I

UNIT 7 COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Structure

Introduction
Objectives
Cooperative Learning
7.3.1 Nature and Concept
7.3.2 What is a Group?
7.3.3 Underlying Assumptions
Cooperative Learning Strategies
7.4.1 Teacher Presentation Students Revision (TPSR)
7.4.2 Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD)
7.4.3 Team Games Tournaments
7.4.4 Group Investigation
7.4.5 Jigsaw
7.4.6 Group Project Work
Advantages of Cooperative Learning
Formation of Groups
Teacher's Role in Cooperative Learning
Let Us Sum Up
Unit-end Exercises
Answers to Check Your Progress
Suggested Readings

7.1 INTRODUCTION
To maximize students' learning and attainments, innovative and reflective
teachers are always in search of methods of teaching and learning other than
the conventional methods which in popular parlance are often labeled as chalk
and talk or lecture methods.
The educational researchers and teacher educators have developed a variety of
strategies which are stated to be free from the weaknesses of conventional
methods. Besides enhancing the level of students' performance, cooperative
learning methods and strategies have the potential to bring about desirable
changes in students' behaviour. In this unit, you will study the concept, need,
types and advantages of cooperative learning. The role that you can play in the
use of cooperative learning has also been discussed in the unit. We hope that
you will use this method of teaching in your school.

7.2 OBJECTIVES
After studying through this unit, you should be able to:
explain the concept of cooperative learning,
describe the need and importance of cooperative learning,
describe the different strategies of cooperative learning,
state the advantages of cooperative learning,
explain different types of groups,
illustrate formation of groups by teachers,
explain the teacher's role in cooperative learning.
Teaching Learning
Strategies
7.3 COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Before we start talking about the organisation of cooperative learning we

should clearly understand the concept, need and importance of cooperative
learning. The theoretical base will help you translate this method of teaching
and learning into action.

7.3.1 ~ a t u r and
e Concept

In our schools, the students are organized in grades or classes on the basis of
their level of achievement in the prescribed curriculum. The students placed in
a class, by and large, belong to the same age group. A teacher is called upon to
transact the prescribed c ~ c u l u m to the whole class treating it as one unit in
spite of the fact that each class comprises students of varying levels of abilities
and interests. It is quite natural that in a mixed ability class, different students
shall have different perceptions and experiences about the same curriculum.
On the other hand, in an individualized learning situation, a teacher gets an
opportunity to reorient hisher teaching to the specific needs of an individual
student who proceeds at hislher own pace. However, it is not possible for a
teacher to attend to the needs of all students individually. Researchers have
developed the cooperative learning strategies as an alternative to both whole
class teaching and learning strategies and the individualized learning strategies.
The cooperative strategies make an attempt to overcome the weaknesses of
both whole class and individualized learning strategies. Based on this
explanation let us understand cooperative learning.
"Cooperative learning is a set of teaching strategies used to help learners meet Cooperative Learning
specific learning and interpersonal goals in structured groups (Slavin, 1995)".
This definition of cooperative learning includes the following three ideas:

It is not a single teaching or learning strategy. It is a set of teaching

strategies.
It helps the learners to achieve two types of goals, i.e. learning goals and
interpersonal goals. This implies that cooperative learning is conducive for
the improvement of students' learning achievement as well as for the
development of interpersonal skills.
Cooperative learning takes place in structured groups, that is, the groups
which are formed in a planned and systematic manner.

7.3.2 What is a Group?

To understand the nature of cooperative learning, it is imperative to understand

the meaning and nature of a group. A group can be said to exist as more than a
collection of people when it possesses the following qualities (Jaques, 1984):

Collective perception: The members are collectively conscious of their

existence as a group.
Needs: The members join a group because they believe it will satisfy some
needs or give them some rewards.
Shared aims: The members hold common aims or ideals, which to some
extent bind them together. The achievement of aims is presumably one of
the rewards.
Interdependence: The members are interdependent in as much as they are
affected by or they respond to any event that affects any of the group's
members.
Social organization: A group can be seen as a social unit with norms, roles,
statures, power and relationships.
Interaction: The members influence and respond to each other in the
process of communicating, whether they are face-to-face or otherwise
deployed. The sense of "group" exists even when members are not
collected in the same place.
Cohesiveness: The members want to remain in the group to contribute to
its well-being and aims, and to join in its activities.
Membership: Two or more people interacting for longer than a few minutes
constitute a group.

