**5. Basic elements of cooperative learning lessons**

Five basic elements for designing cooperative learning lessons have been derived from Social Interdependence theory and Structure-Process-Outcome theory and the research on social interdependence. The five basic elements that are required in any cooperative learning lesson are: positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, social skills, and group processing.

Positive interdependence is the heart of cooperative efforts. Students must perceive that (a) they are linked with groupmates in a way so that they cannot succeed unless their groupmates do (and vice versa) and (b) groupmates' work benefits them and their work benefits their groupmates [10]. Positive interdependence among students must be structured into the lesson for it to be cooperative. While every lesson must contain positive goal interdependence, positive interdependence may also be structured through mutual rewards, distributed resources, complementary roles, a mutual identity, and other methods of structuring positive interdependence.

Each group member is individually accountable to contribute his or her fair share of the group's work. Individual accountability exists when the performance of each individual student is assessed and the results are given back as feedback to the group and the individual [10]. Individual accountability includes completing one's share of the work and facilitating the work of other group members. A purpose of cooperative learning is to make each group member a stronger individual. There is considerable group-to-individual transfer. Students learn together so that they can subsequently perform higher as individuals. Individual accountability may be structured by (a) observing students as they work together and documenting the contributions of each member, (b) having each student explain what they have learned to a classmate, or (c) giving an individual test to each student.

Students promote each other's success by helping, assisting, praising, encouraging, and supporting each other's efforts to learn [10]. Doing so results in such cognitive processes as discussing the nature of the concepts being learned, orally explaining to others how to solve problems, teaching one's knowledge to classmates, challenging each other's reasoning and conclusions, and connecting present with past learning. Promotive interaction also includes interpersonal processes such as supporting and encouraging efforts to learn, jointly celebrating the group's success, and modeling appropriate use of social skills.

Contributing to the success of a cooperative effort requires interpersonal and small group skills. In cooperative learning groups, students are expected to use social skills appropriately [10]. Leadership, trust-building, communication, decision-making, and conflict-management skills have to be taught just as purposefully and precisely as academic skills. How to teach students social skills is the focus of Johnson [21] and Johnson and Johnson [20].

Finally, students need to engage in group processing. Group processing may be defined as the examination of the effectiveness of the process members use to maximize their own and each other's learning, so that ways to improve the process may be identified [10]. Group members need to (a) describe what member actions are helpful and unhelpful in ensuring that all group members (a) achieve and maintain effective working relationships, (b) decide what behaviors to continue or change and (c) celebrate group members' hard work and success [22].

These five basic elements are the educator's best resource. They enable instructors to (a) structure for cooperative learning any lesson in any subject area with any set of curriculum materials, (b) fine-tune and adapt cooperative learning to their specific students, needs, and circumstances, and (c) intervene in malfunctioning groups to improve their effectiveness. These five essential elements allow instructors to structure any lesson for student activeness and engagement. It is only when these five aspects are carefully structured in a lesson that the lesson becomes truly cooperative and students become active and engaged.
