Cooperative Learning

1. Robert E. Slavin
1. Johns Hopkins University

Abstract
Research on classroom cooperative learning techniques, in which students work in small
groups and receive rewards or recognition based on their group performance, has been
increasing in the past few years. This review summarizes the results of 28 primary field
projects lasting at least 2 weeks, in which cooperative learning methods were used in
elementary or secondary classrooms. The pattern of research findings supports the utility
of cooperative learning methods in general for increasing student achievement, positive
race relations in desegregated schools, mutual concern among students, student self-
esteem, and other positive outcomes. The various cooperative learning methods are
contrasted in terms of characteristics and outcomes, and the next steps for research in this
area are outlined.

Article Notes
• ↵ROBERT E. SLAVIN, Research Scientist, Center for Social Organization of
Schools, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. 21218. Specialization: Social
psychology of education; motivation; field research methodologies.

• CiteULike
• Complore
• Connotea
• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Reddit
• Technorati
• Twitter

What's this?

Articles citing this article

 • JSTOR Home
• Search
o Advanced Search
o Citation Locator
• Browse
o by Discipline
o by Title
o by Publisher
• MyJSTOR
o Saved Citations
o Saved Searches
o Profile

• Login
• Help
• Contact Us
• About

THIS ITEM IS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

Purchase this article from the publisher for

$12.00 USD
Purchase Article

Enter your token or email if you've already purchased this article.

Search for
You are viewing the first page/citation. Full-text access may be available if you are
affiliated with a participating library or publisher. Check access options or login if you
have an account.
+ Show full citation
The Modern Language Journal © 1997 National Federation of Modern Language
Teachers Associations.

Abstract
Cooperative learning (CL) has been found to be a highly effective instructional approach
in education in general and this has been confirmed with regard to second language (L2)
learning as well. This article investigates reasons for the success of CL from a
psychological perspective, focusing on two interrelated processes: the unique group
dynamics of CL classes and the motivational system generated by peer cooperation. It is
argued that the affective domain of CL plays a crucial role in the educational potential of
the method. This paper summarizes the specific factors that contribute to the promotion
of learning gains. While the analysis concerns cooperatively structured learning only, it is
assumed that the processes described have a broader relevance to understanding the
success of peer collaboration in general.

• iteslj.org
• Archives
• Projects
• Other
The Internet TESL Journal

Reaching English Language Learners

Through Cooperative Learning
Noorchaya Yahya and Kathleen Huie
nyahya [at] fau.edu & khuie [at] fau.edu
Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, Florida, USA)
This is a model of a cooperative learning lesson that allows all levels of ELL learners
from preproduction to intermediate level to tackle tasks that are appropriate to their
language proficiency skills and also that allows each student to take an important part in
doing the group's assigned tasks since without each student's expertise, the group's task is
incomplete.

Pre-service teachers and inservice teachers frequently hear that Cooperative Learning is
an effective strategy for classrooms with English Language Learning (ELL) students in
them. Cooperative learning strategies have been shown to improve academic
performance (Slavin, 1987), lead to great motivation toward learning (Garibaldi, 1979),
to increase time on task (Cohen & Benton, 1988), to improve self-esteem (Johnson &
Johnson, 1989), and to lead to more positive social behaviors (Lloyd, et.al, 1988). For
ELL students especially, cooperative learning promotes language acquistition by
providing comprehensible input in developmentally appropriate ways and in a supportive
and motivating environment. (Kagan, 1995).

In planning cooperative learning, teachers take several roles. First, teachers make pre-
instructional decisions about grouping students and assigning appropriate tasks. Teachers
have to be able to explain both the academic task and the cooperative structure to
students and then must monitor and intervene when necessary. Finally, the teacher is also
the one who is responsible for evaluating student learning and the effectiveness of each
group's work (Cohen, 1998).

One fear teachers have about using cooperative learning is that low status students will
not participate and/or that high status students will take over the group. Teachers must
create groups that are equitable so that all students participate fully and use multiple-
ability strategies (Cohen, 1998) if cooperative learning is to work. Teachers also need to
convince students of three things: That different intellectual abilities are required in
cooperative learning, that no one student has all of the abilities needed, but that each
member of the group will have some of the abilities (Cohen, 1998).

