Running head: COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Cooperative Learning in the Classroom:
A Motivating Idea
Candice Palacios
University of La Verne
A Paper Prepared for EDUC 596
In Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree
Master of Education
April 2013
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Abstract
The use of cooperative learning techniques as a teaching philosophy has been shown to be an
effective way to motivate students to learn and raise their academic abilities in the process.
Many educators believe that cooperative learning is superior to traditional instruction. In
addition, cooperative learning encourages students to develop necessary social skills, provides an
atmosphere that is calm and conducive to learning, and helps to facilitate greater knowledge
growth among students. Nevertheless, educators who encourage this method of teaching should
consider its possible limitations and cautions before rushing into this way of teaching ill
prepared.
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Cooperative Learning in the Classroom:
A Motivating Idea
The classroom environment can have the tendency to be viewed as boring or tedious for
an elementary school age student. While there are many ways to motivate students to engage in
the learning process and to improve students’ achievement, cooperative learning has become
perhaps one of the most successful (Hadderman, 1992). Cooperative learning is most simply
defined as “an instructional method in which students work in small groups to accomplish a
common learning goal under the guidance of a teacher” (Lin, 2006, p. 34). However, the
definition of cooperative learning goes beyond simply assigning students group work. Rather, it
is a student centered teaching philosophy which seeks to encourage each child to take an active
role in the activity; whether it be as the recorder (writing down the information), the leader, the
organizer, the checker (who seeks to ensure that the group has presented adequate information)
or many other roles assigned to a student by the teacher (Kagan, 2009). While cooperative
learning is widely accepted among educational professionals, some pushback to this way of
teaching remains. Educators who are opposed to this approach have suggested several things to
consider before adopting this new way of teaching (Sharan, 2010). The purpose of this literature
review is to examine the use of cooperative learning techniques and strategies as a means for
promoting students’ social skills as well as elevating the level of student motivation and
participation within the classroom.
Educators’ Perspectives: Teacher-Centered vs. Student Centered
There are two basic schools of thought when it comes to teaching children today: teacher
centered teaching and student centered teaching. Traditional teaching uses a teacher-centered
approach in which teachers mostly impart information to their students in lecture format;
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students are then expected to memorize and regurgitate facts and information. Cooperative
learning differs from traditional teaching in that it takes a more student-centered approach and its
goal is to make students responsible for their own learning.
Kagan (2009) describes traditional learning through the following phrases: “A good class
is a quiet class! Keep your eyes on your paper! Sit quietly! and Talking is cheating.” Conversely,
cooperative learning is viewed though the phrases, “Learning involves healthy noise! Help your
partner solve it! Get up and look what others did! Verbalize to learn!” (p. 1.2). Kagan further
argues that cooperative learning is more beneficial than traditional learning as it encourages
student participation and helps students take responsibility for their own learnings. Kagan
describes several in depth “structures” that are to be used with cooperative learning as a means
for providing consistency and stability among implementation of cooperative learning.
After much literary research on the topic, Margaret Hadderman (1992) agrees that
cooperative learning is indeed superior to its predecessor of the traditional classroom. She states
that “cooperative learning has demonstrated great potential as a supplement to whole-class
instruction and as an alternative to traditional teaching methods” (p. 2). Hadderman supports
Kagan’s conclusions and agrees with his research on the issue.
In response to the large body of educators who hold similar beliefs, F. Ahmad conducted
a study in 2010, seeking to determine the effect of cooperative learning on student achievement.
In this experimental study, he and his team of researchers studied the effects of cooperative
learning verses traditional learning. A random sample of 158 students was utilized in the study
and was split into two, 79 member, groups. Over the course of 12 weeks and 20 lessons, both
groups were taught the same subject matter, by the same teacher, but in different ways. The
control group was taught in the traditional manner and the experimental group in cooperative
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learning style. The teacher was trained extensively in both methods on which she would focus.
The students were all given a pretest and a post test, designed by the researchers, as an
instrument to collect and calculate data. The results of the study showed that there was no
statistical difference between the groups on pre testing scores. Thus, both groups started out at
virtually the same level of academic understanding of the topic. The mean posttest scores for the
cooperative learning group were higher than the traditional group and a significant difference
was found. The study concluded therefore, by this data, that the students who were taught with
cooperative learning were capable of academically outperforming the students taught through
traditional methods. Furthermore, they deemed cooperative learning as a superior method to
traditional teaching based on their research findings (Ahmad, 2010). These findings fall in line
with the previous research conducted by Kagan (2009) and Hallagan (1992).
