Johnson & Johnson: Cooperative Learning Overview

This article talked about the basic elements of cooperative learning and how there has been quite a bit of research done that shows cooperative groups (when structured and monitored by the teacher) increase learning among all students, more so than competitive or individual work. I agree with the authors in that individual accountability is key for the success of cooperative learning, as I can remember dreading group work as a child, because that meant I would be doing all the work while the rest of the group goofed off. I also felt that the authors sounded a little idealistic, in the fact that it is true that children working together will make them become more community instead of individually minded, however it certainly doesn't always work out. There are a lot of instances where instead of giving extra help to the less capable member of the group, they whine and complain and don't want that person in their group because they slow them down.