Cooperative Learning the Social Learning Experience

This week in Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology, the idea of cooperative learning as a social learning experience was explored. Social learning theory basis itself on the idea that learning occurs in a social context. That is that students learn from each other. Cooperative learning is an extension of this ideal in that students are learning together by working on a group goal or project to display their comprehension of the topic.
In this social learning environment of cooperative learning, students are engaged in a groups activity that addresses a preset objective. In these groups common characteristics that might be noticed are that students are more likely to be encouraged to complete tasks, students are more readily able to assist one another, their motivation in terms of thoughts about the concept will be increased, and often times there is much discussion as well as debate about the topic. In this cooperative learning environment it is important to see the majority, if not all, of these characteristics presents because the group itself is not just given a grade for the objective but also each group member is graded on their comprehension and contribution to the learning environment.