Pioneering Perspectives in Cooperative Learning Theory, Research, and Classroom Practice for Diverse Approaches to CL

Offering first-hand insights from the early originators of Cooperative Learning (CL), this volume documents the evolution of CL, illustrating its historical and contemporary research, and highlights the personal experiences which have helped inspire and ground this concept. Each of the chapters in Pioneering Perspectives in Cooperative Learning foregrounds a key approach to CL, and documents the experiences, research, and fruitful collaborations which have shaped and driven their development. Contributions from leading scholars include Aronson, Davidson, Kagan, Johnson & Johnson, Schmuck, the Sharans, Slavin and Madden, as well as retrospective pieces on the work of Deutsch and Cohen. These chapters detail the historical development of cooperative learning, cooperation versus competition, and cover major approaches including the jigsaw classroom; complex instruction; the learning together model, and several more. Chapters include qualitative, personal, and retrospective accounts, whereby authors outline the research and theory which underpins each approach while highlighting practical strategies for classroom implementation. This text will primarily be of interest to professors, researchers, scholars, and doctorial students with an interest in the theory of learning, educational research, and educational and social psychology more broadly. Practitioners of CL with an interest in varied forms of small group learning and classroom practice, as well as those interested in the history and sociology of education, will also benefit from the volume.

Chapter 1. Introduction to Pioneering Perspectives in Cooperative Learning Neil Davidson Chapter 2. The Legacy of Morton Deutsch: Theories of Cooperation, Conflict, and Justice Laurel Stevahn Chapter 3. Learning Together and Alone: The History of Our Involvement in Cooperative Learning David W. Johnson and Roger T. Johnson Chapter 4. Complex Instruction for Diverse and Equitable Classrooms: In Loving Memory of Elizabeth Cohen Rachel A. Lotan and Nicole Holthuis Chapter 5. The Structural Approach and Kagan StructuresSpencer Kagan Chapter 6. Student Team Learning and Success for All: A Personal History and Overview Robert E. Slavin and Nancy A. Madden Chapter 7. The Jigsaw Classroom: A Personal Odyssey into a Systemic National Problem Elliot Aronson Chapter 8. Design for Change: A Teacher Education Project for Cooperative Learning and Group Investigation in Israel Yael Sharan and Shlomo Sharan Chapter 9. About Richard Schmuck’s Contributions to the Study of Organization Development and Cooperation in Education Richard Arends, Neil Davidson, and Richard Schmuck Chapter 10. Cooperative Learning in Mathematics and Beyond Neil Davidson Chapter 11. Synthesis of CL approaches and a multi-faceted rationale for CL – past, present, and future Neil Davidson

Neil Davidson is Professor Emeritus of Teaching and Learning at the University of Maryland, US.