group 10: Eny Faizah and Ahmad Baidlwi F.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement.

Johnson and Johnson (2009) posited five variables that mediate the effectiveness of cooperation. Brown & Ciuffetelli Parker (2009) and Siltala (2010) discuss the 5 basic and essential elements to cooperative learning:

1. Positive interdependence
1. Students must fully participate and put forth effort within their group
2. Each group member has a task/role/responsibility therefore must believe that they are responsible for their learning and that of their group
2. Face-to-face primitive interaction
1. Members promote each other's success
2. Students explain to one another what they have or are learning and assist one another with understanding and completion of assignments
3. Individual and group accountability
1. Each student must demonstrate mastery of the content being studied
2. Each student is accountable for their learning and work, therefore eliminating “social loafing”
4. Social skills
1. Social skills that must be taught in order for successful cooperative learning to occur
2. Skills include effective communication, interpersonal and group skills
1. Leadership
2. Decision-making
3. Trust-building
4. Friendship- development
5. Communication
6. Conflict-management skills
5. Group processing
1. Group processing occurs when group members (a) reflect on which member actions were helpful and (b) make decision about which actions to continue or change.
2. The purpose of group processing is to clarify and improve the effectiveness with which members carry out the processes necessary to achieve the group's goals.

In order for student achievement to improve considerably, two characteristics must be present:^[24]

1. When designing cooperative learning tasks and reward structures, individual responsibility and accountability must be identified. Individuals must know exactly what their responsibilities are and that they are accountable to the group in order to reach their goal.
2. All group members must be involved in order for the group to complete the task. In order for this to occur each member must have a task that they are responsible for which cannot be completed by any other group member.

Here are some typical strategies that can be used with any subject, in almost any grade, and without a special curriculum:

• Group Investigations are structured to emphasize higher-order thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation. Students work to produce a group project, which they may have a hand in selecting.
• STAD (Student Teams-Achievement Divisions) is used in grades 2-12. Students with varying academic abilities are assigned to 4- or 5-member teams in order to study what has been initially taught by the teacher and to help each reach his or her highest level of achievement. Students are then tested individually. Teams earn certificates or other recognition based on the degree to which all team members have progressed over their past records.
• Jigsaw II is used with narrative material in grades 3-12. Each team member is responsible for learning a specific part of a topic. After meeting with members of other groups, who are "expert" in the same part, the "experts" return to their own groups and present their findings. Team members then are quizzed on all topics.

Also, in cooperative learning small groups provide a place where:

• learners actively participate;
• teachers become learners at times, and learners sometimes teach;
• respect is given to every member;
• projects and questions interest and challenge students;
• diversity is celebrated, and all contributions are valued;
• students learn skills for resolving conflicts when they arise;
• members draw upon their past experience and knowledge;
• goals are clearly identified and used as a guide;
• research tools such as Internet access are made available;
• Students are invested in their own learning.