7.3.3 Underlying Assumptions

Cooperative learning is based on certain assumptions that have implications for

effective learning. These are:

Students enjoy working in groups. Group - work is a sure means for

enhancing students' motivation and interest in the learning task in hand.
Teaching Learning
Strategies Group work provides opportunity to all the students to actively participate 1
in the process of learning and acquisition of knowledge. 1
Group work makes it possible for each and every student to progressively
enhance hisfher learning achievement by making himlher an active learner.
While working in groups, students get ample opportunities to interact with
one another, which leads to improvement in their communication and
- interpersonal skills.
Students enjoy helping their peers and are less hesitant to seek help from
their peers than from their teachers.

Check Your Progress 1

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.

b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

1. Explain the purpose of cooperative learning.

.........................................................................
.........................................................................

2. State any three assumptions underlying cooperative learning.

.........................................................................
.........................................................................
3. In the context of cooperative learning, indicate whether the
following statements are true or false.

a) A group should be more than a collection of people. ( )

b) Cooperative learning can take place in any type of
group. ( )
c) Students are as hesitant to seek help from their peers as
they are from their teachers. ( )

7.4 COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES

To translate the'principles and assumptions of cooperative learning into
practice, several strategies have been evolved by the educational researchers
and praptitioners. These strategies differ from each other in some respects but
they hake many common features also as all of them are based on the same
principles. However, t h e cooperative learning strategies have the following
essential components (Slavin, 1995):

Group goals
Individual accountability
Equal opportunity for success

Let us elaborate each component in the same order as given above.

 Cooperative Learning
Group goals: In a team sport like hockey or football, all the members do not
possess the same level of expertise but they all contribute to the team effort to
realize its goal of winning the game. The victory is perceived as the reward of
the entire team rather than the reward of one or a few individuals. Goals of .
cooperative learning groups are similar. The goal of a learning group is
evidently the successful completion of the given learning task. The group
members work together, help each other and win the reward as a group. On the
other hand, in the whole class teaching system, each student competes for
recognition and reward as an individual.

Individual accountability: As stated earlier, in cooperative learning it is the

group which wins recognition. However, this does not mean that individual
members can afford to be lethargic. Each team member is responsible for
mastering the content, as each student has to be assessed individually. The
group performance and individual performance in a group are always
interdependent; therefore, it is imperative to enhance the performance level of
each member of the group.

Equal opportunity for success: In groups, all students, reeardless of their past
achievement, have equal chance of contributing to the realization of group
goals. Students compete with their own performance, not with each other.
Improvement in the performance of a low achiever or average achiever or high
achiever leads to improvement in the overall performance of the group as a
whole. Thus, each member, irrespective of hisher level of past achievement,
gets a similar opportunity to contribute to the accomplishment of the group.

A few cooperative learning strategies which you can use in your school are
described in the sub-sections 7.4.1 to 7.4.6.

