What Is Cooperative Learning?

Cooperative learning is a teacher-directed teaching method where the students work together to achieve a common task. There are many components to cooperative learning, one of which being student team learning. “STL” is based on three concepts: team rewards, individual accountability, and equal opportunities for success. The six major elements of this model are intentional group formation, continuous group interaction, interdependence of group members, all individuals being accountable, explicit attention to the development of social skills, and the teacher being the facilitator of the activity. This model is less formal and a less enduring structure where the groups are smaller and together for a smaller amount of time. The students also learn …show more content…
With cooperative learning, there are many benefits in validation such as improved social reasoning, increased interpersonal skills, more students actively participating, improved skills and game strategies, tendency to help peers improve their skills, increased self-responsibility for learning, and increased willingness to hold each student accountable in …show more content…
The materials needed for a class of 18 would be at least two large goals, 6 soccer balls, and 6 groups of 3. The teacher would hand pick the students into diverse groups of skills and set up evenly spaced stations for the students to kick the ball into the goal. One group will be directly in front of the goal with the other two groups on either side, with the same set up at the other goal. Two students per group stand behind each other in line to kick and one by the goal to retrieve. The teacher will instruct that the students need to kick the ball into the net, retrieve it, and pass it on to his or her teammate for ten minutes before switching. Once started, the students will watch each other’s methods of kicking the ball effectively into the goal, with the cues being stepping to the ball, using the inside of the foot, and following through with the kick at the target. The students will also observe what one another may be doing wrong and give each other pointers. The teacher may also step in to help if the students are really struggling and encourage along the way. By the third round, the teacher will have gone around, assessing how well the students knew what they were doing, how well they were able to perform, and how comfortable they were with the tasks and performing with one