Here are five reasons why you must use cooperative group work in your lessons together with some creative ways of grouping your students:

1. There is less incentive for pupils to disrupt the lesson to get your attention because attention is being received naturally – from the other members of the group.

2. Positive peer relationships are developed as a result of pupils helping each other to reach a common goal.

3. Lower achieving pupils gain confidence and motivation by working collaboratively with higher achieving students. The high ability students also benefit through the process of guiding and supporting their fellow group members – their understanding of the material is reinforced.

4. It saves the teacher time. Once students get used to the cooperative learning framework they effectively teach themselves. The teacher is free from constant requests for attention and can give quality support when it is required rather than when it is demanded.

5. Social skills such as self-expression, decision-making, responsibility, accountability, sharing, listening, and conflict management are naturally practiced and developed. This has a knock-on effect of reducing the occurrence of behavior problems brought about due to a lack of these skills.

There are many ways to group students when you’re preparing a group activity. Different types of groupings have different benefits and challenges, so the type you choose depends on various factors. In some cases it might be suitable to allow pupils to pick their own groups but generally it will be up to the teacher to decide which groupings work best for the class and for particular projects.

By: Maria Citadel S. Cantillas | MT-I | Ipag Elem. School | Mariveles, Bataan