Cooperative Learning

Texas A&M University – Commerce
Master’s of Education in Secondary Education – MED
MISD & A&M-Commerce Partnership Cohort 2010
SED 513 Secondary School Curriculum – 3 SH
Carlos Soliz



Cooperative Learning


What?

Cooperative Learning is a great strategy that I use a lot in my classroom. I like to use this strategy to help learners that tend to lag behind on their work, group projects, and it also helps students learn the names of their classmates.

So What?

Using Cooperative Learning lets me pair up students who sometimes don’t get their work done and turned in with those students who do very well and always get their work completed. This puts a little bit more responsibility on that student that lags behind to get his/her part done and turned in. Group projects help to split up responsibilities amongst students and designate some leadership roles also. Using a variety of methods to split students into groups helps classmates learn each others’ names and maybe learn a little bit about the personal side of him/her. I believe that the students that struggle to do work on their own feel a sense of obligation to their group and don’t want to let everyone else down.

Now What?

I will continue to use cooperative learning every year that I teach now matter what the subject. It helps students with responsibility, a sense of belonging to a group, and also helps with their grades. Reflecting on my teaching and my methods I have learned that many teachers use this learning strategy and they have had success doing so.