Cooperate learning refers to a set of teaching and learning principles and strategies that encourage the interactions between the learners. Some characteristics of this learning approach include “positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interactions, appropriate use of social skills, and group processing”, as explained by Johnson and Johnson (2009, p. 366). More specifically, the learners using this approach will be interdependent on each other to achieve success. Besides, all of them are accountable for the learning outcomes of the whole team. Moreover, all members need to work and interact in ways that could promote the learning of others. They should also be equipped with, or learn interpersonal skills about how to work as a cooperative group in this process. Furthermore, the group should monitor their working process so as to make improvements.

This approach aligns with the topic that our team has chosen, health inequity. More specifically, using this learning approach, all learners will be clearly aware of their own accountability and the tasks that they should complete to make this project a success. Besides, they will be independent, which means that they will seek and provide help for each other so as to help each other succeed in learning about this topic. For instance, they might explain to each other some theories and concepts that they fail to clearly understand, and search for new information for all the other learners to learn more. In this process, these learners might apply the interpersonal skills that they have already mastered to collaborate with each other. They will also be asked to monitor their own learning process and identify areas to make improvements, which could help them learn about other topics more efficiently in the future.

References

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2009). An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning. Educational Researcher, 38(5), 365–379. Retrieved from JSTOR.