I like to consider my classroom as a partnership with the students. So this year (my first year), the students were able to choose their own teams for cooperative learning and lab activities. This worked out in some cases, but there are teams that don’t seem to get much accomplished. They’re often off-task and unfocused. Should I switch to assigning students to teams?  —C., Illinois

Your goal of establishing partnerships with the students is a good one. But as the adult responsible for safety, curriculum, and providing an appropriate learning environment, you are the majority partner. (Actually, in terms of safety, you should be a benevolent dictator!)

Questions about cooperative learning groups appear frequently in NSTA e-mail lists and discussion forums. Questions about group composition and interaction of student personalities frequently arise. Most teachers would agree there is no single “best” way to set up groups.

• You could use random assignment. As the students work in these groups, you can observe how combinations of personalities work: who are the leaders, the slackers, the thinkers, the doers, the organizers, and the creators; which students need closer supervision; which combinations of students’ personalities clash, and which students struggle with the activities.

• I personally hesitated to use student-selected groups. Usually, friends wanted to work with friends socially, and I was concerned about the students who were selected last or not at all (remembering my own experiences as a non-athlete at recess). I was also concerned students wouldn’t learn how to work with a variety of people. But recognizing the need for students to have a voice in the classroom, I tried a variation in which students could give me a note with the name of one person they would like to work with, without consulting each other. I then structured the groups to try to accommodate their choices, with no guarantees. I had input, too, based on my observations.

• Some teachers suggest grouping students by ability. I’m not sure how to determine science “ability”—I suspect teachers use factors such as reading or math test scores, grades, work habits, or behavior. I found that heterogeneous grouping worked best for my classes most of the time. Once I did put four slackers together. After a while they realized that they did not have much accomplished, and no one was going to bail them out! And sometimes if I had multiple students intensely interested in one topic, I would have them work together.

• There are other student variables to consider. Depending on your students, you many find single-gender groups provide more opportunities for student participation. If your class includes special education students, check with their teachers to determine their needs in terms of their Individual Education Plans.

Perhaps the issue is not the structure of the groups but whether students know how to work cooperatively.

Setting roles is a key component of cooperative learning so the students share responsibility for learning. The roles may vary from task to task: group leader, presenter, data recorder, measurer, equipment manager, liaison (to ask questions of the teacher or other teams), artist, online researcher, questioner, timekeeper, notetaker. Have job descriptions for each role (as checklists or on the bulletin board), and ask students to describe how they and their teammates did their jobs (this could be a exit activity). Rotate the roles so that students have a variety of experiences. Be sure each student understands his or her role.

To keep the groups focused and on-task, students should understand the expectations for the project or investigation. Share the rubric ahead of time. Monitor the groups as they work and provide feedback, and eavesdrop on their discussions and observe their interactions (this can be a formative assessment.

You may have students who struggle with interpersonal skills. Start with brief and highly structured activities. Model what cooperative behavior “looks like,” and work with them on what types of language is appropriate in their groups. Remember, there are times when cooperative learning is effective, times when large group instruction is appropriate, and times when you want students working independently.

So if your current strategy is not facilitating student learning, you should change it and discuss your reasons with the students. This is a great opportunity for action research as you try different configurations or guidelines and note which ones seem to work better for your students.

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