The Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning

Abstract

BackgroundEmpirical evidence suggests that students studying cooperatively exhibit significantly better academic achievement. However, since most prior studies do not carefully monitor the time on task, it is unclear whether the observed learning benefits are due to the intrinsic superiority of cooperative learning or merely a reflection of the increased amount of time students spend on studying.Purpose (Hypothesis)This study compares the learning effectiveness of cooperative and individualistic learning. The proposed approach carefully monitors the learning method and the time on task both in regular day‐time teaching classes and out‐of‐class studies.Design/MethodA series of experiments was performed in which 42 mechanical engineering students were randomly assigned to individualistic or cooperative learning conditions, respectively, and were then formed into heterogeneous groups comprising three team members. The experiments were conducted over an 18‐week semester. In conducting the experiments, the students attended both regular classes and out‐of‐hours homework sessions.ResultsThe experimental results showed that given a sufficient period of time for the cooperative learning teams to mature, the students in the cooperative learning condition performed substantially better in both the homework and unit tests than those in the individualistic learning condition.ConclusionsSince the time on task was carefully monitored, the higher academic performance of the students in the cooperative learning condition suggests that cooperative learning is more effective than individualistic learning.