Joshua Mirth PARADE, Wisconsin

Cooperative Learning - Con

Definition of Cooperative Learning

Kennesaw State University Education Technology Department,
http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students
of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of
a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for
helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the
assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.

Anecdotal summary of the problem

Jonathan Butcher (researcher who specializes in education issues), “The War Against Excellence”,
The Heritage Foundation, August 10, 2005, http://www.heritage.org/press/commentary/ed081005c.cfm
In a survey of gifted students published in 1994, a sixth-grader from New York did not mince
words when asked about “cooperative learning,” the educational fad that calls for students to
work on assignments in groups.
“Since I always end up doing everything, even when I try to get other people to do things, it is
sort of like working by myself,” she said. “Except my teacher yells at me for doing everything
and not giving anyone else a chance, which I did give … It also takes longer because I have to
wait for everyone to catch up to me.”

1: Ability Gap
Techniques like cooperative learning further the gap between good and bad students.
Jonathan Butcher (researcher who specializes in education issues), “The War Against Excellence”,
The Heritage Foundation, August 10, 2005, http://www.heritage.org/press/commentary/ed081005c.cfm
She considers “heterogeneous grouping” merely the most destructive of these trends. Gifted
students who understand the material don’t find themselves challenged, and students less far
along take a back seat in the project to the more gifted, whom they figure can do the work
quicker and more competently. This, of course, only widens the gap, academically and socially,
between the top students and the rest. Other exercises, such as peer tutoring and cooperative
learning, lead to similar results.

One size fits all curriculum “absurd”, equal opportunity, not outcome
Gregory Stanley (doctorate in history, teacher, author of two history monographs, two novels, and 20
scholarly articles). Lawrence Baines (professor of education at Texas Tech University,author of three
books and sixty articles), “Celebrating Mediocrity? How Schools Shortchange Gifted Students”,

Cooperative Learning - Con 1{5} Cooperative Learning - Con

Joshua Mirth PARADE, Wisconsin

Roeper Review, Fall 2002, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000660059

Perhaps the most sinister force undermining gifted education programs is the re-emergence of the
concept of egalitarianism. In practice, egalitarianism has come to mean that all students should
get the same educational experience. States have spent millions determining baseline
competencies, funding lawsuits have erupted across the nation, and “tracking” has become a
dirty word The one-size-fits-all approach has become de-rigueur in American public schools.
Perhaps a more appropriate definition of equity would stress that all students have an equal
opportunity to actualize their learning potential. Once we can acknowledge that abilities are not
equally distributed, perhaps we can admit that a one-size-fits-all curriculum is absurd.

2: Grade Achievement
Cooperative learning reforms arrest achievement
Jonathan Butcher (researcher who specializes in education issues), “The War Against Excellence”,
The Heritage Foundation, August 10, 2005, http://www.heritage.org/press/commentary/ed081005c.cfm
What’s worse, these “reforms” actually seem to arrest student achievement. The most-recent
report on long-term reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress
tests revealed that overall achievement among 9-year-olds has improved nine points since 1971.
But middle-school students have improved just four points over that period, and high-school
students haven’t improved at all.

Cooperative learning prevents anyone from achieving their potential.

Jonathan Butcher (researcher who specializes in education issues), “The War Against Excellence”,
The Heritage Foundation, August 10, 2005, http://www.heritage.org/press/commentary/ed081005c.cfm
The middle-school reform movement has sabotaged America’s schools, and this intellectual
genocide must be stopped. By attempting to make all students equal, middle-school progressives
have given all students subject to their poisonous methods something in common -- none can
achieve their potential.

CL makes good students teach other students

Gregory Stanley (doctorate in history, teacher, author of two history monographs, two novels, and 20
scholarly articles). Lawrence Baines (professor of education at Texas Tech University,author of three
books and sixty articles), “Celebrating Mediocrity? How Schools Shortchange Gifted Students”,
Roeper Review, Fall 2002, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000660059
Concomitantly, the “evolution” of instructional delivery–the transition of the teacher from sage
to “guide on the side” and the proliferation of cooperative learning strategies–have [has] further
enervated the learning environment for the gifted. With egalitarianism, the teacher becomes more
interested in socialization than learning; the mean becomes more important than the individual
score. When a teacher “teaches to the lower middle,” below average students learn at the target
pace while gifted students become tutors for the slower learners in the group. This “helper
methodology” has become so widespread in public schools that it is now virtually ubiquitous.

Cooperative Learning - Con 2{5} Cooperative Learning - Con

Joshua Mirth PARADE, Wisconsin

Students helping students doesn't help anyone

Gregory Stanley (doctorate in history, teacher, author of two history monographs, two novels, and 20
scholarly articles). Lawrence Baines (professor of education at Texas Tech University,author of three
books and sixty articles), “Celebrating Mediocrity? How Schools Shortchange Gifted Students”,
Roeper Review, Fall 2002, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000660059
Defenders of heterogeneous grouping say that having bright students serve as peer tutors
validates the group experience and builds leadership skills. But do we really produce future
Edisons or Einsteins by forcing them to spend large amounts of their time tutoring students who
have no interest in the material? One veteran advanced placement teacher told us recently, “The
idea that the good student will pull up everyone else in a cooperative setting is a stark falsehood.
What usually happens is that the good student ends up doing the other students’ work.” Is
intellectual development for gifted students being bartered away so that teachers have a cadre of
unpaid tutors at their disposal?