7.4.1 Teacher Presentation Students Revision (TPSR)

This strategy is very simple as it is used along with the conventional whole
class teaching. It can be used for the teaching of all subjects in any class. Its
main purpose is to strengthen learning resulting from whole class strategy. The
underlying assumption is that the subject matter presented by the teacher is
better grasped by the students if it is revised by them in small groups. The use
of this method will provide opportunities to the students to verbalize their
learning which helps in the clarification of concept which in turn lays the
foundation for making the learning stable and lasting. The group may appoint
one of the bright students as the group leader or chairperson. The group leader
may ask one of the students to summarize the content of the lesson taught by
the teacher and encourage other students to ask questions relating to the points
not understood by them. The students who have understood the content shall
provide answers to the question in their own ways. The group leader may
moderate and regulate the discussion on the probable answers to the question
in hand. The questions, which are not answered or resolved in the group, may
be brought to the whole class for resolution with the help of students of other
groups or by the teacher. For example, after teaching the lesson on the great.
uprising of 1857 in social sciences, you c~ divide the class into groups for
revision and discussion. During group work, some of the students may provide
details or offer explanations which might have been missed by you. In case one
of the groups fails to resolve the question relating to the difference between-the
Teaching Learning
Strategies immediate and the long term causes, it may be brought back to the whole class
for further discussion.

TPSR strategy can be implemented as under:

Teach the content of the lesson in hand in your own usual way which may
be a blend of exposition, discussion, illustration, etc.
Divide the class into groups and ask the members of each group to
nominate their group leader. Give instructions for the organization of group
work before asking them to work separately.
Monitor the proceedings of all the groups and provide on the spot
guidance, if required.
Organize plenary session to attend to the issues which could not be
resolved in groups. This could be accomplished with the help of students of
other groups.
Reteach those portions of the content which all the students have failed to
comprehend. This can be done by using different examples, illustrations,
etc. or by using :appropriate instructional aids.

Activity 1

1. Plan and execute TPSR strategy to teach any topic in your class.

7.4.2 Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD)

Student Team Achievement Divisions (STAD) is one of the most well known
strategizs of cooperative learning which uses four or five member teams to
master topics dealing with basic skills. Like the teacher presentation student
revision strategy (TPSR), teachers using STAD initially present the content or
skill as they normally would. After the initial presentation you ask the students
to work on the concept or skill in the setting of a structured group. When they
understand the content, you administer a test and assign a score to each student
and then derive improvement score by comparing the present score of the
student with hisker base score. On the basis of improvement scores of
individual members, average improvement score of each group is calculated
which serves as the criterion for giving awards to the groups.

Innovative techniques make teaching learning process more effective. STAD,

for example, can be experimented to find out if it can result in greater
development of communicative skills in English among slow learners. Another
objective of the experiment can be if such learning could lead to better
performance in school examinations. You may identify slow learners on the
basis of some achievement test and divide them into small groups, each
comprising five to eight students. The learning content may be broken into
mangeable units through carefully planned learning materials. List of new
words and phrases may be prepared. Appropriate learning tasks or activities
where the learner has to use some learning strategies such as associating,
guessing, analyzing, generalizing, etc. in understanding the lesson. STAD
module for different units prepared by the teacher may be distributed among
I

Cooperative Learning
the students. They may be helped to form realistic targets or goals of
achievements. The experiment may comprise three stages. In the first stage, the
teacher may read the module aloud and give brief explanations wherever
necessary. In the second stage, the groups may be asked to go through the
materials as well as the textual lesson using different learning strategies under
the guidance of the teacher. In the third stage, the groups may meet the teacher
and discuss the difficult as well as interesting points. The teacher may also
arrange a quiz session. Assessment of the work can take place in the last stage.
You may find that lot of self-learning takes place through self-direction,
struggle and efforts on the part of the learners.

STAD can be used for a range of topics in all subjects. For example, the
I strategy can be used for topics like solar system, water cycle, etc in science,
climate regions, longitude and latitude problems in social studies, parts of body
and characteristics of drugs in health education.

1 Implementation of STAD shall involve four broad phases:

! Initial presentation by the teacher

Team study or group work
Organization of quiz sessions
Evaluation and grading

Let us discuss each phase in brief.

Initial presentation by the teacher: As stated earlier, initial instruction when

STAD is used, is similar to instruction in any other situation. However, it is
followed by team study in the place of independent practice by each individual.

