Cooperative Learning as a Support for Inclusion in a 3rd Grade Classroom: Collaborative Teacher Work

Abstract

Cooperative learning is considered one of the strategies that contribute to the improvement of learning for all students. However, implementing it in the classroom faces difficulties to promote the real participation and learning of all. With the purpose of supporting cooperative learning teams, we present one session in which 6 teachers, 3 researchers and a training advisor collaboratively analyse classes as part of the project “Collaboration among Teachers in the Development of Cooperative Learning for the Inclusion of the Most Vulnerable Students”. This is a cooperative learning team belonging to a 3rd grade primary school classroom in in the province of Castellón (Spain). In the classroom there is a student who experiences significant difficulties in communication and learning. Through the process of collaborative work of teachers from four schools, improvement proposals for inclusion are built. The main phases carried out in the collaborative analysis following an action research process are presented. The conclusions show some criteria of cooperative learning for inclusion, focusing on adjustments to the structures of cooperative learning and peer support, as well as criteria and guidelines for the collaborative work of teachers.