Just about everyone loves the "idea" of cooperative learning, children working productively and excitedly in groups, everyone getting along and enthusiastically helping one another learn. This article presents five strategies that teachers can use to get the greatest benefit possible from cooperative learning and ensure that…

In cooperative learning, students are typically assigned to heterogeneous teams. The Johns Hopkins University Elementary School Program uses four principal methods involving student team learning, including Student Teams-Achievement Divisions, Teams-Games-Tournament, Team Accelerated Instruction-Mathematics, and Cooperative Integrated Reading and…

Cooperative learning focuses group activity on preparing all members to succeed on individual assessments. Research findings show significantly greater achievement for the cooperatively taught class. Describes the elements of two comprehensive cooperative methods and proposes a model of a cooperative elementary school. (MLF)

Team Assisted Individualization (TAI) in mathematics and Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) are among the best researched and most effective of all cooperative learning methods. TAI was developed to apply cooperative learning techniques to solve individualized instruction problems. Relevant research on both methods is discussed.…

Describes two reform models developed to promote cooperative learning and ensure student success: Success for All and Roots and Wings. The paper examines aspects of the Roots and Wings program, including Reading Wings, tutoring, early learning, MathWings, WorldLab, and family support. It also discusses how schools can adopt Success for All and how…

This study evaluated the achievement effects of the Team-Assisted Individualization (TAI) mathematics program over a 24-week period. Involved were 1,317 students in grades 3, 4, and 5, with 700 students in 31 classes receiving TAI instruction and a control group of 617 students in 30 classes receiving other mathematics instruction on the same…

This study investigated the effects of level of reward (recognition based on team vs individual performance) and comparison of student quiz scores (with homogeneous groups vs with entire class) on student achievement and attitudes. Team reward and comparison with equals enhanced time on task but no academic achievement effects were found.…

Discusses how teachers can avoid problems associated with student competition in the classroom. Describes two instructional methods that involve students working together on learning tasks: cooperative learning and peer tutoring. Focuses on Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD), a team-learning approach. Includes a list of practical guides to…

This paper reports on the evaluation of a technique using cooperative learning teams to improve race relations and to integrate the desegregated classroom. (Author/AM)

Three Student Team Learning techniques have been extensively researched and found to significantly increase student learning. In Student Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD), teams are made up of high, average, and low performing students of both genders and different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Team members study worksheets, work problems in…

This study utilized the Teams-Games-Tournament (TGT) concept, an educational technique employing team competition within the classroom. The hypothesis was that mediating TGT's effects on academic performance is a change in the relationship between academic performance and sociometric status of students. Subjects were 232 seventh grade students…

This guide describes five types of student team cooperative learning activities: (1) Student Teams-Achievement Divisions; (2) Teams-Games-Tournament; (3) Jigsaw; (4) Team Accelerated Instruction; and (5) Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition. In Part 1, each technique is described in detail. A review of research finds positive outcomes in…

This manual provides descriptions of five cooperative learning methods: (1) Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD); (2) Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT); (3) Jigsaw; (4) Team Accelerated Instruction (TAI); and (5) Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC). For each of these methods, an overview offers a description of the procedures…

The study, involving 119 academically handicapped third, fourth, and fifth graders, examined the effects of an instructional method (Team-Assisted Individualization) that combines cooperative learning with individualized learning in mathematics. Previous studies have found that the use of cooperative learning instructional processes can improve…

The reward structure of a classroom refers to the rules under which students are reinforced for academic achievement. Various types of interpersonal reward structures--competitive, cooperative, and independent--are discussed. Studies of the effects of rewards on performance, attitudes and interpersonal relations are reviewed, emphasizing…