This guide presents Cooperation/Competition (C/C) as the next stage in the evolution of cooperative learning, with its unique ability to mobilize the powerful forces of intergroup and individual competition to supplement cooperative learning's teamwork. In C/C, teachers group students into homogeneous or heterogeneous learning teams, with teams…

While working and playing together at camp, staff often work through most, if not all, of the stages of group formation, commonly referred to as forming, storming, norming, performing, and finally, transforming. Ten adventure-based games and activities are presented to help camp directors train staff and help them progress through these stages.…

Evaluated effects of a reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) intervention on arithmetic performance of 12 low-income, underachieving elementary school students. Results indicated that merely teaming students and providing them with positive attention for constructive team activities had no clear effect on arithmetic performance. RPT condition that…

Role play is effective in cooperative learning because it reduces anxiety, promotes risk taking, and is versatile. Students share ideas, values, knowledge, and skills, creating mutual problem solving. Limitations include the time required and student personalization of roles. The article lists guidelines for enhancing role play, noting alternative…

Educators who introduced cooperative learning (CL) in their school district present their feelings, ideas, and experiences. They note that CL takes commitment, work, time, and practice. The rewards are improvements in learning, social skills, and achievement. They recommend CL because it addresses current educational needs. (SM)

This document consists of a brief project report and a manual developed by the Adult Learners' Training and Assistance Program. The report describes how instructors at Luzerne County Community College (Pennsylvania) learned about the basic/essential elements of cooperative learning by actively experiencing cooperative learning instructional…

This paper presents the thesis that pair problem-solving serves as an aid to students in developing their metacognitive skills. Metacognition has been defined as knowledge and cognition about cognitive objects and as any kind of monitoring. The ability to monitor one's thoughts and actions is greatly facilitated through the pair problem-solving…

Directed at discovering one's inner resources and the dignity of one's fellow man, the Outward Bound experience seeks to instill self-reliance, physical fitness, and compassion as fundamental values recognizing there are few opportunities to formulate such values in an increasingly technological and urbanized society. For 3 1/2 weeks, people from…

This article shows the extent to which pupils borrow information from one another. In the course of classroom observations, learning in groups appeared to be polyphonic and was based upon the ideas of others. Learning through plagiarism, however, must be interpreted not as negative interdependence, but as a way for children to construct new…

Laptops for students, increased teamwork and group interaction, and teaching as a facilitator of active learning have successfully converged in the classrooms of Northern Michigan University. This paper offers practical guidelines for integration strategies, theory, and outcomes assessments, based on a study undertaken for the 1999-2000 academic…

Examines a teacher's commitment to cooperative learning in the college classroom, discussing what makes cooperative learning so useful and explaining how to implement it. The paper notes that more and more colleges and universities are moving to active cooperative learning, even within preservice teacher education programs. (SM)

This activity book includes across-the-curriculum activities with Olympic themes; a "cooperation relay" (four competitive team activities based on a cooperative learning model); highlights of African Americans' Olympic achievements; a poster on teamwork and activities based on the theme of keeping the Olympic torch alive; and a…

'Structured Controversy' (SC) is a cooperative learning activity where students, working in small groups, argue one side of an issue and then another side of the same issue in two Rounds. Discussion includes: organizing the activity; evaluation; and positive results. Students reported a high degree of satisfaction with the SC activity and were…

GoodSport is an after-school program for grades 3-6 that uses traditional and nontraditional sports, adventure activities, reading, writing, and group discussion to promote character development in the areas of teamwork, perseverance, responsibility, respect, and fair play. Two sample activities involving group discussion and problem solving are…

This resource book presents cooperative learning activities which relate to our world and the social studies. The book is divided into three sections: (1) "Preparation," to help make cooperative learning part of the curriculum today; (2) "Activity Units," focusing on world culture, natural history, governments and leaders, and contemporary…