Team study or group work: Slavin (1995) recommends the following steps
for team study:

a) Prepare work sheets: Work sheets should require direct application of

concepts, principals or rules taught in the lesson. Also prepare answers to
the items on the work sheets.
b) Have teammates sit together: Let students select a team name and team
I
leader. Make sure the students know how to talk with each other in voices
just above a whisper.
c) Identify pairs within the team of four members: In the case of a team of
five members identify a pair and a trio.
d) Hand out two work sheets per team: This encourages students to work
together. Each person works on the problems or answers the questions
individually and then checks with the partners. In the case of this
agreement they are to present their arguments and resolve the problems
themselves. If they can not settle the disagreement, they confer with the
other pair or trio in their team. They can ask the teacher for help if the
entire team fails to resolve the disagreement.
e) Emphasize that team work will be deemed finished only when team
members are certain that everyone in their team understands and can
explain each of the items on worksheet.
Teaching Learning
Strategies f) Continue moving among the teams, promoting cooperation and offering
encouragement and praise.

Organization of quiz sessions: After team study is completed, students are

given a quiz that measures their understanding of the content. Students take the
quiz as individuals and the quiz is scored, as it normally would be. The.quiz
should parallel the worksheet but items should be changed to prevent students
from merely memorizing the information. Improvement points are then
calculated and team rewards are given.

Evaluation and grading: When base scores are used, teachers should ensure
that improvement in scares is reflected in the individual student's term grades.
A specified number of improvement scores may lead to upward revision in
their grade. This puts them in the position of competing only with their past
performance, and it gives every student in the class a chance for success.

Activity 2

1. Plan and execute a STAD strategy to teach ahy topic in your class.

7.4.3 Team Games Tournaments ,

This strategy is based on the principle of cooperation within the team (group)
and competition between teams (groups). You might have observed that in
games like hockey, fobtball, basketball, etc, all the individual players play as a
team to win the game against another team. The individual members in a team
'lq thee best to help each other, particularly the senior and experienced players
he;$ and guide the youngsters to hone their playing skills.

You can use this strategy by devising a game"in your subject and then by
dividing the class into teams of four or five members. For example, as a
language teacher you can devise a spelling or vocabulary game. ,You can make
different teams to sit at different places in the class and then ask each member
of a team to give antonym or synonym of a given word. The score for a correct
response should be decided before hand. At the end of the round, a team shall
have a score on the basis of correct responses given by its members. The
procedure is repeated with the other teams. At the end of the first round, you
can announce the total score of each team.

The strategy can be used in all school subjects. For example, in Social
Sciences, team tournaments can be organized around mountains, rivers,
.rainfall, historical personalities, political personalities, events, etc. In Science,
team tournaments can be organized on themes like physical ailments, solar
sybtem, applicationeofscience and technology in agriculture, industry, etc.

The strategy "teak games tournament" can be implemented as under:

Devise a game on an appropriate theme in your subject. .

Divide the class into teams and assign the same theme or different themes
to all the teams.
a Ailnounce date and time of the tournament. Team members may meet in Cooperative Learning
the classroom, in the school library or at some other convenient place for
making the plan.
Frame rules and make the same known to the team before the
commencement of the tournament.
Conduct the competition and giv'e rewards to the winning team.
Organize tournaments periodically and ensure participation of all the
students in the tournaments.

Check Your Progress 2

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.

b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

'1. Explain how individual accountability is ensured in

cooperative learning strategies?

