Developing cooperative learning in efl contents. Introduction

Positive interdependence. This is the core element of CL, i.e. the whole group does not succeed without every member contributing (an 'all for one - one for all' attitude is required). This is group accountability. This results from mutual goals and it can be structured in three ways: outcome, means and boundary. Therefore, to be interdependent pupils need to be orientated to a desired joint outcome or goal. Means interdependence includes resources, role and tasks. Thirdly the boundaries that exist among individuals and groups can define who is interdependent with whom and has links to a group's cohesion. A number of studies showed that knowing that one's performance can affect others increases a sense of responsibility to perform (Lew et al 1986, Johnson and Johnson, 1991). As Johnson and Johnson (2008: 22) point out 'Failing oneself is bad, but failing others as well as oneself is worse.'
Individual accountability. Another aspect of positive interdependence is that of individual accountability. An individual must be committed to his or her own learning and that of the group. This exists when the performance of each individual member of a group impacts on others and the individual is held accountable by other members, for contributing his or her fair share to the group's success. Hooper et al (1989) found that cooperation resulted in higher achievement when individual accountability was ensured, than when it was not. Increasing individual accountability also impacts on interdependence amongst a group. One factor that has been shown to impact on individual accountability, is the size of the group and as team size increases, accountability reduces .
Promotive Interaction. Promotive Interaction provides the conditions for positive interdependence to occur. It occurs as individuals encourage each other's efforts to achieve joint goals. It is characterised by Johnson and Johnson:

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  providing each other with support and assistance
  
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  exchanging needed resources
  
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  providing each other with feedback
  
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  challenging each other's decisions and reasoning
  
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  encouraging each other to exert effort
  
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  influencing each other's efforts to achieve goals
  
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  acting in trusting and trustworthy ways
  
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  being motivated to work for mutual benefit
  
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  having low levels of stress and anxiety when supported by others
  
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  having a clearer view of the perspectives of others
  

Johnson and Johnson also set out key aspects of promotive interaction to include:

1. 
   Group and individual reflection - groups learn to monitor and assess their own functioning. The process of reflecting on group effectiveness has been shown to support greater cooperation. Group processing may be defined as reflecting on a group session to first describe what actions by members were helpful or not, and second, to decide on what to change to continue for the group's further success.
   
2. 
   Small group skills - these need to be explicitly taught and involve the skills of encouragement, management, communication and conflict control. The need for interpersonal and small group skills is the bedrock of working cooperatively. These need to be clearly taught and pupils need to be motivated to use them. In particular, group members must:
   

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  get to know and trust each other
  
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  communicate effectively with each other
  
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  accept and support each other
  
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  be able to resolve conflicts constructively
  

3. Face-to-face interaction - this involves ensuring the physical layout of the classroom is conducive to CL
These key elements vary according to different researchers into CL (for example, Slavin, 1996, Kagan, 1994), although there is common agreement on the vital ingredients of positive interdependence and individual accountability (Cooper & Mueck, 1992; Cottell & Millis, 1992; Slavin, 1992). Slavin describes the importance of 'group goals and individual accountability' ¹⁰ although he stresses that CL has most impact when groups are rewarded 'based on the individual learning of their members'¹¹. Kagan (1994) cites three main principles: simultaneous interaction (pupils are able to interact with each other simultaneously, rather than the traditional classroom situation where the teacher and one pupil at a time interacts); positive interdependence and individual accountability (as described above). He also states the importance of teachers fully understanding these basic principles in order to succeed in the use of CL. According to Johnson and Johnson¹² there are ten types of CL as most widespread:

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   Learning together and alone
   
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   Teams – games – tournaments
   
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   Group investigation
   
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   Constructive controversy
   
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   Jigsaw procedure
   
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   Student Teams achievement divisions
   
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   Complex Instruction (CI)
   
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   Team Accelerated Instruction (TAI)
   
9. 
   Cooperative Learning Structures
   
10. 
    Cooperative Integrated Reading & Composition (CIRC)
    

The following section discusses these, together with the main research findings for each.