Benefits Of Cooperative Learning Essay

THE BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTING COOPERATIVE LEARNING IN COLLEGE Since centuries ago, choosing and applying the right method in learning process has become one of the most crucial problem faced in education. Among hundreds teaching methods currently being used, there is no best method to teach. However, it has been generally accepted that a good method to successful learning actively involves students in learning process. Cooperative learning emphasizes the most on the principle of active learning. Therefore, it is justified to say that cooperative learning is beneficial to be implemented on every level of education, particularly in college. The first benefits can be seen in social aspect. The implementation of cooperative learning in college creates …show more content…
Implementing cooperative learning in college confers lots of advantages in academic area. The active exchange of ideas within small groups improves the skills of problem-solving (Laal et al., 2013) and promotes critical thinking (Gokhale, 1995 cited in Laal & Laal, 2012). This kind of exchanging ideas will not happen if the students learn or work in solving a problem on their own. Only by having students working cooperatively will let them exchange ideas each other and therefore enrich their knowledge. The increasing of students’ competence affects directly on their academic achievement. As Johnson et al. (1981) argues that cooperative learning is superior to individualistic efforts in relation with students’ achievement and productivity. Furthermore, over 168 studies conducted between 1924 and 1997, comparing the relative efficacy of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic learning on the achievement of individuals 18 years or older indicate that cooperative learning promotes higher individual achievement than do competitive or individualistic approaches (Johnson et al.,