An overview of cooperative learning

Constructivist philosophies teach us that cooperative learning is important to the overall success of students. Cooperative learning has been defined as an approach to organizing your classroom in a way that promotes academic and social learning, in a team or group setting. It is suggested that in order for these groups to have the highest rates of success, it's beneficial to put students of varying abilities in each individual group. Although research has shown success in this strategy, there are varying opinions. This blog will aim to provide a look into these views, as well as cooperative learning strategies that can be used in a Mathematics setting. I will also strive to provide options for assessment.

Group work is something that most students enjoy and can benefit from. However, the idea of cooperative learning can be inconsistent at times. Often, individual success is based on a final group grade. As we all know, there are times when one or two students in these groups do most of the work, while other students "slack off." The trick as a teacher, is to find a way that we can incorporate cooperative learning in a way that fairly assesses each student and their progress.