Traditionally children were often given as much time as they needed before being called upon to demonstrate ability to perform, were allowed to test their ability in private before performing publicly, and a voided competitive roles with others. Cooperative learning For the past forty-five to fifty years, since the demise of the one room schoolhouse, American education has been on a competitive and individualistic basis. In both learning situations, teachers try to keep students away from each other. There is another way. Cooperative learning allows students to work together to reach common goals.
Cooperation means more than putting students in groups.
It means group participation in a project in which the outcome results from common effort, the goal is shared and each person's success is linked with every other person's success. In practice, this means that ideas and materials are shared, labor is divided, and everyone in the groups is rewarded for the successful completion of the task. In typical groups, members create their own product, have their own materials and have rewards based on individual accomplishment. In a cooperative group, social skills are defined, discussed, observed and processed. In typical groups, the teacher interrupts group work to solve problems, warn students and remind them.