Stanford summary of co-operative learning

'Many faculty members who recognize the benefits of

collaborative work still hesitate to use it, fearing that

coverage of material will be sacrificed. Restructuring a

course to include group work may indeed mean spending

more time on fewer topics, but “research shows that

students who work in groups develop an increased ability

to solve problems and evidence greater understanding of

the material” (Davis, 1993). Perhaps beginning with

modest collaborative assignments and supplementing

classwork with additional readings will resolve some of

the conflicts between coverage and depth. Students, with

the proper help, can be guided toward greater autonomy

and take on a greater responsibility for their own educa-

tion if instructors provide them with useful, engaging,

and relevant tasks to accomplish with their peers.'

Retrieved from: Cooperative learning:students working in small groups. (1999) .STANFORD UNIVERSITY NEWSLETTER ON TEACHING

SPEAKING OF TEACHING WINTER 1999 Vol.10, No.2

http://ctl.stanford.edu/Newsletter/cooperative.pdf , (p.4)