Cooperative Learning Increasing College Faculty Instructional Productivity

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 learning groups, and implications for faculty functioning and the educational institution overall. The next section discusses the five basic elements of cooperative learning: (1) positive interdependence; (2) face-to-face promotive interaction; (3) individual accountability and personal responsibility; (4) frequent use of interpersonal and small group social skills; and (5) frequent, regular group processing of current functioning. The following section reviews the research validating the effectiveness of cooperative learning in college classrooms including research on social interdependence, patterns of interaction, and learning outcomes. The next three sections focus on the instructor's role in using formal cooperative learning groups, informal cooperative learning groups, and cooperative base groups under the titles "The Instructor's Role in Cooperative Learning, ""The Cooperative Lecture," and "Base Groups." The next section examines cooperation among faculty. A concluding section describes two typical cooperative learning class sessions and speculates on the impact this method will have in the future. (177 references) (JB).