Effective operating rules include the nominal group method and the thinking aloud paired problem solving method. Educational researchers have conducted over 375 studies comparing cooperative and competitive learning. In short, cooperative learning groups are effective. Cooperative learning achieves the rote and meaningful-integrated learning levels. For many undergraduate courses, this translates into a five to seven point increase in average student performance.
Large classes can also benefit from cooperative learning.
Students in cooperative learning groups in class sizes of 120 at Georgia State University outperformed students in the traditional lecture approach by over seven points. Too often, faculty underutilize these key and readily available resource. Cooperative learning achieves the higher-order reasoning skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. On average, students in cooperative learning performed at over nine-tenths a standard deviation above their competitive learning student counterparts. A major conclusion of the Harvard Assessment Seminars was that cooperative learning groups resulted in a large increase in student satisfaction with the class.