Revisiting an Old Friend: The Practice and Promise of Cooperative Learning for the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Cooperative learning has long been at the disposal of school teachers. However, it is often misunderstood by some teachers as just another form of collaborative group work. This article revisits cooperative learning, including a sampling of its popular variations, with practical approaches toward effectively integrating it into classroom instruction. Moreover, this article highlights the promise that cooperative learning holds for democratic education in the twenty-first century with special attention paid to its social implications.