What is co-operative learning?; Meaning, Features, and Activities that are performed under Co-operative learning

The joy of every facilitator is to see their group /or learners soaring high with flying colours hence, there’s the need to work towards the achievement of such feat.

Students sitting down for knowledge to be poured down on them as in watering plants has long been a thing of the past. It is in this regard new strategies of delivering lessons are being employed day in day out. One of these strategies is Co-operative Learning.

What then is the Meaning of Co-operative learning?

Co-operative learning as the name suggests is a strategy of actively involving learners in lesson delivery where learners are placed in small groups to share ideas and perform tasks together.

As a teacher, when using Co-operative Learning, you are to ensure members of the small groups are of different levels of learning abilities and also there should be different learning activities, so everyone is involved to improve on the understanding of what is being taught.

Discussing from the classroom point of view in relation to co-operative learning, learners are supposed to be each other’s keeper. Meaning, each learner has the responsibility of ensuring group success rather than individual success.

The features that define co-operative

Just as any other group work, there should be that mindset of “No Group Win If No Individual Win”. This pushes for positive interdependence, as there’s the view that things don’t happen without depending on each other.

However, this would come about based on the sort of task given to the pupils, the content and the subject matter to be covered and the previous experience of the pupils.

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Below are features that define co-operative.

Examples of Features of Co-operative learning.

1. Pupils may be asked to prepare a joint presentation on a topic and delivered to the class.
2. The group may be given task that require completion using different objects and modules that are being held by individual members of the group.
3. Pupils may be given different positions in the group such as Chairperson, Secretary, Summarizer and Reporter so each member of the group have an activity or task to perform.
4. A group may be told that the group’s score will be gotten out of the individual performance of the members of the group.

Activities learners involve in during co-operative learning are as follows:

Some of the activities that use co-operative learning are:

1. Think-Pair-Share: This is a three-phase activity that use co-operative learning. In the first phase, the learners think individually to come up with solution to the problems posed by the tutor or the facilitator.

The learner then pairs to discuss their thoughts with group members in the second phase. The groups then share their findings with other groups in the third phase.

2. Three-Minutes Review: This is a Co-operative Learning where the facilitator stops during lesson delivery and give three minutes for learners to reflect on and review what he or she said, so they ask clarifying questions and also answer questions.
3. Number Heads: This also another activity that uses Co-operative Learning, where groups of four are established to work in groups to come up with answers to questions. Each member of the group are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4.

During the course of answering the questions, the facilitator calls the numbers. Say 4 instead of the names of the group members.

4. Jigsaw: This is where learners are placed in a group of five and assigned with different materials to learn and teach group members. The group members then come together and decide the order of importance of the materials and how to teach it.

For example, the meaning of a concept comes first before the types and their respective definition.

In summary, co-operative learning is “an all hands” on deck teaching strategy which should be employed for effective teaching, to develop the social skills of learners, calls for an increase in learner’s retention, and for the promotion of academic achievements highly on the radar.