This is paper we will be exploring the cooperative learning techniques and how it is effective in the
classroom, and the cooperative impact on the students and the teacher.
Cooperative learning has been going through research for several years. In 1960s, Kegan initiated
the research in cooperative learning and competition in children; and Johnson and Johnson had given a
lot of thoughts to conclude a training sessions to teacher for cooperative learning. In 1970, David
Devries and Keith Edwards built up several competitions and gaming techniques in relations to
understand the effect of the cooperative learning groups. In 1996, the First Annual Cooperative Learning
Leadership Conference was in held in the Minneapolis; also Kohn stated in 1996 that if the child is more
competitive, he /she will have a less chance to be a successful. In the 20 th century, Cooperative learning
had become a common idea and used mostly its technique in the classrooms. To understand the
importance of cooperative learning, we need to know the meaning behind it. Cooperative learning is a
strategy that is carefully planned and designed group of student to enhance the way learn and decode
information to others. This strategy is set to work together to achieve a common goal or accomplished a
task given through different roles.
There are different roles that have been given to the teacher and the students. Through my
experience, my role has been shifted from a lecturer to an observer and facilitator, while the students
work together to complete the task. When each student knows his/her role in the group, the teacher
will be able to establish some elements. These elements are going to create a positive interdependence,
held individual and group accountability to be evaluated fairly, acquire better interpersonal skills and
team work skills, acquire the concept of encouragement to each other , handling the group behavioral
actions, forming a trust bond, allowing open communication and willingness to participate. In each
group, 4 to 6 students are given different roles or combination roles (Johnson, et al., 1991; Millis and
Cottell, 1998; Smith, 1996). Here are the roles:
Team leader/ master: the student should be able generate discussion prior to the concept,
keeps the group on time and on task.
Checker: the student makes sure that all of the team members understand the concepts and
reached the team's conclusions
Recorder: the student write do the team’s conclusion answer once they have all agreed on.
Editor/ Spokesperson: the student is responsible for the neatness and checks the grammatical
error of the answer and represents it to the rest of the class.
Gatekeeper: the student facilitates and makes sure that other members are participating and
getting along peacefully.
Encourager: the student role is to help other students to share their ideas, model/represent
appropriate social skills.
In order to be able to perform the cooperative learning effectively, the teacher must know how to
implement it and follow certain types of cooperative activities. The teacher should create a safe zone in
the group, develop the notion of respecting among them, and the willingness to listen to other. This can
be accomplished by setting some class management rules such as getting the students attention like
ringing a bell, clapping twice, etc…, controlling the noise of each group by using their lower voices or
taking a chip, creating a form of interdependence about asking a question, and referral structure to
relate the assignment to before handing it over to the teacher.
The importance of cooperative learning is to develop interpersonal skill and having an authentic
experience that will help the students in their future. Being known as the father of social learning,
Vygotsky argued that each student has a different ability to acquire knowledge and solve problems.
Vygotsky’s idea of the Zone on Proximal Development considers what a student can achieve with the
help of other peer and adult. This can assure that the idea of cooperative learning can increase student’s
awareness of concepts. Student acquires different skills when working together rather than
independently such as encouraging achievement, being an active learner, concept of different
perspective discussions, increase student’s confidence and self esteem and motivation. Cooperative
learning leads to many advantages to benefit the student other than its importance; such as increasing
retention, more on-task behavior, better attitude toward the school and social support, ability to
translate and explain the teacher’s language to students, and engage in cognitive elaboration to
enhance their own understanding. Cooperative learning is an automatic scaffolding learning technique.
Johnson, D., Johnson, R.& Holubec, E. (1998).Cooperation in the classroom. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon. https://intime.uni.edu/timeline-history-cooperative-learning
Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., and Smith, K. (1991). Cooperative learning: Increasing college faculty
instructional productivity (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4). Washington, DC: The George
Washington University, School of Education and Human Development.
