The same students, with the same amount of rewards and the same time limit, would be either very competitive or very cooperative, depending on the situation. Students would feel themselves on the same side, part of a cooperative group.

They might help each other scoop up the coins or hand their coins to others to put in the basket. Quite probably students would cooperate to maximize their reward. What would the behavior of the students look like now? Almost certainly the students would gather coins and run to put them in the basket. The teacher announces that at the end of the 3 minutes, all the coins that are placed back in the basket will be divided equally among the students for them to keep. Situation 2: Now imagine the same teacher, the same students, the same basket of coins, and the same 3-minute timer, but with one change. Students would feel themselves to be in competition. What would the behavior of the students look like? Almost certainly there would be some grabbing and even pushing in the scramble to compete for the coins. The teacher then tosses the coins out into the classroom. The teacher then says any coin a student collects during the 3 minutes is theirs to keep. The teacher announces to the class he/she will start a 3-minute timer and then toss all the coins out into the classroom. Imagine further the teacher stands before the class with a basket of valuable coins. Situation 1: Imagine a classroom of students. The easiest way to grasp the power of situations to determine behavior is a simple thought experiment. Given the right situations in a classroom, we can promote cooperation, and achievement. The power of situational variables to control behavior also can work for good.

Two classic experiments demonstrated that given specific situational variables, good people will perform terrible things-administer lethal shocks, invent and carry out sadistic punishments.

There is a great deal of psychological research demonstrating that situations determine behavior. How we structure the interaction among students determines how much they will achieve, the size of the achievement gap, how much they will like school and learning, and how often they engage in positive v. Applying this principle, we can structure the interaction of students in ways that improve a range of educational outcomes. To a remarkable extent, the situations we are in determine our behavior. Simply telling students to “Turn and Talk” increases the achievement gap having students do a “Timed Pair Share” equalizes participation and reduces the gap. How we structure the interaction among students impacts dramatically on achievement and acquisition of social skills. Cooperative Learning Structures, San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing.

Cooperative learning structures kagan