Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy where students work together in small groups to help each other learn. It has benefits like improved learning outcomes for students of varying abilities when working together, the flexibility to be used formally or informally based on lesson needs, and allowing for long-term groups to provide multiple learning opportunities. However, groups need to be small for balanced learning, it risks becoming overused and less effective, and grouping by only one ability may limit opportunities for all students.

1. Cooperative Learning<br />Cooperative learning is a grouping strategy in which students work together to benefit each other’s learning potential.<br />Advantages:<br />Learning benefit- Grouping students with varying ability levels together leads to learning benefits for all.<br />Formal or informal- Groups van be formal or informal based on learning requirements.<br />Learning opportunity- Long-term groups can be developed, creating multiple learning opportunities<br />Content areas- All content areas can be included in group learning opportunities<br />Disadvantage:<br />Size limitation – Groups need to be kept small otherwise learning will not be balanced<br />Potential overuse- As a strategy, cooperative learning can be overused and lose its effectiveness<br />Group member limitations- Grouping by one ability level does not enhance the learning opportunities for all members<br />