Chapter 9: Cooperative Learning as Critical Culturally Sustaining/Responsive Pedagogy

It is well documented that pedagogical and ideological differences exist among educators who are tasked with ensuring that all learners, including those from nondominant cultures, have equal opportunity to benefit from effective teaching practices (Delpit, 2006; Gay, 2000, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995, 2009, 2014; Singleton, 2015). Issues related to culture, language, demographics, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic status, and exceptionalities have been considered part of the diversity debate for decades, and still marginalization and exclusion of diverse learners exist in classrooms.

In this chapter, we propose that cooperative learning. Do not alternate between spelling out the term and abbreviating it.) is a learner-centered, high-leverage instructional strategy where teams of students work together for the primary purpose of increasing mastery of course content (Algozzine, Henley, & Ramsey, 2009). Cooperative learning also checks off every box in terms of meeting the academic needs of all students. It is a strategy that values difference and can assist educators in transforming diversity into a vital resource that promotes acquisition of challenging content and critical thinking skills. It also provides a supportive and interactive learning environment where higher order thinking skills are stimulated and maximized in a low-risk setting (Marzano, 2007). In such environments, students find themselves in positions of positive interdependence (Algozzine et al., 2009)—that is, “if I succeed, you succeed” and “we’re all in this together”—which assists their development as strategic, self-directed learners.