2. Complete the following statements:

a) Like TPSR, STAD strategy begins with

b ) Team games tournaments encourages cooperation within

the team and

c) In STAD strategy, the performance of an individual

student is compared with

3. Indicate whether the following statements are true or false.

a) Evaluation has no place in cooperative learning

strategies. ( )
b) To conduct tournaments, appropriate games can
be devised in all subjects of secondary school
curriculum. .. ( 1
c) In cooperative learning strategies, the teacher has no role
when the students start working in groups. ( 1
7.4.4 - Group Investigation

This strategy entails division of the class into a few small groups with four or
-
five students in each group. These groups are either assigned different ,
Teaching Learning
Strategies problems or different aspects of the same problem for investigation. Focus of
group investigation is relatively less on content goals and more on inquiry
skills. You can introduce the problem to the whole class if its various aspects
are to be investigated by different groups. In case, each group is assigned a
separate problem, you will have to introduce the problem to the group
concerned. Students are likely to get fully involved in the investigation if the
problem selected is a real life problem. For example, problems like LLmonsoon
failure", "delayed monsoon", can be selected for investigation after detailed
consultation and discussion between you and the students.

Implementation of the study shall involve the following steps:

(i) Selection of the problem: Initiate discussion on a broad field of study.

Encourage the students to participate actively in the discussion. To ensure
students' participation and to sustain their interest, you may have to put a
series of interlinked thought provoking questions. This may ultimately lead
to the selection of the problem for investigation. For example, you may
start with the "importance of monsoons for the economy of the country"
and end up with the problem of "monsoon failure" or "delayed monsoon"
for investigation.

(ii) Plan of action: After selection of the problem, help the students to identify
various aspects of the problem for detailed investigation. Divide the class
into a few groups and allow each group to choose an aspect of its choice.
Help each group to discuss and finalize its plan for investigation. For
example, the following may be identified as aspects of the problem of
monsoon failure:

Causes of "monsoon failure".

Impact on socio political life.
Impact on economy.
Remedial measures.

'
The investigation plan prepared by the students shall include proposed
strategies for carrying out various tasks like gathering information, analysis
and synthesis of collected information, preparation of report, etc.

(iii)Infonnation gathering: After the finalization of plan of action, different

members of the group are engaged in gathering information as per the task
assigned to them. You are expected not only to tell them the sources of
data but also guide them to reach the data. Students may have to visit some
places for on the spot observation or in some cases they may have to hold
discussions with knowledgeable persons. However, much of the
information shall have to be obtained from books, journals, magazines,
newspapers, etc (Arora 2000)..

(iv)Analysis and synthesis of data: After the completion of information

gathering, ask the groups to scrutinize the available data. On the basis of
thorough and analytical discussion on the collected information, students
are likely to evolve a holistic view of the problem. For example, regarding
the problem of monsoon failure, the students may be in a position to form a
clear cut view about its causes, its impact on various aspects of life and
probable remedial measures.
 Cooperative Learning
(v) Preparation and presentation of the final report: The groups should be
required to prepare the final report based on the results of the data analysis
and present the same to the whole class. The other students may make
queries, raise questions and make observations on the methodology of the
investigation or on the content of the report. Obviously, the members of the
concerned group shall answer the queries and questions. Finally, the
groups should be expected to revise their reports in the light of feedback
received from other members of the class.

7.4.5 Jigsaw

Jigsaw, developed by Slavin (1995), assigns students to groups and asks each
student to become an expert on one aspect or part of an organized body of
knowledge. These experts then teach the portion of the content to other
members of their group. Thus, each student gets an opportunity to teach one
aspect or component and is taught other aspects by different members of
hisher group. For example, for the topic on the achievements and policies of
the Mughal Emperor Akbar, a teacher of History can implement the strategy as
under:

i) Identify the major components of the broad topic. In the present case, the
components could be:

a. Life and achievements

b. Social life under Akbar
c. Political life under Akbar
d. Religious policy of Akbar
e. Art and culture under Akbw

