Lesson 13: Cooperative Learning with the Computer

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. A common goal

2. Interdependence

3. Interaction

4. Individual accountability

5. Social skills

Therefore not every group work is cooperative learning since students working on their work sheets physically sat around a table may be working together without these features of cooperative learning.

From several studies made on cooperative learning, it is manifested that cooperative learning in its true sense is advantageous since it:

*Encourage active learning, while motivating students
*Increases academic performance
*Promotes literacy and language skills

*Improves teacher effectiveness

In addition, there are studies show that cooperative learning enhances personal and social development among students of all ages, while enhancing self-esteem and improving social relations between racially and culturally different students.

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, they cluster and interact with each other for advice and mutual help. And given the option to work individually or in a group, the students generally wish to work together in computer-based and non-computer-based activities. Reflecting on this phenomenon, psychologists think the computer fosters this positive social behavior due to the fact that it has a display monitor – just like a television set – that is looked upon as something communal.

Therefore researchers agree that the computer is a fairly natural learning vehicle for cooperative learning.

Components of cooperative learning

Educators 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. There therefore assign the teacher several tasks in order to ensure collaborative learning. These are:

*Assigning students to mixed-ability teams

*Establishing positive interdependence

*Teaching cooperative social skills

*Insuring individual accountability, and

*Helping groups process information

These are in addition to assigning a common work goal in which each member of the group will realize that their group will not succeed unless everyone contributes to the groups’ success. It is also important for the teacher limits learning group clusters so there can be closer involvement in thinking and learning.