In this articles we present a model of a cooperative learning lesson that allows all levels
of ELL learners from preproduction to intermediate level to tackle tasks that are
appropriate to their language proficiency skills and also that allows each student to take
an important part in doing the group's assigned tasks since without each student's
expertise, the group's task is incomplete. In short, this model lesson allows each student
an equitable role in the overall task of the group. The lesson uses the cooperative learning
strategies of Jig Saw and Numbered Heads Together to teach a language arts lesson on
sequencing, learning descriptive language including action verbs, and writing smiles
using Cynthia Rylant's book, Tulip Sees America.

With Jig Saw reading strategy, students are made responsible for one another's learning,
help them with identifying purpose and important concepts in the text, and assist them
with reporting information gained. (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1986). The Numbered
Heads Together is another cooperative learning structure that is used for the purposes of
intergroup cooperation and individual accountability. Using this structure, students in
each home group count off from 1-4 and when a question is posed for the group to
answer, only one member in the group will answer and he/she will not know ahead of
time that he/she will be picked by the teacher. Therefore, the group will have to make
sure that every member in the group knows the material well.

Scene
Let's pretend that your class contains a large number of ESOL students, some of which
are almost bilingual and some of which have absolutely no understanding of English at
all. Previously, you have identified each student's ability to function in English using an
instrument such as the Student Oral Language Matrix (SOLOM) (Pergoy & Boyle, 2001).
You want to give cooperative learning a try because you have heard about its benefits for
teaching students in classes such as yours. But, your cooperative learning manual gives
you little guidance as to how to actually go about setting up cooperative learning so all of
your students can take part and learn in the lesson.

Step 1 - Starting from Home

First, organize your class into heterogeneous groups of four. These groups are your
"home groups". Each group contains a child from each of the four levels identified by
SOLOM or whatever identification tools you've used. Students need to understand that
ultimately they are responsible to and dependent upon their home groups for their
learning.

Step 2 - Becoming Experts

After the home groups are established, you separate the students into "expert groups"
whose composition is homogeneous by student ability. Students physically leave their
home groups and join their expert groups to complete tasks that will give them expertise.
Each expert group has its own tasks that are designed with that group's ability in mind.
As soon as the class has settled into its expert groups, work begins on acquiring the
expertise students will carry back to their home groups.

Expert Group 1 - Map Readers

Expert Group 1 is composed of students who are in the pre-production or production
stage of language acquisition but who need the extra support of a teacher or adult. These
students are given the task of being the map readers. They will, with a teacher's or other
adult's help, use a map of the United States to follow Tulip's trip. The map provides the
realia that these children need and using the map and book together is a multimedia
presentation of material. Expert group 1 will help the members of their home group track
Tulip's trip across the United States.

Expert Group 2 - Illustrators

Expert Group 2 is composed of those students who understand most English if it is
spoken at a slow pace. But, they are still somewhat limited in conversation. The members
of this group will be the illustrators. Their task is to match the pictures and words from
the story and then to categorize them by state. Then, they write a sentence using each
word and act out the action verbs "afraid, flap, bark, and swim." Since vocabulary
acquisition is important to language acquisition, these activities will help the home group
learn the vocabulary essential to the story.

Expert Group 3 - Project Organizers

Expert Group 3, composed of your low-advanced readers who are generally fluent in
their speech, are going to be your project organizers. Capitalizing on their fluency in
English, you assign this group to orally sequence the story and then retell it in sequence
to their home group. This group, with their more fluent speech, will be able to bring their
less fluent home group peers up to speed on the events of the story.

Expert Group 4 - Authors

Finally, expert group 4 is composed of your advanced level ELL who understand English
without difficulty and who are very close to their English speaking peers in vocabulary
and English usage. These students will be the authors and journalists of their home
groups. These students are assigned to identify similes in the story (there are lots) and
then to write their own similes to show to their home groups.

