Although individual study is important, cooperative learning should be an essential part of a student's study. There are many ways cooperative learning affects' students in a classroom including; creating better supportive relationships, increased communication skills, and the development of higher level thinking.

Hilke (1990) defines cooperative learning as the organizational structure where a group of students work together to pursue academic goals. The goals this type of learning deals with are- to encourage healthy group interaction, develop academic cooperation among students, build student self-esteem, and enhance academic achievement. By having the students work together in small groups the first goal is gradually met, because they are learning to cooperate with others.

When you have several students working together toward a common goal or project it forces them to be accountable, not only for their personal work, but also the groups. This helps not only the students who struggle, but also those who excel because it gives them the opportunity to mentor each other. Self-esteem is built from group activities because the students are allowed to study areas that the

...peer-interactive nature of cooperative learning also appeals to educators as fulfilling an important function in the socialization of students. Teachers frequently voice concern about the socialization of our youth but often do not know how to cultivate the students' social skills as part of their instructional procedures. In the case of the ethnically heterogeneous classroom, for example, the socializing role of cooperative learning is particularly prominent in filling an obvious need (p.287).

Another way teachers can create a cooperative learning environment is to work with cross-age tutors. By having students from other grade levels work with younger students they are allowing the tutor to teach what they have learned, and the student to relate to another closer in age. (Wood, 2000) According to Fitzgerald (2000), in addition to using cross-age tutors a teacher can also use students from the same class or age level, however when doing this they should follow some key suggestions. First the social hierarchy should be considered, and students should be paired with others they feel comfortable. Second as the students work closely together they should be monitored, to see how they are interacting, social skills must also be taught to the class, so they know how to interact with one another. Finally class meeting s can be helpful, because they will allow the students to address problems, likes, and dislikes.

Cooperative learning can be a very helpful tool if used correctly;

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Approximate Word count = 1010
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)