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Learning Together And Alone

David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson

January, 2015

To Appear In: Better: Evidence-based Education, 2015

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Abstract
Peers have positive influences on learning only within a cooperative context. There are

three types of cooperative learning: formal, informal, and base groups. These types were

derived from social interdependence theory, which has been validated by over 1200 research

studies.

Power of Peer Interaction

Traditionally the interaction between adults and children are viewed as the most important

vehicle for ensuring (a) effective learning, (b) cognitive, moral, and social development, and (c)

socialization into the competencies, attitudes, and values needed to be contributing members of

society. Peer interaction is frequently assumed to be an unhealthy influence, resulting in anti-

social behavior. Theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Erik Erickson, and Jean Piaget, however,

have argued that high-quality peer interaction is essential for cognitive, moral, and social

development, psychological well-being, and academic learning. In a recent meta-analysis, we

demonstrated that positive relationships with classmates accounted about one-third of the

variance in achievement. Not all peer interaction is constructive, of course. To be constructive,

peer interaction needs to occur within a cooperative context. In order to ensure that positive peer

interaction occurs day after day, therefore, schools need to ensure that most instruction is

structured cooperatively.

Learning Together And Alone

The power of cooperative learning lies in the interrelationship among theory, research, and

practice. In our research reviews, we located over 1200 studies with enough data reported to

calculate effect sizes. The studies were conducted from the 1890s to the present. We organized

the findings within the framework of social interdependence theory. In addition, we personally

have conducted over 100 research studies to validate, modify, and refine social interdependence

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theory. From the validated theory we derived practical procedures for implementing cooperative

learning from preschool through graduate school and adult training programs. These practical

procedures are known as “Learning Together and Alone.” We have helped implement our

cooperative learning procedures into schools, universities, businesses, hospitals, and other

settings throughout North, Central, and South America, Europe, Asia, the Pacific Rim, the

Middle East, and Africa. From our experiences implementing cooperative learning, we

discovered shortcomings in social interdependence theory that needed to be corrected, conducted

new research, modified the practical procedures, and implemented the revised procedures in

schools and universities. It is this combination of theory, research, and practice that gives

cooperative learning its strength and longevity.

Social Interdependence Theory

Social interdependence theory has its roots in Gestalt Psychology. Kurt Koffka proposed in

the early 1900s that groups were dynamic wholes in which the interdependence among members

could vary. In the 1930s, Kurt Lewin stated that the essence of a group is the interdependence

among members created by common goals. In the 1940s, Morton Deutsch developed a theory of

cooperation and competition in which he noted that goal interdependence can be positive

(cooperation), negative (competition), or nonexistent (individualistic efforts). Beginning in the

1960s, we have extended and refined social interdependence theory. The basic premise of social

interdependence theory is that the way interdependence is structured determines how individuals

interact, which in turn determines outcomes. Positive interdependence results in promotive

interaction, in which individuals encourage and facilitate each other’s efforts to achieve.

Negative interdependence results in oppositional interaction, in which individuals discourage

and obstruct each other’s efforts to achieve. In the absence of goal interdependence there is no

interaction as individuals work independently. Typically, cooperation tends to promote greater

efforts to achieve, more positive relationships, and greater psychological health than do

competitive or individualistic efforts.

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Three Types of Cooperative Learning

From social interdependence theory, three types of cooperative learning may be derived:

formal cooperative learning, informal cooperative learning, and cooperative base groups. From

these procedures, any lesson, in any curriculum, in any subject area, for any age student, in any

level of schooling, may be structured to be cooperative.

Formal cooperative learning consists of students working together, for one class period to

several weeks, to achieve shared learning goals and jointly complete specific tasks and

assignments. In formal cooperative learning teachers:

1. Make a number of preinstructional decisions to plan and structure the lesson.

2. Explain the task and the positive interdependence to the students.

3. Monitor students' interaction and intervene to provide task or teamwork assistance.

4. Assess and evaluate students' learning, and help students process how well their groups

functioned and how effectively they have been working together.

