A comparison of cost effectiveness of four academic strategies concluded that working with classmates is the most effective way for increasing college student achievement. The most brilliant lecture will not foster critical thinking if there is no time for students to explain ideas, raise issues, question premises, and reflect upon what they are doing. Our recommendation is to try cooperative learning in a very limited way, perhaps one episode per week. There is personal responsibility and individual accountability for all group members. Members reflect upon and critique their group processes.
Groups learn to manage conflict effectively.
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.