Cooperative Learning characteristics encourage students not to be seen as smart

Gregory Stanley (doctorate in history, teacher, author of two history monographs, two novels, and 20
scholarly articles). Lawrence Baines (professor of education at Texas Tech University,author of three
books and sixty articles), “Celebrating Mediocrity? How Schools Shortchange Gifted Students”,
Roeper Review, Fall 2002, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000660059
A dumbed down curriculum and a heavy reliance on gifted-student-as-tutor has produced another
methodologically-induced disaster— gifted students as wallflowers. Because relatively few
benefits and additional, inglorious responsibilities seem to accrue to those identified as gifted,
many have opted for invisibility. Once a student is identified as gifted, he or she may suffer barbs
from less talented class- mates. Contrary to the contentions of supporters of the new equity, some
oppositional adolescents may not greet help from an intellectually gifted peer with enthusiasm.
In such a setting, gifted earners may see their intelligence as a stigma rather than an asset and act
to camouflage their abilities, an obvious impediment to their intellectual development (Coleman
& Sanders, 1993).

3: Real World Preparation

Not teaching competition leaves students unprepared
John Tierney, “When Every Child Is Good Enough”, The New York Times, November 21, 2004,
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/weekinreview/21tier.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1
In his new book, "Hard America, Soft America," Michael Barone [American political analyst,
pundit and journalist] puts schools in the soft category and warns that they [schools] leave young
adults unprepared for the hard world awaiting them in the workplace. "The education
establishment has been too concerned with fostering kids' self-esteem instead of teaching them to
learn and compete," he said.

Cooperative Learning - Con 3{5} Cooperative Learning - Con

Joshua Mirth PARADE, Wisconsin

Toughen up and get competitive – children can handle it

John Tierney, “When Every Child Is Good Enough”, The New York Times, November 21, 2004,
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/weekinreview/21tier.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1
He sounded very much like Professor Colangelo [Nicholas Colangelo, a professor at the
University of Iowa who is an expert in gifted education], who says that children want to compete
and can cope with defeat a lot better than adults imagine. "Life hurts your feelings," Mr. Bird
said. "I think people whine about stuff too much. C'mon, man, just get up and do it."

4: Motivation
Without competition, there's little interest in school
John Tierney, “When Every Child Is Good Enough”, The New York Times, November 21, 2004,
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/weekinreview/21tier.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1
To some critics, that cooperative philosophy is one reason that so many boys like Dash [from
The Incredibles] are bored at school. "Professors of education think you can improve society by
making people less competitive," said Christina Hoff Sommers, author of "The War Against
Boys" and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. "But [people] males are wired
for competition, and if you take it away there's little to interest them in school."

Teaching for groups leaves good students bored.

Gregory Stanley (doctorate in history, teacher, author of two history monographs, two novels, and 20
scholarly articles). Lawrence Baines (professor of education at Texas Tech University,author of three
books and sixty articles), “Celebrating Mediocrity? How Schools Shortchange Gifted Students”,
Roeper Review, Fall 2002, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000660059
Teaching to the lower middle simply does not provide the level of challenge needed by gifted
students. As a result, the smartest students are often unproductive and bored. Tolan (2001)
compares under-challenged gifted students to cheetahs. A cheetah running forty miles per hour
might be impressive to some observers, but it is drastically underachieving in comparison to its
potential. Similarly, if a cheetah only has to chase after rabbits who run 20 m.p.h., it won’t run 70
m.p.h.

CL strategies obviously don't work, look at sports.

Gregory Stanley (doctorate in history, teacher, author of two history monographs, two novels, and 20
scholarly articles). Lawrence Baines (professor of education at Texas Tech University,author of three
books and sixty articles), “Celebrating Mediocrity? How Schools Shortchange Gifted Students”,
Roeper Review, Fall 2002, http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5000660059
Parents and teachers are quick to notice that the various philosophies that limit the intellectual
growth of gifted students are not to be found on the athletic playing fields. Yet, for the sake of
discussion, what if they did? Suppose that football coaches coached to the middle. Would we
insist that their offensive scheme be simple enough so that even the most intellectually

Cooperative Learning - Con 4{5} Cooperative Learning - Con

Joshua Mirth PARADE, Wisconsin

challenged player could understand? Because star athletes are already more talented, would we
denounce special coaching for them as undemocratic? Would we put the star quarterback with
the third team so he could tutor them while the coach facilitated learning from the sidelines?
Would we insist that everyone should have the right to equal playing time so as not to appear
elitist? Would we allow every team member to play quarterback while insisting that there was no
right or wrong outcome?
The answer to all of these questions is obviously no. We prize excellence in scholastic sports.
Athletics are frequently the highest profile activity in school and most students and teachers do
not object to athletes taking pride in their accomplishments.

Cooperative Learning - Con 5{5} Cooperative Learning - Con