Learning About Cooperative Instruction

The main difference between science methods and social studies method, besides the subject change, was the introduction of cooperative instruction lesson planning. Direct Instruction and inquiry were both lesson plans I was familiar with, to say the least. Cooperative lesson Planning was a new ball game. Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals. Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning.  It may be contrasted with competitive (students work against each other to achieve an academic goal such as a grade of “A” that only one or a few students can attain) and individualistic (students work by themselves to accomplish learning goals unrelated to those of the other students) learning.