Effects on Students’ Social Skills
While cooperative learning has many benefits, educators strongly praise its ability to
enhance students’ social skills and interaction within the classroom. Schull (2011) discusses the
point that in today’s world a global perspective in which people work together to form solutions
to tasks and problems is essential. He summarizes this view by stating:
A classroom can be a static and impersonal environment if students are not given
opportunities to explore together. It is necessary that classroom practices change so to
meet the socialization required in the twenty-first century…All in all, cooperative
learning is well suited to nurture democratic citizenship in a pluralistic society and should
be a technique that is honed and mastered by all school teachers who dare to make their
classrooms into laboratories of and for democracy in the twenty-first century. (p. 92)
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He feels that using cooperative learning allows students to begin to become familiar with such
skills that will allow them to be aware of others needs and help them learn to work together and
solve problems.
Other scholars are in agreement with this statement. According to Al-Yaseen (2011),
cooperative learning encourages students to work together with other students, promoting both
social and academic skills. Kagan (2009) also supports this conclusion. He states that “today’s
youth often come to the classroom ill-prepared to be a good teammate. Cooperative learning
empowers us to develop students’ social skills that serve them in the classroom and beyond” (p.
11.1). Additionally, according to researchers Rutherford, Mathur, & Quinn,
This structure (cooperative learning) provided students with natural opportunities for
social interaction, positive interdependence, and mutual trust. The cooperative groups
may have provided students with the peer support necessary for each student to not only
learn to identify the steps to social communication, but also to use the skills in
nontraining situations. Further, by manipulating the membership of each group to be
maximally heterogeneous according to social competence, students who already were
recognized as being more socially competent could model appropriate social behavior for
those in their groups who were less competent. (p. 354)
Therefore all three researchers seem to have come to the same conclusion, that cooperative
learning is excellent at shaping and encouraging the development of social skills in students.
In an effort to confirm or deny such research conclusions, a 2011 study was conducted by
Lavasani, Afzali and Afzali (2011). In this quasi-experimental study a sample of 74 first grade
female students was studied. The study is considered quasi-experimental as a truly random
sampling was not available at the time of the study. Study participants were then split into two
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equal groups. One group was given cooperative learning lessons and the other was not. Using
Matson's social skills measurement scale in order to measure social skills among the groups,
Levasani et.al. discovered that students from the cooperative group were shown to have
significantly higher levels of social skills than students from the group taught using other
methods. Results from this study thus verified previous research indicating the benefit of
improved social skills from the cooperative learning approach.
Effects on Students’ Attitude and Motivation
Research has also shown that cooperative learning increases students’ motivation by
making them feel comfortable and helping to remove their affective filter. Students are able to
speak up and make their opinion known in a smaller setting, thus allowing them to feel at ease
while doing so. The environment that cooperative learning creates encourages students to
explore new ideas and concepts while feeling safe and free from anxiety (Wichadee &
Orawiwatnakul, 2012). In addition, cooperative learning also increases student motivation by
encouraging them to motivate one another. Brecke & Jensen (2007) found that students who are
involved in cooperative learning activities tend to motivate each other to succeed and “along
with the increased peer pressure, using teamwork is a good way to approach the subject in a new
and different way, which maintains interest and motivation” (p. 58).
In an effort to investigate such claims, Monvises, Ruenwongsa, & Panijpan (2010)
utilized a 30 student, one classroom cooperative learning unit on Siamese fighting fish as a case
study on the effects of cooperative learning on students’ motivation. The students were divided
into 5 equal groups of 6 students each and were given centers on various aspects of the Siamese
fighting fish. Students were expected to work collectively with their group on their particular
center; (biodiversity, history, classification, breeding and conservation of local fighting fish) then
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report their findings to the class as a whole. Each group was responsible for becoming an
“expert” on their particular topic and these experts then had the opportunity to “teach” the other
classmates what they had learned. Researchers used these components to collect data: group
presentation, mind map, student interviews and classroom observation. Monvises et. al. found
that in all areas of data collection, student motivation increased. Students were interested in the
lesson content, motivated to stay engaged in the lesson and were also shown to be motivated to
help others learn. The nature of the groupings provided students with opportunities to socialize
and assist others when necessary. Students were provided an atmosphere in which they
communicated with each other, asked questions and dialoged with one another extensively.
