Inclusive classrooms and cooperative learning

Abstract

Inclusive education and cooperative learning are two different approaches which are nevertheless closely related: the inclusive classroom needs tasks structured cooperatively and, conversely, transmitting cooperative values and ideas demands the classroom to be inclusive. The transition from either individualistic and/or competitive tasks to cooperative structures is a key element when trying to deal with all the students in a single, common classroom. As a result of the PAC project –carried out by the Universitat de Vic’s Grup d’Investigació sobre Atenció a la Diversitat (Research Team on School Diversity), we offer teachers of all stages a set of tools that encourage students to learn as a team. The PAC project also includes a programme for the training and coaching of teachers so that cooperative learning can be introduced in the classroom. A significant number of schools from different parts of Spain are currently undergoing this programme and are gathering data which, once analysed, may serve to confirm the hypothesis of our research project: the transition from an individualistic or competitive structure to a cooperative structure in the inclusive classroom ultimately causes all the students to learn and progress together, regardless of their educational needs or ethnic backgrounds.