Conditions under which the use of small groups in classrooms can be productive are suggested in this paper, which moves beyond the general question of small-group learning effectiveness. Part 1 offers a review of recent studies of interaction in cooperative groups, focusing on the following themes: interaction and achievement; task and…

A questionnaire on use of cooperative learning was distributed to all faculty (76 respondents) in the College of Technical Careers at Southern Illinois-Carbondale (SIUC) and a sample of the membership (66 respondents) of the American Technical Education Association (ATEA). For both samples, the main use of groupwork was with laboratory…