From our experience doing workshops and courses for teachers about cooperative learning, we have chosen ten of the most commonly asked nuts and bolts questions. The suggestions listed below come from our own ESL and EFL classes, ideas from colleagues and from the teacher participants in our cooperative learning workshops and courses, and from…

Reviews the historical role of social science in desegregation, and some of the current research on cooperative learning in the desegregated classroom. A comprehensive role for the school psychologist is outlined, in which goals and subgoals, means for achieving them, and anticipated outcomes are clearly delineated. (Author)

Fourth and fifth graders participated in a study comparing the effects of traditional and modified collaboration models on participation and productivity outcomes. Students in traditional, modified, and control groups completed cooperative projects. Unlike the other groups, control group students had no assigned task roles. The modified and…

Motivated by the increasing prevalence of shared decision making and distributed leadership in restructured schools, six teams of Canadian secondary teachers were interviewed to explore their collective learning and the conditions influencing it. Qualitative and quantitative evidence identified numerous conditions to explain across-team learning…

Investigates the use of female students as peer experts in a workshop introducing an interactive, computer-based learning environment called LEGO/Logo, in which students build computer-controllable machines. Participants were 85 sixth-grade students. Findings indicate that students were successful in building a wide range of machines and that peer…

Describes the use of cooperative learning strategies to impact social skills to Nigerian library school students. Discusses the use of the Group Investigation method to teach a course in psychology of information use. Results indicate that these strategies could be integrated into library school curricula with positive gains in students' cognitive…

Analysis of participant perception suggests that interprofessional shared learning will be meaningful if professional representation and status are balanced, groups are not too large, knowledge and experience are similar, all relevant agencies are present, all participants are active, learning outcomes are specific, pre-course information is…

Describes a program where teams of fifth graders and high school junior and senior physics students work together to explore physical science principles and create a student-constructed exploratorium. Incorporates and synthesizes scientific inquiry, hands-on activities, and creative and critical problem-solving approaches in a motivating and fun…

Reports a study that examined the differences between social studies achievement and self-esteem in low-income Hispanic fourth graders who participated in either cooperative or traditional learning groups. Pretesting and posttesting found higher achievement with cooperative learning. Self-esteem appeared to be higher for boys regardless of…

The design for teaching a required preservice teacher education course was changed to involve six instructors who alternated presenting course material to six groups of 30 students. In addition, cooperative learning was promoted by dividing students into subgroups of 5 who had equal responsibility for preparing an oral report. Includes student and…

Describes an approach that uses an electronic bulletin board in a large class to promote cooperation and interactivity among students both inside and outside the classroom. Concludes that this approach facilitated student-student and student-professor interactions, improved the quality of instruction, and produced a more learning-friendly…

Describes a step-by-step process utilized in an undergraduate statistics course for social science teachers. The approach emphasized basic concepts, story problems, and cooperative learning. Evaluation was provided by examinations and research papers using statistical analysis. Student improvement throughout the course was consistent and…

This study examined 26 third-grade teachers' use and evaluation of cooperative learning (CL) groups and 38 students' reactions to and verbal interactive behaviors during CL in two classes. Surveys indicated that both groups reported using CL almost daily, with many positive academic, social, and attitude outcomes. Most student interactions were…

A cooperative learning approach in business administration courses is described, including projects and activities for three course types: management science; operations management; and mathematics education. Adaptation of the activities for specific classes is discussed, and student response to the method in one institution is examined. The…

Explored students' perceptions of learning experiences in an online and a face-to-face section of the same university course. Qualitative data from students and the instructor showed the importance of peer interaction and cooperative learning environments; difficulties and benefits of Web-based instruction; and the importance of the affective…