21 4.
Cooperative Learning
As the strategy to carry out the teaching and learning materials development, especially integrated reading and writing materials, the writer
chooses Cooperative Learning. “Cooperation means working with one or more peers to obtain feedback, pool information, or model a language activity” as stated
by Brown 1987.
a. Theories and Principles
Cooperative Learning is used in this study as the activities which support the designed materials. Olsen and Kagan as compiled in Kessler 1992: 1
explained cooperative learning as “A body of literature and research that has examined the effects of cooperation in education. It offers ways to organize group
work to enhance learning and increase academic achievement. CL is not general, free discussion; nor are all types of group work necessarily cooperative.
Cooperative learning is carefully structured- organized so that each learner interacts with others and all learners are motivated to increase each other’s
learning.” Slavin 1995: 4 also stated that “In cooperative learning, when students
want to succeed as a team, they will encourage their teammates to excel and will help them to do so. Cooperative learning sets students to work in a small group
where each small group may consist of four or five students. In those small groups, there will be students with different proficiency levels, interests,
motivation, backgrounds, and characters.” This statement is supported by Jacobs
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1998 as cited in Freeman 2000: 164 who says “In cooperative learning, teachers teach students collaborative or social skills so that they can work together
more effectively. Cooperative learning is not only a way of learning, but also a theme to be communicated and studied.”
Thus, since cooperative learning involves both academic and social skills, teachers have to consider several principles of cooperative learning. Freeman
2000: 167- 168 explains the principles of cooperative learning as follows: a
Students are encouraged to think in terms of ‘positive interdependence’, which means that the students are not thinking competitively and
individualistically, but rather cooperatively and in terms of the group. b
In cooperative learning, students often stay together in the same groups for a period of time so they can learn how to work better together. This
allows students to learn from each other and also gives them practice in how to get along with people different from themselves.
c The efforts of an individual help not only the individual to be rewarded,
but also others in the class. d
Social skills such as acknowledging another’s contribution, asking others to contribute, and keeping the conversation calm need to explicitly taught.
e Language acquisition is facilitated by students interacting in the target
language. f
Although students work together, each student is individually accountable.
g Responsibility and accountability for each other’s learning is shared.
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h Each group member should be encouraged to feel responsible for
participating and for learning. Leadership is ‘distributed’. i
Teachers not only teach language; they teach cooperation as well. Since cooperative learning involves the use of language, cooperative learning
teaches language for both academic and social purposes.
b. Characteristics
