This book tried to find the answers to questions like- By which strategies and settings, the academic achievement of students can be raised up to some standard? How can we proceed with cooperative learning methods in Indian classrooms? Among a set of cooperative learning methods which one is more appropriate to teach a class constructed with a wide variety in caste, class, religion, region and different set of values? How conventional methods of teaching in Indian classroom overcome by cooperative learning methods? With which cooperative learning setting a learner can enhance self-concept optimum? How experiences in cooperative and non-cooperative environment play a role in teaching-learning process? Finally, how Student-Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) and Jigsaw methods of cooperative learning helpful in raising scholastic achievement and self-concept among students of seventh graders in the subject Mathematics? This book is not written by an expert person and does not claim to address experts in this field; rather, it is addressed to pupil teachers, in-service teachers, researchers and non-experts but enthusiastic to do something new to gain more. It shall provide an introduction to cooperative learning methods involving Student-Teams Achievement Divisions (STAD) and Jigsaw. It enables the reader to proceed for comparatively new learning strategies in collaboration.

Cooperative learning is widely endorsed as a pedagogical practice that promotes student learning. Recently, the research focus has moved to the role of teachers’ discourse during cooperative learning and its effects on the quality of group discussions and the learning achieved. However, although the benefits of cooperative learning are well documented, implementing this pedagogical practice in classrooms is a challenge that many teachers have difficulties accomplishing. Difficulties may occur because teachers often do not have a clear understanding of the basic tenets of cooperative learning and the research and theoretical perspectives that have informed this practice and how they translate into practical applications that can be used in their classrooms. In effect, what do teachers need to do to affect the benefits widely documented in research? A reluctance to embrace cooperative learning may also be due to the challenge it poses to teachers’ control of the learning process, the demands it places on classroom organisational changes, and the personal commitments teachers need to make to sustain their efforts. Moreover, a lack of understanding of the key role teachers need to play in embedding cooperative learning into the curricula to foster open communication and engagement among teachers and students, promote cooperative investigation and problem-solving, and provide students with emotionally and intellectually stimulating learning environments may be another contributing factor. The Teacher's Role in Implementing Cooperative Learning in the Classroom provides readers with a comprehensive overview of these issues with clear guidelines on how teachers can embed cooperative learning into their classroom curricula to obtain the benefits widely attributed to this pedagogical practice. It does so by using language that is appropriate for both novice and experienced educators. The volume provides: an overview of the major research and theoretical perspectives that underpin the development of cooperative learning pedagogy; outlines how specific small group experiences can promote thinking and learning; discusses the key role teachers play in promoting student discourse; and, demonstrates how interaction style among students and teachers is crucial in facilitating discussion and learning. The collection of chapters includes many practical illustrations, drawn from the contributors’ own research of how teachers can use cooperative learning pedagogy to facilitate thinking and learning among students across different educational settings.

Language and Learning in the Cooperative Classroom reports the results of an experiment on the effects of cooperative learning. The authors address the following questions in detail: Is the effect of cooperative learning on achievement more salient for pupils from the majority or minority ethnic groups? Do pupils who study with the Group-Investigation method display more extensive verbal interaction with their peers than pupils who study with the Whole-Class method? Is the pupil's verbal interaction in groups related to his/her academic achievement? The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for classroom instruction, for different theories of language behavior and language research, and for issues regarding ethnic relations in multi-ethnic classrooms.