[HOME] [teacher vistas] [online training] [FAQs] [forums] [resources] [links] [contact us] 12-01-2000 FEATURE ARTICLE Cooperative Learning and Social Skills: What Skills to Teach and How to Teach Them By: Marilyn W. Goodwin Sept 1999, Intervention in School and Clinic, 35, (1) 29-33. Copyright 1999 by PRO-ED, Inc. Cooperative learning strategies can be successful with students of all ages, learning styles, and ethnic backgrounds. However, students who have never been taught the prerequisite social skills cannot be expected to work together effectively. This article links cooperative learning arrangements with social skills instruction to accelerate student learning and to improve students' social relationships. Cooperative learning is a teaching arrangement that refers to small, heterogeneous groups of students working together to achieve a common learning goal and a collaborative relationship among participants (Rich, 1993; S. Sharan & Hertz-Lazarowitz, 1979). In this learning arrangement, small groups of students discuss topics and learn to take charge of their own learning. Team spirit, rather than individual competition, is stressed as students work together. Positive interdependence is the goal of cooperative learning. The success of the group depends on each member attaining both the group learning goal and his or her individual learning goal (Putnam, 1993). Cooperative learning strategies are among the most extensively evaluated alternatives to whole-group instruction; research has shown that academic achievement, intergroup relations, and self-esteem improve for many students as a result of cooperative learning instruction (Slavin, Madden, & Leavy, 1984). An essential component and important prerequisite for academic learning is the teaching of social skills. Social skills encompass communicating, building and maintaining trust, providing leadership, and managing conflicts (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1993). Many teachers often experience failure in implementing cooperative learning strategies with students with learning disabilities because these students may need more training in social skills that promote cooperative learning, such as giving and receiving feedback, listening, and sharing and trusting (Owens, 1986). Because the basic elements of collaboration, cooperation, and problem solving are critical for the workplace of today and tomorrow, efforts should be made to assist all students in developing and maintaining social skills. The purpose of this article is to present information pertaining to social skills instruction in three areas: (a) deciding what social skills to teach, (b) deciding how to teach social skills in cooperative groups, and (c) beginning social skill activities. Click here to view the rest of the article Archived Feature Articles 01-NOV-02 20 Ways To.... Work Effectively with Paraeducators in Inclusive Settings Cathryn G. Riggs 01-APR-02 Three Steps for Gaining Access to the General Education Curriculum for Learners with Disabilities Margaret E. King-Sears 01-DEC-01 Accessing the Curriculum Creating Instructional Rubrics for Inclusive Classrooms Catharine R. Whittaker ? Spencer J. Salend ? Devon Duhaney 01-OCT-01 Responding to Student Concerns about Fairness Ann B. Welch November/December 2000, Teaching Exceptional Children, 33, (2) 36-40. 01-SEP-01 What?s Good? Suggested Resources for Beginning Special Education Teachers By: Sharon A. Maroney 01-JUN-01 Bright Futures for Exceptional Learners: An Action Agenda to Achieve Quality Conditions for Teaching and Learning Reprinted with Permission from CEC Today Online by the Commission on the Conditions for Special Education Teaching and Learning 01-MAR-01 Vocabulary Development: A Collaborative Effort for Teaching Content Vocabulary SUSAN S. JOHNSTON, BETH L. TULBERT, JOAN P. SEBASTIAN, 01-FEB-01 Tips for Communicating Academic Progress DR. JANE B. PEMBERTON, Assistant Professor of Special Education 01-JAN-01 The Good Student Game: Behavior Management for Diverse Classrooms ALLISON E. BABYAK, GAYLE J. LUZE, AND DEBRA M. KAMPS 01-DEC-00 Cooperative Learning and Social Skills: What Skills to Teach and How to Teach Them By: Marilyn W. Goodwin 01-NOV-00 Strategies and Resources to Evaluate the Impact of Inclusion Programs on Students By: Spencer J. Salend, Associate Professor of Special Education 01-OCT-00 Planning High Quality Assignments in Diverse Classrooms By: Joyce A. Rademacher, Associate Professor of Special Education 01-SEP-00 Boldly Going Where Angels Fear to Tread By: KAREN D. HOWELLS 01-AUG-00 Myths and Misunderstandings about Professional Collaboration By Marilyn Friend  Back to this month's feature article
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