Cooperative Learning Issues - Essay Example

The fact is, cooperative learning has many advantages but there are disadvantages as well.

Working in groups can be powerful because the group can provide more experiences, insight, and ideas than most individuals can create on their own. Multiple points of view and a variety of talents make working in groups a very productive experience. Instead of spending time tracking down information about the task, it is very possible that an individual on the team already knows about it. Cooperative learning also allows a sharing of the workload that can be divided among the members according to their talent or preference.

There are some real drawbacks to group work. One possibility is the danger of having group members that are lazy or unreliable. Having a team member that refuses to take on a fair share of the work or never produces their work on time can derail the project for everyone. What usually happens is everyone else picks up the slack for this person. This rewards the individual for being slothful because they receive the same grade as everyone else. Another problem with cooperative learning is a strong personality can come to dominate the group. Some people have a strong desire to control others. Working with people like this in a group can be very discouraging. This was my experience in high school. By the end of the project, we all felt bullied by the assigned team leader. Our work was of poor quality and we nearly failed the assignment because we were all intimidated.