There is a rich theoretical base for cooperative learning. Three interrelated types have been developed (formal, informal, cooperative base groups) that provide a framework for effective college teaching. However, too much emphasis is placed on developing the skills of individuals and too little on creating learning communities within which…

A group is a learning community when members share a common vision that learning is the primary purpose for their association and the ultimate value to preserve in their workplace and that learning outcomes are the primary criteria for evaluating the success of their work. Some attributes of a learning community include modeling, continual sharing…

Through lively discussions of specially selected texts, students of diverse abilities often discover that they can learn a lot from one another. The Touchstones Project in a Baltimore (Maryland) middle school features group discussion of classical texts. (Author/TE)

The goal of this practicum was to increase the number of students enrolled in the middle school and high school chorus. A secondary goal was to introduce teachers to group process, as a method of writing curriculum. To meet both ends, the subject of recruitment was incorporated into the curriculum plan. The practicum was conducted in a public…

This monograph explores the current use in higher education of cooperative learning, the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning. The opening section sets out to define cooperative learning, and to look at the history of the technique, its basic elements, types of cooperative…