Informal cooperative learning consists of having students work together to achieve a joint

learning goal in temporary, ad-hoc groups that last from a few minutes to one class period. In

informal cooperative learning groups students engage in three-to-five minute focused discussions

before and after a lecture and two-to-three minute turn-to-your-partner discussions interspersed

every ten to fifteen minutes throughout a lecture. The brief dialogues ensure that students

cognitively process the material being taught.

Cooperative base groups are long-term cooperative learning groups with stable membership

in which members provide the support, encouragement, and assistance they need to make

academic progress and hold members accountable for striving to learn. Typically, cooperative

base groups last for the duration of the semester or year. Base groups meet at the beginning and

end of each class session (or week) to complete academic tasks (such as checking each members’

homework), routine tasks (such as taking attendance), and personal support tasks (such as

providing guidance for writing a paper).

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A typical class session may begin with a base group meeting, followed by a short lecture

utilizing informal cooperative learning, followed by a formal cooperative learning lesson,

followed by another short lecture involving informal cooperative learning, followed by a closing

base group meeting.

These three cooperative learning procedures form the basis for organizing the cooperative

school. At the school level, faculty and staff can meet weekly in teaching teams (base groups),

engage in school-based decision making (formal cooperative learning), and engage in short pair

discussions during presentations at faculty meetings (informal cooperative learning).

Basic Elements That Make Cooperation Work

Not all group efforts are cooperative. It is only when teachers carefully structure five basic

elements into a lesson that cooperative learning truly exists. Through the use of the five basic

elements, teachers become instructional engineers/designers who can take their unique lessons,

curricula, subject areas, courses, and students and (a) structure any lesson cooperatively and (b)

diagnose problems students have in working together and effectively intervene. The five

essential elements are:

1. Positive interdependence, the perception that one is linked with others in a way so that

one cannot succeed unless they do (and vice versa).

2. Individual accountability, assessing the performance of each individual student and

giving the results to the individual and the group.

3. Promotive interaction, students helping, assisting, and supporting, each other's efforts to

learn.

4. Social skills, such as leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and

conflict-management skills.

5. Group processing, group members discussing how well they are achieving their goals

and maintaining effective working relationships.

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Competitive and Individualistic Efforts

From social interdependence theory and our research we have formulated the conditions

under which competition and individualistic efforts may be constructive. Competition tends to

be more constructive when winning is relatively unimportant, all participants have a reasonable

chance to win, and there are clear, specific, and fair rules, procedures, and criteria for winning.

Individualistic efforts tends to be most appropriate when the goal is perceived to be important,

students expect to be successful, the task is unitary and nondivisible, directions for completing

the task are simple and clear, there is adequate space and resources for each student, and what is

accomplished will be used subsequently in a cooperative effort.

What We Know
1. Peer interaction may promote achievement; healthy cognitive, moral, and social development;

and socialization into the competencies, attitudes, and values needed to be contributing

members of society.

2. Constructive peer interaction requires that students should spend most of the day in

cooperative learning groups.

3. Our cooperative learning methods (formal, informal, base groups) were derived from social

interdependence theory and the research that validates it.

4. To be cooperative, a lesson must include positive interdependence, individual accountability,

promotive interaction, the appropriate use of social skills, and group processing.

5. Constructive competitive and individualistic learning may supplement cooperative learning.

6. The interaction among theory, research, and practice makes cooperative learning one of the

strongest instructional procedures available to educators.

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Further Reading
Johnson, D. W, & Johnson R. T. (1981). Student-student interaction: The neglected variable in

education. Educational Researcher, 10(January), 5-10.

Johnson, D. W, & Johnson R. T. (1989). Johnson, D. W, & Johnson R. T. (1989). Cooperation

and Competition: Theory and Research. Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1994). Leading the cooperative school (2nd Ed.). Edina,

MN: Interaction Book Company.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. (2005). New developments in social interdependence theory.

Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, 131(4), 285-358.

Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2009). An educational psychology success story: Social

interdependence theory and cooperative learning. Educational Researcher, 38(5), 365-379.

Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R., & Holubec, E. (2013). Cooperation in the classroom (9th Ed.).

Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.