The benefits of the use of cooperative learning in the classroom includes higher achievement, more positive relationships, and better psychological adjustment. To reap these benefits, teachers should be able to distinguish cooperative learning groups from traditional classroom groups and capitalize on using the first one. A wide variety of cooperative learning techniques have been developed to help improve the effectiveness of group activities. The quality of college education largely depends on the quality of instruction in the classroom. Yet, many faculty members ignore the pedagogical aspects of college teaching.
Teaching is considered a routine function that anyone can do.
If a faculty member has a Ph.D., it is assumed that he or she is qualified to teach. In other words, anyone who has content expertise can teach. The faculty's job is to transmit information and the student's job is to memorize and then recall it. Thus, students are passive recipients of knowledge and the faculty own the knowledge. This assumption is based on the old paradigm popularized by John Locke.