Robert J. Marzano
Research & Theory on
Cooperative Learning
 One of the most popular instructional strategies in
education
 1867 W.T. Harris
 St. Louis, MO
 Allow for rapid student promotion in elementary grades
Research shows that organizing students into
cooperative groups yields a positive effect on
overall learning. When applying cooperative
learning strategies:
* keep groups small
*don’t overuse this strategy
*be systematic and consistent in your approach
Five Defining Elements
Positive interdependence
Face-to-face interaction
Individual and group accountability
Interpersonal and small group skills
Defining Elements
 Positive Interdependence
 Interpersonal & Small
A sense of sink or swim
together
 Face-to-face interaction =
Helping each other learn,
applauding success and
efforts).
 Individual and Group
Accountability = Each of us
has to contribute to the group
achieving its goals.
Group Skills =
Communication, trust,
leadership, decision making,
and conflict resolution.
 Group Processing =
Reflecting on how well the
team is functioning and how
to function even better.
Textbox
3 Guidelines for Cooperative
Learning
1.
Organizing groups based on ability levels should be
done sparingly.
 Homogenous Grouping
Vs.
 Heterogeneous
2. Cooperative groups should
be kept rather small in size.
3. Cooperative learning
should be applied consistently
and systematically, but not
overused.
 Misused: tasks given to group are not well
structured
 Overused: students not given enough time
for independent practice
Using a Variety of Criteria for
Grouping Student
… in conclusion
Of all classroom grouping strategies, cooperative
learning may be the most flexible and powerful. As the
examples in this chapter illustrate, teachers can use
cooperative learning in a variety of ways in many
different situations.