Nine types of positive interdependence teachers can structure into cooperative activities¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 mixed) · 4 studies (2 review, 1 causal, 1 design), q2–q3 · 0 of 4 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

Digest 4 examines nine types of positive interdependence and how teachers can incorporate them into cooperative learning activities: goal, resource, role, identity, task, reward, outside enemy, environmental, and fantasy interdependence. Goal interdependence requires a group goal all members must reach for the group to succeed; resource interdependence limits shared materials; role interdependence assigns specific roles; task interdependence sequences members' jobs like an assembly line; reward interdependence gives a group-level reward only if the whole group succeeds; and fantasy interdependence embeds the task in simulated life-or-death scenarios. The general recommendation is at least three different types per cooperative activity.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• All properly constructed cooperative activities have goal interdependence
• The general recommendation is that there be at least 3 different types of positive interdependence in every cooperative activity

Constraints¶

• Identity interdependence isn't as strong as some of the other interdependences and shouldn't be relied on by itself
• Outside enemy interdependence can generate bad feelings between groups and spawn negative behaviors associated with competition
• Rewards should not be of any great value and should not be used when activities are already of high interest
• Not all cooperative activities require roles; contrived roles are likely to be trivial or ineffective

Target Learners¶

• elementary and secondary students

Target Goals¶

• sustained cooperation toward shared goals
• individual accountability within groups

Claims¶

• Three practitioner digests report, second-hand, Johnson and Johnson's finding that cooperative learning tends to promote higher achievement than competitive and individualistic learning across ages, subjects, and types of learning [+W]
• Structuring positive interdependence (role, reward, or both) did not affect posttest achievement for undergraduate business majors in asynchronous online small group work [~W]

Related Patterns¶

• Nine key elements structuring a cooperative lesson

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Daniels, Ed; Gatto, Mike. (1996). The Cooperative Companion Digest (No. 1-4). Thinking about the Nature and Power of Cooperative Learning. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED402038