ii) Divide the class into groups with five members in each group. Assign
common names to different membei-s in each group like A, B, C, D or E.
iii) Assign the first component to the students with the name A in all the
groups. Likewise, the second, third, fourth, fifth components may be
assigned to the students with the names B, C, D and E respectively.
iv) Allow sufficient time to the students to master the component assigned to
them. Tell them the references and other sources, which they could tap.
Monitor and supervise the progress of different groups.
v) Provide opportunities to the experts to meet to exchange their notes and to
further refine, improve and strengthen their learning. For example, the
students with the name "A" in all the groups shall meet and discuss their
work and understanding of the topic on the life and achievements of
Akbar. The "experts" on the other components shall meet separately to
further enrich their knowledge on concerned components.
vi) Ask the experts (students) to return to their original group and teach the
component of their specialization. Each member of the group shall teach
the component of hisher specialization to the other students.
vii) Monitor students as they teach their topics to the other members of the
group.
viii)Adrninister a test covering all components of the topic.
Teaching Learning
Strategies ix) Score the test and determine the improvement points in respect of each
student.
x) Provide feedback to the groups about their performance and reward team
achievements.

Activity 3

1. Plan and execute a Jigsaw session for a group of students of your class.
Write how it was different from your teaching.

7.4.6 Group Project Work

In many respects group project work resembles group investigation but there
are some dissimilarities also. In the group investigation the focus is less on
content goals and more on enquiry skills, whereas in the group project work,
students work in groups to accomplish some task or perform an activity. The
underlying assumptian is that students will understand each other and pick up
interpersonal skills when they are provided opportunities to work together in
small groups for some time. The implementation of this strategy involves the
following phases:

i. Selection of'the project: To begin with, you discuss with the students the
possibility of undertaking some project. After discussing various
alternatives, one major project or few small projects for execution may be
selected. For example, organization of science exhibition, celebration of
some day (human rights day, teachers' day, friendship day, annual day,
etc), organization of youth parliament, organization of poetical symposium,
publication of class or school magazines, may be considered for selection
as group projects.
ii. Organizational In case a major project has been selected, it may
be split into subprojects and a group may be assigned the responsibility to
take care of one aspect of the major project within each group, ask
individual members to accept the responsibility for specific tasks. In
addition ensure that each group decides the phasing, time budgeting and
resources required in respect of the specific task assigned to it.
iii. Execution: After the completion of detailed planning, students get engaged
in the execution of the project. Make yourself readily available to all the
students for consultation and solving their problems, if any. Keep a watch
on the participation and contribution of each student and monitor progress
of each group. Impress upon the group leaders to see that all the students
participate enthusiastically to complete the project on time. - .
iv. Evaluation: After completion of the project, make all the grotips to meet in
the plenary session to take stock of their achievements, weaknesses or
failures. They may point out the flaws, if any, in the selection, planning or
execution of the project. They may also discuss the lessons they might have
learnt and the points they would like to keep in mind at the time of
execution of some other similar project in future (Arora, 2002). You may
also ask them to think how they would execute the project if they were
called upon to attempt it again.
 Cooperative Learning
Check Your Progress 3

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.

b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

1. What is the major difference between group investigation and

group project work?

.........................................................................
.........................................................................

2. Complete the following statements:

a) In Jigsaw, each student in a group is expected to

.....................................
b) The major focus of the group investigation strategy is on
the development o f . . ...........................................

c) The final step in both group investigation and group

project work is ...................................................

7.5 ADVANTAGES OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING

A number of research studies conducted in real classroom situations have

revealed that cooperative learning strategies have positive impact on the
quality of students' learning as well as on the quality of their interpersonal
behaviour. A few advantages of these strategies are given below:

These strategies generally yield superior academic achievement when

compared with traditional whole class or individualized instruction. This is
perhaps because of the fact that these strategies make the students active
learners and also make learning interesting and enjoyable for them.
Cooperative learning strategies are especially useful for the development of
inquiry skills, creative thinking and critical thinking abilities.
These strategies help the students to develop self study skills such as
locating necessary references and collecting requisite information from
different sources such as reference books, documents, journals, newspapers
and knowledgeable persons. This is essential for making the students life
long learners.
These strategies help in raising the level of self esteem and confidence of
students. The students who are generally reluctant to articulate in the whole
class, overcome their inhibitions in small groups because the general
atmosphere in such groups is nonthreatening. Moreover, the positive
feedback about their achievements and success raises the level of their
confidence and self esteem.
Teaching Learning
Strategies Cooperative learning strategies help to bring about attitudinal change
among students. It has been observed that working along with students of
different religious, ethnic or caste groups in small groups or teams plays an
important role in bringing about attitudinal change. This leads to reduction
in inter-ethnic conflicts and establishment of cross social friendships.
Cooperative learning strategies help the students to improve their
communication skills. The students get ample opportunities to raise
questions and hold discussions in the groups. They also get opportunities to
prepare reports and present the same in the whole group.

