The traditional system of direct instruction focuses on students' acquiring a body of knowledge and developing related skills. It has been recognized for some time now that direct instruction needs to be combined with more humanistic methods of education, which invite students to be more actively involved in the learning process and are focused on affective outcomes of student learning. These outcomes include learning how to learn, enhancing the desire and motivation to learn, and developing the total human potential. Such a system, in which students are meaningfully involved in formulating, hypothesizing, and synthesizing the information as it is taught is most helpful. Cooperative learning theory and strategies can help to provide a framework which can be used to help counselor educators improve the quality of the learning by altering the methods of instruction and the structure of the classroom environment. The amount of professor preparation and classroom involvement remains high within this framework. In summary, cooperative learning groups can improve the quality of learning which occurs within counselor education programs, and can more actively engage students in the learning process. Student evaluations, both formal and informal, appear favorable for professors who have incorporated these group experiences into their classroom repertoire of teaching strategies. These strategies can be helpful to both experienced and inexperienced counselor educators. (Author/ABL)