ABSTRACT
Cooperative Learning is not really a model by itself. It encompasses a set of teaching strategies that share key attributes, the most important being the grouping of students into learning teams for set amounts of time or assignments, with the expectation that all students will contribute to the learning process and outcomes. The Cooperative Learning model was developed and initially researched at Johns Hopkins University in the mid-1970s. Collaborative structures can be characterized as “students learning alongside or assisting one another,” while cooperative techniques can be characterized as “students learning with, by, and for each other.” A strategy can be used for a short learning task , an extended learning task, or an entire unit. Cooperative Learning has received an enormous amount of attention, both from supporters and critics. The Cooperative Learning model’s design is based on the convergence of four major sets of theories: motivation, cognition, social learning, and behaviorism.
