| Significant changes in the American school population dictate that teachers be prepared to educate students having diverse backgrounds, cultures, abilities, disabilities, and languages while maximizing the benefits of diversity. Cooperative learning is a procedurally-structured form of collaboration in which small mixed-ability groups work together toward a common goal (Putnam, 1993). It benefits students in many subjects, at all grade levels, and in several types of schools in many countries (Slavin, 1995). It has an extensive research base documenting its positive impact on multiple outcome measures (Cuseo, 1992) for students having diverse backgrounds (Johnson & Johnson, 1989, 1993; Putnam, 1993; Slavin, 1987,1993) and at various educational levels (Johnson & Johnson, 1989; Slavin, 1990). A number of studies demonstrate positive outcomes when cooperative learning is used at the college level (Cooper, 1990; Johnson & Johnson, 1993). A limited number of studies relate the use of cooperative learning in teacher education to positive outcomes. However, there are no comprehensive studies investigating the extent to which cooperative learning is used in teacher education. This study investigated the extent to which cooperative learning is used by a national sample of teacher education faculty, the practicality of its use, and potential problems and solutions for implementation in teacher education. Findings indicate that the majority of participants use cooperative learning frequently, and believe it is a highly-effective way to learn course material. Most lessons focus on the learning of course content and practical classroom applications. Problems include students' lack of commitment and incentive to complete group work. Solutions center around effective evaluation and faculty roles. Participants who are currently involved in educational settings are most likely to use cooperative learning. Those who do not use cooperative learning are comfortable with their methods and may be resistant to change; and faculty, in general, do not have many opportunities to talk to each other about their teaching. |