7.6 FORMATION OF GROUPS

Working in small groups is the essential feature of all cooperative learning

strategies. You are expected to help and guide students in the formation of
right types of groups so as to achieve the desired results. It has been observed
that type of group composition has a bearing on students' learning. You can
use cooperative learning and can assess its impact on learning.

In the context of ability levels, the groups can be homogeneous and

heterogeneous. In a homogeneous group all members of the group are of the
same ability or attainment level: high, average or low. In the heterogeneous
group students of different ability levels are included. Grouping on the basis of
ability levels alone is attempted if the primary learning goal is the
enhancement of students' attainments. However, if behaviour modification,
attitudinal change, and social cohesion are also the goals, students belonging to
different religions, castes, ethnic groups should be included in a group.

It is advisable not to form permanent groups in a class. The composition of the

group should be determined keeping in view the demands of the learning task
in hand. Each student should get an opportunity to work with a large number of
students in several groups. This will increase the possibility of working with
all types of students in the class.

You are further expected to ensure that all groups function in a democratic
manner. Students should be encouraged to elect their own group leader and to
decide the procedure for conducting group work to complete the assigned
learning task.
 Cooperative Learning
Check Your Progress 4

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.

b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

1. Fill in the blanks in the following statements:

a) Cooperative learning is usehl for the development

of skills and
skills.

b) Cooperative learning may bring about

change among students.

c) Teachers are expected to ensure that all groups function

in a manner.

d) In a homogeneous group, the students of

are included.

7.7 TEACHER'S ROLE IN COOPERATIVE LEARNING

In cooperative learning, you as a teacher have to perform an important role. Let

us discuss your role in planning and organising cooperative learning.

i. To begin with, you have to identifj learning tasks and fix learning goals for
cooperative learning. The nature of learning tasks should be in tune with
the scope of cooperative learning strategies. For example, in group
investigation, a suitable problem needs to be identified, in team games
tournaments, a game or a quiz shall have to be devised and in-group project
work, some activity to be performed shall have to be decided. The major
problem or project should be split into specific tasks to be assigned to
different groups.
ii. After identification of the problem, you have to divide the class into
groups. The size and composition of the groups should be decided keeping
in view the learning goals.
iii. You are expected to take all the steps necessary to facilitate the work of
groups. Besides making suitable seating arrangement you should make
available necessary material like maps, charts, magazines, newspapers, etc
to the students. The sources of information gathering should also be made
I known to the students.
iv. You should continuously monitor and supervise the functioning of different
groups. When the groups are working separately, you should move from
I
group to group to provide on the spot guidance to the groups, if required.
The groups facing some problem should be helped to overcome the same.
i
I
v. After completion of the group work, organize the plenary session where
different groups shall share their experience and present the report of the
work done by them. You shall provide feedback to the groups for fbrther
improvement in the quality of their work.
Teaching Learning
Strategies vi. An important task of the teacher is to evaluate the performance of each
student to ascertain the extent of improvement in their learning and to
decide improvement points, rewards, etc.

While helping the teachers for the implementation of cooperative learning

strategies, experts have identified four potential problem areas: noise, failure to
get along, misbehaviour and ineffective use of group time (Kagan, 1994, and
Slavin, 1995). You can devise appropriate strategies to overcome these
problems. For example, the students can be provided training to keep the noise
level to a minimum. The students may be encouraged to practise talking in
whispering tone. You should take care to enforce the rule that students must
treat each other with courtesy and respect. To check misbehaviour, you shall
do well to monitor the groups by moving around the room and helping
individual groups. You are further expected to ensure that each group makes
full use of the available time and wastes no time on irrelevant and extraneous
activities.

