Students are working together to get the job done. Other ways of structuring positive interdependence include having common rewards, shared resources, or a division of labor. Students are expected to explain orally to each other how to solve problems, discuss with each other the nature of the concepts and strategies being learned, teach their knowledge to classmates, explain to each other the connections between present and past learning, and to help, encourage, and support each other's efforts to learn. Silent students are uninvolved students who are not contributing to the learning of others or themselves. The purpose of cooperative learning groups is to make each member a stronger individual in his or her own right.
Students learn together so that they can subsequently perform better as individuals.
To ensure that each member is strengthened, students are held individually accountable to do their share of the work. The performance of each individual student is assessed and the results given back to the individual and perhaps to the group. Common ways to structure individual accountability include giving an individual exam to each student, randomly calling on individual students to present their group's answer, and giving an individual oral exam while monitoring group work. Contributing to the success of a cooperative effort requires teamwork skills. These skills have to be taught just as purposefully and precisely as academic skills.