The classroom strategies play a vital role in developing the interest among the learners which also caters to mold the cognitive level and the interpersonal relations of the students. Among many methods, the cooperative method is the method in teaching, where students must engage and participate in learning activities through interactions which ultimately results in a higher level of understanding and learning. It is an ideal method for teachers to connect with as many students as possible and support them as required. Thus, this paper deals with cooperative method benefits as it involves, teacher-student interaction and increases student participation and positive learning outcomes.
Firstly, a cooperative learning strategy is a process of learning that involves learner-to-learner interaction in order to foster successful and effective learning. The cooperative learning strategy is an organized and structured way to use small groups to enhance student learning and interdependence. Students are given a task and they work together to accomplish the given task.
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For instance, I happened to use this strategy in class V, science on the topic, The students were divided into group of five with six members The main purpose of cooperative learning methods were to provide ample opportunities to facilitate positive cultural relations development and increase academic achievement in diverse classrooms. The involvement of teachers in imparting the intended lesson personally greatly helps in boosting the morale of the students and motivating them further in learning activities. According to Roth and Roy Choudhury (1993:143)
Cooperative learning is a convenient way to support the construction of individual knowledge of the members in a variety of ways. When learners are required to explain, elaborate, or defend their position, they construct a deep understanding because they have to evaluate, integrate, and elaborate upon their existing knowledge. Learning through cooperative problem-solving gives rise to insights and solutions that would not come about without them.
In my opinion. In the cooperative learning strategy, the student learners are able to make more friends and practice and render more helping behaviors in the class. The students in the class get an ample chance to create a classroom environment situation in which learners listen to each other, and develop affection for friends. They exchange their own ideas and be on task most of the time. In the process, the learners learn to collaborate and cooperate to learn in a better way. They also learn to sense and provide help for their colleagues. As a result, communication abilities of listening and questioning as well as the learner’s mannerly relations are improved drastically. Moreover, the cooperative learning strategy involves learners being both physically and mentally engaged, as a result, it makes them construct knowledge in learning in a profound way.
The cooperative learning strategy plays a vital role in making the learning appropriate and better for the teachers to apply in the classroom settings. The activities being carried out with the think-pair-share approach in the class is an example of this approach of learning, the students are given a question or problem that needs to be answered or solved. The teacher gives time for students to think about given questions and write down their thoughts on the topic. One of the most powerful ways to increase student participation in class is through the creation of a cooperative learning environment. Research into the general effectiveness of cooperative learning techniques suggests that cooperative learning is superior to traditional learning in terms of academic achievement. A lack of participation from students may indicate that they are not motivated to learn. This could stem from a number of factors in students, including peer groups; interest in other things, such as music and sports; or family situations (Drakeford, 2012).
There are a lot of advantages to using the cooperative strategy in the classroom setting. One of the benefits of a cooperative strategy is its fun and enjoyable. In the process of interaction and learning they socialize and have fun with various friends. Another advantage of the cooperative learning strategy is that students are engaged in active participation in learning. Each member in a group gets an opportunity to share and contribute points for the common goal of the task. Where everyone is participating actively. A cooperative learning strategy helps students to discuss work together, and think critically which is an important skill for their future. By involving the students in the exchange of ideas or opinions there is an increase of the interest in the learning-teaching process. They really find themselves as active role players in groups.
According to David and Roger Johnson (1991) states” By face-to-face interaction, students are promoting each other’s learning through face-to-face activities where they discuss and explain assignment topics with each other”. When in groups learning cooperatively they discuss and interact with each other face to face in a group to achieve the common goals. This strategy also helps in generating creative thoughts and ideas in learning and promotes learning through empowerment. Some of the examples of cooperative learning structures, that are being carried in the classes are think pair share, number head together, round robin, tea party, and jigsaw.
All these activities in the class cater to students in the interaction of teacher and students-students in the best and the most profound way to promote and enhance the learning of the students. In the process of interaction, students acquire an opportunity to ask questions and, answer questions which results in a higher level of thinking and the outcome of learning is impressive. Cooperative learning strategy solely relies on critical thinking, discussion, and sharing among participants and the class as a whole. Students can learn from peers and teachers to develop social skills and abilities, organize their thoughts, and develop coherent opinions. Therefore, in order to have a successful learning outcome in the class, the cooperative learning strategy is essential and inevitable for educators to implement.
Secondly, the cooperative strategy increases student’s participation and learning and helps in giving positive results. According to Hooker (2011) states “Students working in the small peer-led collaborative learning groups had improved completion rates”. This strategy helps each other’s learning for instance participation in the activity can help each other build a connection with the group member and the activities in groups help build strong bonds in a stress-free environment as there are many heads together to work collaboratively to address and accomplish the given task as a result the students build collaboration skills as they work contributing in groups. According to Ebrahim (2010) claims that “Cooperative learning approaches create excellent opportunities for students to engage in problem-solving with the help of other group members” (p. 294). This strategy also encourages them to initiate new ideas and develop leadership responsibilities. The students of my classes were found to perform better with the cooperative teaching strategy as I have observed and analyzed through the class test in the science subject that I taught.
Piaget and Vygotsky have observed that cooperative learning results in intellectual growth and cognitive development (Johnson, Johnson & Smith, 1998). It was found that a cooperative learning strategy gives an opportunity to interact and socialize among different abilities of students and as a result, it helps in participation and increases the higher level of cognitive development in achieving the learning. The contributions of the members in groups extensively help in problem-solving in an excellent condition. Thus this results in better learning outcomes.
Cooperative learning, it organizes includes giving more independence to the students. It is not even hectic for the learners as well. The teacher still plays a central role in leading, instructing, and encouraging participation to achieve common goals. Research has shown that students are not completely responsible for participation in a classroom and that the teacher’s instructional methods greatly affect how students interact with the teacher and each other in classroom settings. Roberts and Friedman (2013) claim” the presence of classroom discussion suggests the learner is actively involved in the learning process, and a lack of discussion and participation can hurt a class and the learning process”. Classroom participation really helps in motivating the students to learn in a profound way. However, the teacher must scaffold activities to motivate and enhance positive learning.
The cooperative learning method is an outstanding way to increase the efficiency of classroom learning and to create a friendly atmosphere in classroom learning. The students who participate in cooperative learning acquire significantly more, recall it for a longer time, and have enhanced critical-thinking skills over their peers who are in old-style classrooms. Research into the general efficiency of cooperative learning methods as well as the results from this study suggest that cooperative learning is superior to traditional learning in terms of academic achievement.
Therefore, the conclusion is that the cooperative strategy was found to be much better in learning and motivating students in improving the cognitive level of a child. This strategy really aids in teacher-student interaction and increases student participation thus resulting in positive learning outcomes of the children at the end of a lesson.
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