-+Cooperative+Learning

=__**Cooperative Learning**__ =



**What is Cooperative Learning? ** Cooperative Learning is a teaching strategy in which students are put into groups to work together to complete tasks. Classroom activities become not just academic, but also social learning experiences. It allows students the opportunity to interact with each other in various ways and enhances their learning. Students not only work together, but also learn from each other.

**5 Elements of Cooperative Learning **
 * 1) Positive Interdependence - Students must all work together and participate fully for the group to achieve success.
 * 2) Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction - Students promote each others' success by assisting each other in understanding and completing assignments.
 * 3) Individual Accountability - Each student is accountable for their own learning and work. It eliminates "social loafing."
 * 4) Social Skills - Builds skills such as leadership, communication, and decision making.
 * 5) Group Processing - Group members assess how well they are doing towards achieving their goals and discuss how they can improve.

**Does Cooperative Learning work? ** YES! Cooperative Learning has been proven to be a successful teaching strategy in many studies. It has been shown to have many positive outcomes including higher academic performance, improved race relations, and increased social development.

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 * Cooperative Learning Activities **


 * WebQuests - According to WebQuest.org a WebQuest is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web. Students usually work together in teams. Example: Vowels WebQuest
 * Monster Exchange - Monster Exchange is an educational project designed to develop reading and writing skills as well as integrating Internet technology into the classroom. How the exchange works is simple. Classrooms from different schools are paired and students within the classrooms are split into groups. Each group designs a picture of a monster and then writes a description of the monster. The descriptions are then swapped via the Internet. The students are then to use the descriptions they received to create a monster picture that is as close as possible to the original without ever seeing the original.


 * Tips for Cooperative Learning **


 * Keep group size small.
 * <span style="color: #808080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Group together students with different levels of ability.
 * <span style="color: #808080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Use different, fun strategies for grouping students.
 * <span style="color: #808080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">Teach students skills for working together as teams before groups are formed.

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