Cooperative Learning - NIE Digital Repository - National Institute of ...

Cooperative Learning and Service-Learning 87in the exchange of ideas at the same time, rather than one student at atime being called on by the teacher. Equal participation seeks to ensurethat these participating students will not always be the same more talkativeones. Finally, individual accountability puts pressure, cushioned bygroup support, on students to utilize the participation opportunitiesprovided. In this way, cooperative learning, a generic methodologyapplicable to all types of students and content areas, can increase theeffectiveness of service-learning endeavours.5. Positive interdependence (Johnson and Johnson, 1999) lies at the heart ofcooperative learning and was essential to the success of the Sikkim project.Service-learning allows students to live the idea that in this world inwhich we are connected in myriad ways to our fellow humans and theother organisms with whom we share the planet, we all benefit by helpingone another. Service-learning, thus, supplies real substance to thisappreciation of global positive interdependence. All too often, educationabout various global issues results in nothing more than additional hotair expelled (figuratively worsening global warming) and more treeschopped down for paper (literally worsening deforestation). In otherwords, global topics receive "academic" treatment in the negative senseof that term. In contrast, service-learning allows students to put theirconcern for others into action.6. In this way, service-learning invigorates cooperative learning. Althoughthe cooperative learning principle of cooperation as a value moves from the"how" of teaching methodology to address the "what" of students' studies,values are meaningless if they do not translate into behaviours.Furthermore, behaviours can reinforce values. Here, we see most clearlythe interface of cooperative learning and service-learning.DiscussionThis paper has presented the argument that service-learning and cooperativelearning fit well together and that the combination of the two strengthenseach. The paper began with an account of a service-learning project inwhich NIE teacher-trainees collaborated with people in Sikkim. The actualizationof cooperative learning principles helped increase the project'slevel of success. Then, connections between cooperative learning andservice-learning were explored on a more abstract level.