Effective Teaching Methods: Cooperative Learning

Borich, G. (1996). Effective teaching methods. 5th edition. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Prentice Hall, Inc.
Cooperative learning activities instill in learners important behaviors that prepare them to reason and perform in an adult world namely: attitudes and values, prosocial behavior, alternative perspectives and viewpoints, integrated identity and higher thought processes.
Cooperative learning is important in helping learners acquire from the curriculum the basic cooperative attitudes and values they need to think independently inside and outside of your classroom. (Chapter 10 p.422)
Cooperative learning brings learners together in adult-like settings which when carefully planned and executed can provide appropriate models of social behavior.

(p. 423-424)
One of the most noticeable outcomes of social interaction is its effect on how we develop our personalities and learn who we are. The main result is that inconsistencies and contradictions in who we are cannot be hidden, as might be the case in a single interaction or small number of interactions.
Overtime, repeated social interactions reduce the contradictions until our views become singular and consistent and we achieve an integrated identity.
Cooperative learning can be the start of stripping away the irrelevant, overly dramatic and superficial appendages that mask our deepest thoughts and feelings. We begin to gain an integrated sense of self.(p.424)
It has been linked to increases in the use of higher thought processes in learners is another reason for its use. (Slavin et al., 1985; Slavin, 1990b; Johnson & Johnson, 1991).
Cooperative learning provides ingredients for higher though processes to occur and sets them to work on realistic and adult-like

Energy implies that behavior has strength – that it is relatively strong, intense and persistent. Direction implies that behavior has purpose – that it is aimed or guided toward achieving some particular goal or outcome.(2,3 p.8)
The processes that energize and direct behavior emanate from forces in the individual and in the environment. Motives are internal experiences – needs, cognition and emotions – that energize the individual’s approach and avoidance tendencies. External events are environmental, social and cultural offerings that attract or repel the individual to engage in a particular course of action.
A person’s motivation cannot be separated from the social context in which it is embedded. (1, p. 19)
That is a child’s motivation is affected by and somewhat dependent on the social context provided by his or her parents, and a student’s motivation is affected by and somewhat dependent on the school ho or she attends. Those who are surrounded by social contexts that support and nurture their needs and strivings show greater vitality, experience personal growth and thrive more than those who are surrounded by social neglect and frustration (Keyes, 2007; Ryan & Deci,