- What is meant by cooperative learning
- Five key elements of cooperative learning
- Research-backed benefits of cooperative learning
- Types of cooperative learning strategies (with examples)
What is cooperative learning?

Cooperative learning groups: 5 key elements for success

- Positive interdependence -- Students must see that each group member’s efforts are important to both individual and team success.
- Promotive interaction -- Students must empower each other by offering help, praise, feedback and resources.
- Accountability -- Each student must accept responsibility for fulfilling his or her role, helping the team reach its learning goals.
- Soft skills instruction -- Because students need to develop interpersonal skills to effectively work together, you should give lessons and activities about teamwork.
- Group processing -- As a group, students should strategize how to meet their learning goals.
Benefits of cooperative learning

- Greater productivity and higher achievement
- More caring, supportive, and committed relationships
- Increased psychological health, social competence, and self-esteem
3 Types of cooperative learning strategies (with examples)
Each of these strategies has four cooperative learning examples -- outlined below -- that will set you up for success.1. Formal cooperative learning strategies
a. Address deviant norms
It’s easy for unfavourable group norms -- unwritten rules -- to develop and spread, according to a study from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.Specifically, group norms continuously change as team members interact with one another, potentially opening the door for bad habits.You may, for example, instruct students how to give constructive feedback. But if one student begins to criticize others, his or her group members may copy the behaviour.To facilitate positive interdependence, you must monitor group activity. When spotting the development of harmful norms, explain why they hurt cooperative learning and demonstrate a solution.In doing so, students will grow into supportive group members.b. Assess teamwork
- Openly communicating
- Actively helping each other
- Frequently giving constructive feedback
- Consistently working to complete individual tasks
c. Play a trust game
Playing trust games teaches the importance of teamwork and accountability -- essential elements to the success of long-term learning groups.For example, a variation of the trust fall activity can help each student build a connection with his or her group members. Dividing the class based on their formal cooperative learning teams, ask them to create a circle with one student standing in the middle. Once you give a signal, that student must fall towards any group member, who will then catch him or her.You can supplement these games by explaining important elements of group work, such as active listening.Such activities are not only fun, but allow group members to bond in a stress-free setting -- a benefit frequently seen in classrooms where learning is gamified.d. Use relevant scenarios when applicable
- Benefit students who struggle to grasp abstract concepts
- Save your time, as you won’t have to design and present artificial scenarios
- “Allow learning to become more profound and durable,” according to a 2015 book about the pedagogy
2. Informal cooperative learning strategies
a. Ask divergent questions
As students with diverse learning styles fill the classroom, you can mold cooperative learning activities to their distinct aptitudes.An oft-cited paper from Kansas State University indicates you should ask divergent questions. These are questions with multiple answers that encourage creative responses, allowing students to learn from each other’s perspectives. For example, “what’s the best way to study for a math test?”Based on each group's preference, the resulting product can be a:- Short essay
- Lab assignment
- Concise slideshow or presentation
- Series of answers to different problems
b. Use the jigsaw method
c. Supplement and expand new concepts
d. Hold three discussions per activity
Due to the sometimes-sporadic nature of informal cooperative learning activities, holding three discussions at set points can provide structure and keep students focused.These discussions are:- Introductory-focused -- After dividing students into groups of two, three or four, explain what questions they should answer or products they should produce. Then, state elements of collaboration they should focus on, such as frequent feedback or finding resources for each other to use.
- Intermittent-focused -- For longer activities, designate 15-minute segments for each group member to work alone. For example, they can each read a different primary source. At the end of the segment, they can share their findings with each other and work to answer guiding questions.
- Closure-focused -- Either in groups or as an entire class, give students a discussion topic that brings together seemingly-separate lesson elements. For example, students can spend five minutes discussing key takeaway points, applying them to past lessons.
3. Base group cooperative learning strategies
a. Introduce technology that streamlines collaboration
- Online brainstorming -- There are websites students can use, such as MindMeister, to create clear and detailed mind maps faster than written ones.
- Cloud-based word processing -- Instead of exchanging documents for edits, students can use online word processing tools -- such as Google Docs -- to craft collaborative written assignments.
b. Designate roles
Working with students to designate unique roles ensures each group member has a purpose.Throughout the year, base groups can have members who manage certain aspects of the collaboration process. For example, one student can moderate discussions, one can collect questions to address and another can present research findings.Similar to the Jigsaw Method, you can also designate roles based on subject matter expertise. When handling math, for example, the math expert will lead discussions and help group members by answering questions and reviewing concepts.By doing so, you’ll ensure each student plays an important role in helping each other reach learning goals throughout the year.c. Give a pre- and post-task test
d. Limit scaffolding
Adjust the feedback and scaffolding you provide depending on where a base group is in a given project, allowing for greater student control and responsibility. This approach underpins experiential learning and active learning strategies.As a facilitator, closely monitor students when they start a project and:- Offer directions
- Fill knowledge gaps
- Recommend supplementary resources
- Make yourself available to answer questions
- Encourage them to initiate new ideas
- Ensure they are fulfilling their role requirements
- Allow them to take on leadership responsibilities, as in peer teaching
Final thoughts about using cooperative learning in your class
The principles and strategies in this guide can inform your approach to each type of cooperative learning and help you manage your classroom. As a result, you should see students build collaboration skills as they work to reach learning benchmarks.You can anticipate seeing results outside of group scenarios, too.Refined discussions, increased accountability and improved critical thinking skills are benefits to which you can look forward.Prodigy Math Game is a hyper-engaging, curriculum-aligned math game that adapts content to accommodate students’ trouble spots and learning speeds. It’s loved by over 1.5 million teachers and 90 million students.