Lesson 13: Cooperative Learning with the Computer

Cooperative Learning

     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:

• Common goal
• Interdependence
• Interaction
• Individual Accountability
• 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

      Educations 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 teachers 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