Check Your Progress 5

Notes: a) Write your answers in the space given below.

b) Compare your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

1. Explain the agenda of the plenary session orgainsed after the

completion of group work.

...........................................................................
...........................................................................
2. What should determine composition of groups?

...........................................................................
...........................................................................

7.8 LET US SUM UP

Cooperative learning is a set of teaching, learning strategies used to help

learners meet specific learning and interpersonal goals in structured groups. It
takes place in small groups. It is based on the assumption that students enjoy
working in groups and group work provides opportunity to all the students to
actively participate in the process of learning and acquisition of knowledge and
thereby to enhance their learning achievement. Besides, they also get
opportunities to improve their interpersonal and communication skills.

To translate the principles and assumptions of cooperative learning into

classroom practice, the educational researchers and practitioners have evolved
several strategies. Some of the more common and popular strategies like
teacher presentation student's revision (TPSR), students team achievement
division (STAD), team games tournaments, group investigation, jigsaw and
group project work have been discussed in this unit. These strategies differ Cooperative Learning
from each other in many respects, especially in respect of techniques and
procedures, but they share the same philosophy and goals. Group goals,
individual accountability and equal opportunity for success are the essential
components of these strategies. Group composition plays an important role in
the successful implementation of cooperative learning strategies. Above all the
success of cooperative learning strategies, like any other strategy depends on
the teacher's efficiency and performance. In cooperative learning the teacher is
expected to identify problems, projects etc, devise games, quiz etc, form
groups, facilitate the work of groups and continuously monitor their progress.
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7.9 UNIT-END EXERCISES

1. Identify a problem for group investigation by the students of class 10, and
prepare a detailed plan for its implementation.
2. Differentiate between teacher presentation student revision (TPSR) and
student teams achievement divisions (STAD) strategies of cooperative
learning.
3. Devise five games in your subject for the organization of team games
tournaments for the students of class9-10.
4. Differentiate between the roles of a teacher in the cooperative learning
strategies and other methods of teaching.

7.10 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

Answers to Check Your Progress 1

1. i) To meet the specific individual learning needs

ii) To meet interpersonal goals of structured groups.

2. Cooperative learning

a) enhances motivation
b) provides opportunity of active participation to every one
c) enhances individual learning achievement

3. a) True
b) False
c) False

Answers to Check Your Progress 2

1. Individual accountability is ensured by assessing the performance of all

individual members separately and by assigning improvement points
accordingly.

2. a) initial presentation by the teacher.

b) competition between teams.
c) hislher own part performance.
Teaching Learning
Strategies 3. a) False
b) True
c) False

Answers to Check Your Progress 3

1. In group investigation, a problem is investigated whereas in group project

work, some task or activity is performed jointly by a group or by several
groups.

2. a) specialize in one aspect of learning task.

b) inquiry skills.
c) presentation of report to the whole class.

Answers to Check Your Progress 4

1. a) inquiry/communicative interpersonal
b) attitudinal change
c) democratic
d) Same ability level

Answers to Check Your Progress 5

1. Presentation of reports by different groups and discussions, sharing of

experiences and lessons for future, self appraisal and lessons for future, self
appraisal by groups.

2. Goals of the learning tasklactivity.

7.11 SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Arora, G.L., (2002): Teachers and Their Teaching-Need for New

Perspectives, New Delhi: Ravi Books.
2. Jaques, David, (1984): Learning in Groups. Croom helm Ltd: London.
3. Kauchak, Donald, P. and Eggen, Paul, D., (1998): Learning and Teaching
Research Based Methods. Allyn and Bacon: Boston.
4. Slavin, R.C., (1985): Cooperative Learning, New York: Longman.