Cooperative activity and its potential for learning in tertiary education

Abstract

A learning situation can be structured in different ways, as an individual, competitive, or cooperative activity. Each of these structures can be used for different purposes and can lead to different learning outcomes. This paper focuses on cooperative activity and its potential for learning in tertiary education. After defining cooperative activity (or, in a broader sense, learning in interaction) and introducing the CAMS theoretical framework to analyse cooperative activity, the main discussion focuses on the theoretical reasons for the usefulness of group learning and on the research of effects of cooperative learning on cognitive (metacognitive), affective-motivational and social processes in university students. The key elements that should be established for successful cooperation are also discussed. At the end, a new direction in using cooperative activity in learning—computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL), which emerged with rapid technology development in the last two decades—is presented and discussed.

Keywords

• cooperative activities
• cooperative learning
• CAMS model
• computer assisted collaborative learning
• higher education