Cooperative Learning Cooperative learning is one strategy for group instruction which is under the learner-centered approach. Many educators give the definitions of cooperative learning: “Cooperative learning is an instructional program in which students work in small groups to help one another master academic content” (Slavin, 1995). Cooperative learning involves students working together in pairs or groups, and they share information. They are a team whose players must work together in order to achieve goals successfully (Brown, 1994). In addition, Kessler (1992) proposes the definition of cooperative learning particularly in language learning context: “Cooperative learning is a within-class grouping of students usually of differing levels of second language proficiency, who learn to work together on specific tasks or projects in such a way that all students in the group benefit from the interactive experience.” According to Johnson (2005), cooperation is not assigning a job to a group of students where one student does all the work and the others put their names on the paper. It is not having students sit side by side at the same table to talk with each other as they do their individual assignments as well. It is not having students do a task individually with instructions that the ones who finish first are to help the slower students. On the contrary, cooperative learning is a teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different …show more content…
Some of the keys to successful processing are allowing sufficient time for it to take place, emphasizing positive feedback, maintaining student involvement in processing etc. To be cooperative, group members must promote each other’s learning and success face-to-face, hold each other personally and individually accountable to do a fair share of the work, use the interpersonal and small group skills needed for cooperative efforts to be successful, and process as a group how effectively members are working together. These five essential components must be present for small group learning to be truly cooperative. There needs to be an accepted common goal on which the group will be rewarded for their efforts (Johnson & Johnson,