Most American colleges and universities assimilate students into highly competitive undergraduate experiences. By placing achievement for personal and material gain as the bedrock of a college education, these institutions fail to educate students to become collaborative learners: people who are committed and prepared to join with others in…

In contrast to the recent back-to-basics movement, which emphasizes rote-learning and the acquisition of mechanistic skills, small-group cooperative learning emphasizes the development of thinking and problem-solving skills. It also seeks to minimize student anxiety and competition by creating an environment in which students feel safe to make and…