Step 3 - Returning to Home

Once the expert groups have acquired their expertise, they return to their home groups
and teach their skills to the home group. The map-readers track the route of Tulip's trip
on the map of the United States, the illustrators help the group to categorize the words by
state and understand some action verbs. The project organizers keep the events of the
story in their proper sequence, and the journalists teach the group about similes. Perfect!

Step 4 - Showing What I/We Learned

But, how do you know that any shared learning has taken place? You give them a quiz, of
course! Not a written quiz, but an oral quiz that is given in the Numbered Heads Together
structure. In each home group, students count off from 1-4. You, the teacher, ask
questions from the quiz you've constructed. Each group then has one minute to confer
and make sure that everyone knows, and can explain, the correct answer. When time is
up, you randomly choose a number from 1-4 and call on a home group. The student in the
home group with that number must answer the question. If the question is answered
correctly, the whole group gets one point. (See sample quiz) In this manner, you can
assess each student's knowledge of the subject matter you planned without handicapping
those students who lack sufficient fluency in writing and reading in English to take a
more traditional quiz.
Sample Questions for Oral Quiz in Numbered Heads Together structure:

1. Name the last state the author and his dog visit.
2. What does Tulip see in Colorado?
3. What does the author mean when he says the "farms in Iowa are like castles in a
fairyland"?
4. Which state does the author visit after leaving Nebraska?
5. In which direction do Tulip and the author travel across the United States?
6. Why does the author say "there's no wind like Wyoming's"?
7. In sequential order, list the states Tulip visits.
8. What might the author mean when he says "Tulip is an ocean dog"?
As a follow-up activity, students can ask family members or neighbors about trips they
have taken and try to solicit details of place and description as Rylant does in Tulip.
Student can report back the next day about their findings.

Step 5 - Reflections
For cooperative learning to work, teachers do have to spend time in planning - sometimes
more than they spend in planning traditional lessons. But, as in the example offered here,
once the structure of cooperative learning is set in place, the activities can be used over
and over in different configurations and in different content areas.

Cooperative learning as demonstrated by our model lesson works because it promotes

transfer from group to individual learning. Johnson and Johnson (1989) capture the value
of cooperative learning:

• I think I can
• I think we can
• We think we can
• We think I can
• I know I can

References
• Cohen, E.G. (1998). Making cooperative learning equitable. (Realizing a positive
school climate.) Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
• Cohen, E.G. & Benton, J. (1988). Making groupwork work. American
Educator,12, 10-17, 45-46.
• Garibaldi, A. (1979). Affective contributions of cooperative and group goal
structures. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 788-794.
• Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, R.T. (1989). Cooperative learning: What special
educators need to know. The Pointer, 33, 5-10.
• Johnson, D. W., Johnson R. T., & Holubec, E.J. (1986). Circles of learning:
Cooperation in the classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction Book.
• Kagan, S. (1995). We can talk: Cooperative learning in the elementary ESL
classroom. ERIC Digest Reproduction No. ED 382 035.
• Lloyd, J.W., Crowley, E.P., Kohler, F.W., & Strain, P.S.(1988). Redefining the
applied research agenda: Cooperative learning, pre-referral, teacher consultation,
and peer-mediated interventions. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 21, 43-52.
• Peregoy, S & Boyle (2001). Reading, writing, & learning in ESL: A resource
book for K-12 teachers. New York: Longman.
• Slavin, R.E. (1987). Cooperative learning and the cooperative school. Educational
Leadership, 45, 7-13.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. VIII, No. 3, March 2002

http://iteslj.org/
 http://iteslj.org/Articles/Yahya-Cooperative.html

• Search
• 2010
• 2005-2009
o 2009
o 2008
o 2007
o 2006
o 2005
• 2000-2004
o 2004
o 2003
o 2002
o 2001
o 2000
• 1995-1999
o 1999
o 1998
o 1997
o 1996
o 1995
• Sorted
o Articles
o Lessons
o Techniques

• a4esl.org
o Grammar Quizzes
o Vocabulary Quizzes
o Crossword Puzzles
o Bilingual Quizzes
o Write a Quiz
• Things for Teachers
• Conversation Questions
• Classroom Games
• Jokes for ESL
• iteslj.org/links

• Submission Policy
• Copyright