Characteristic of Adolescent Teaching Adolescents

19 involving pairs and small groups of learners in the classroom ” p. 192. Therefore, in cooperative learning approach, the group members are supposed to help each other to succeed the learning process. They work cooperatively between group members instead of competing with each other. As stated by Larsen and Freeman 2000, “cooperative learning essentially improves students learning from each other in group. But it is not the group configuration that makes cooperative learning distinctive; it is the way that students and teachers work together that is important ” p. 164. In cooperative learning, all of the students as the members of group have to take part in doing the assigned task from the teacher. They work together to find the solution for their work. Each of them are given the chance to actively participate in group learning and given the responsibility to take part in the learning process. Richard and Rodgers 2001, state that “Cooperative learning is viewed as a learner-centered approach to teaching held to offer advantages over teacher-fronted classroom methods ” p. 193. As the opposite, the traditional models of classroom learning where the teacher became the center of learning process that also proposed competition between students, would only help the majority students, while the minority students would not get the chance to participate. Richards and Rodgers 2001, describe that “educators were concerned that traditional models of classroom learning were teacher-fronted, fostered competition rather than cooperation, and favored majority students ” p. 192. The minority students may be left behind in this learning environment. In this context, cooperative learning is formed to help 20 the teacher to build positive relation among students and also replace the competitive organizational structure of most classrooms and school with team- based, high-performance organizational structure Richards and Rodgers, 2001. According to Hamachek 1985, “warm, stimulating, interpersonal classroom relations not only facilitate current learning, but also foster positive attitudes toward future learning ” p: 402. In this context, the teacher as the facilitator of learning has to create structured and interesting tasks in the teaching process so that the students will be stimulated to do the learning. In cooperative learning, the students not only have to learn teamwork skill but also become the director of their own learning. They learn to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning. Thus, learning is something that requir es students‟ direct and active involvement and participation Richards Rodgers, 2001.

b. Essential Components of Cooperative Learning

According to Johnson and Johnson ‟s model as cited by Gillies et al., 2008, cooperative learning is instruction that involves students working in team to accomplish a common goal, under conditions that include these elements; namely Positive Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction, Interpersonal and Small Group Skills, and Group Processing. Here are the explanations of the five essential elements. 1. Positive Interdependence Group members should rely on one another to achieve their shared goal. They have to realize the importance of each member since they personally will fail if any group member fails to do their parts.