Cooperative learning in the classroom

Abstract

Cooperative learning, as an old idea in education, became again the subject of interest in the seventies. In teaching tradition this movement served as the main approach to the studies of pupils interaction in the classroom. The cooperative-interactive way of learning was strongly opposed to the traditional, individually- competitive one by its aim structure and the nature of peer interaction. This paper presents four techniques of cooperative learning wich are well defined teaching strategies in the opinion of many authors. At the same time, those are the techniques which are applied the most often in primary and secondary schools of America and Israel. Studying of these techniques have shown that cooperative experiences, in comparison with competitive and individual ones, contribute to better achievement of cognitive and socio-affective aims of teaching. In other words, it appeared that in processes of cooperation in school setting high standards and good success were not incompatibile with friendship, empathy and tolerance for individual differences among pupils.

Kooperativno učenje, kao stara ideja u obrazovanju, ponovo je postalo predmet interesovanja u sedamdesetim godinama. U nastavnoj tradiciji, ovaj pokret služio je kao glavni uvod u proučavanje vršnjačke interakcije u razredu. Kooperativno-interaktivni način učenja bio je oštro suprostavljen tradicionalnom, individualno-kompetitivnom po svojoj strukturi cilja i prirodi vršnjačke interakcije. U ovom radu prikazane su četiri tehnike kooperativnog učenja koje su, prema mišljenju većeg broja autora, dobro definisane nastavne strategije. Istovremeno, to su tehnike koje su najčešće primenjivane u osnovnim i srednjim školama Amerike i Izraela. Ispitivanje efekata ovih tehnika pokazalo je da kooperativna iskustva, u poređenju sa kompetitivnim i individualnim, doprinose uspešnijem ostvarivanju kognitivnih i socijalno-afektivnih ciljeva nastave. Drugim rečima, pokazalo se da kroz procese kooperacije visoki školski standardi i dobar uspeh nisu inkompatibilni sa prijateljstvom, empatijom i tolerancijom za individualne razlike učenika.