heterogeneous relationships
 Can foster more language development
 Increases self-esteem
 Encourages greater collaboration
 Fosters more on-task behavior (if done correctly!)
 Encourages more positive psychological adjustment
 Provides more social support

7. CONTINUUM OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING
May be:
Simple to Complex
May feature:
Cooperation to Appropriate competition
May use:
Pairs Triad Quartets
May last:
1 class session Up to six weeks
May require:
Few social skills Many social skills