Cooperative or collaborative learning is learning by small
groups of students who work together in a common learning task. It is often
also called group learning but to be truly cooperative learning, 5 elements are
needed:
1. Common goal
2. Interdependence
3. Interaction
4. Individual Accountability
5. Social skills
Cooperative Learning and the Computer
Researchers have made studies on the learning interaction
between the student and the computer. The studies have great value since it has
been a long standing fear that the computer may foster student learning in
isolation that hinders the development of the student's social skills. Now this
mythical fear has been contradicted by the studies which show that when
students work with computers in groups.
Components of Cooperative Learning
Education are still wary about the computer's role in
cooperative learning. Thus they pose the position that the use of computers do
not automatically result in cooperative learning. Therefore assign the teachers
several tasks in order to ensure collaborative learning. These are:
1. Assigning students to mixed-ability teams
2. Establishing positive interdependence
3. Teaching cooperative social skills
4. Insuring individual accountability, and
5. Helping groups process information
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