Monvises et al. concluded that,
Students encouraged each other to put in the maximum effort. From classroom
observation, there was group cohesiveness, (and) increased team spirit. Most of the
students felt responsible for the achievements of their friends. They helped motivate
members of their group to engage in the cognitive learning process. (p.242)
These findings supported the conclusions of Wichadee & Orawiwatnakul (2012) and Brecke &
Jensen (2007).
Concerns
Although the research on cooperative learning is encouraging and seems to show that its
uses are widespread and effective, researchers and educators still hold some reservations as to its
complete superiority (Lindblad, 1994). There are several concerns that ought to be examined
before jumping on the cooperative learning bandwagon haphazardly. Johnson, Johnson & Stanne
(2000) conducted a meta-analysis on 164 available research studies concerning the effectiveness
of cooperative learning in the classroom. Through this very detailed analysis, the researchers
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concluded that there are several potential issues with the consistency and effectiveness of
cooperative learning. Perhaps the most notable concern is that the broad umbrella of what is
considered to be collaborative learning is quite extensive and diverse. The range of techniques
and activities that are utilized in the name of collaborative learning is large. Therefore, it
becomes difficult, and a potential validity concern, to compare all findings across the board. Due
to this factor, Johnson et.al has suggested that more research is needed in all areas, across all
techniques used.
Lindblad (1994), points out another valid concern as to the importance of addressing all
social elements of grouping students together in order to have a successful cooperative learning
experience. He informs readers that the way to do so is though being fully prepared, and by
addressing the important cultural aspect of grouping students together. He brings to light the
important and valid concern that grouping students together heterogeneously will inevitably
force students who do not usually work together or tend to gravitate toward one another into a
single group setting in which they must work together, and this can cause discord. Teachers are
advised by Lindblad to “expect the unexpected” and make sure to plan adequately in order to
address this concern (p. 291). Sharan (2010) supports these findings by suggesting that the key to
the success of cooperative learning lies in the preparation of the teacher combined with reflection
after the fact in preparation for future lessons. Both researchers agree that in order for
cooperative learning to be effective a great deal of planning has to go into it.
In accordance with these concerns and the additional concern that cooperative learning
can be unstructured at times, a study was conducted by Law (2011) to compare the benefits of
cooperative learning with a guided approach verses cooperative learning without structure and a
traditional lesson. 279 Grade 5 Hong Kong students were studied and divided into the three
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groups. The results of the study indicated that after testing, the students from the teacher planned,
structured cooperative activities (Jigsaw activity) performed the highest, while the drama (non
structured cooperative learning) and traditional approaches performed at lower academic levels.
These findings support the research which shows that in order for cooperative learning to be
effective it must be structured in nature (Kagan, 2009). Additionally, this study provided further
indication that cooperative learning has limitations that should be investigated and evaluated
before a teacher decides to go exclusively that route with his or her classroom teaching (Law,
2011).
Summary
The benefits of using cooperative learning techniques as a teaching philosophy have been
clearly demonstrated. Students are able to develop necessary social skills while learning in an
atmosphere that is calm and helps to facilitate greater knowledge growth among students.
Moreover, educators believe that its widespread use in the classroom can benefit all students.
Nevertheless, educators who encourage this method of teaching should consider its possible
limitations and multi-faceted nature before rushing into this way of teaching ill prepared.
COOPERATVE LEARNING
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References
Ahmad, F. (2010). Effect of cooperative learning on students' achievement at elementary level.
International Journal of Learning, 17(3), 127-141. Retrieved from
http://www.ebscohost.leopac.laverne.edu.
Al-Yaseen, W. (2011). Expectations of a group of primary school teachers trained on cooperative
learning on the possibility of successful implements. Education, 132 (2), 273-284.
Retrieved from http://www.ebscohost.leopac.laverne.edu.
Hadderman, M., (1992). Cooperative learning in elementary schools. Research Roundup. 8 (2),
1-5. Retrieved from http://www.tablelearning.com.
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Stanne, M. B. (2000). Cooperative learning methods: A metaanalysis. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota. Retrieved from
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