Learning how to work together as a group is one of the key components of a cooperative classroom. In order to help develop this skill in your students, regularly assign them to work on assignments in small groups or pairs. Make sure that you keep the groups constantly in flux so that students get used to working with different people. The assignments can range from group projects to daily homework to classroom exercises. Whatever types of assignments you choose, the important thing to remember about this strategy is that group work forces students to learn how to listen to others' ideas, think critically about alternative solutions, and generate ideas as opposed to only receiving ideas.
Without clearly defined rules a classroom cannot expect to become cultured. Rules help lay the groundwork for achieving lofty goals such as culture, so it is imperative that you run a class that obeys the rules and recognizes that following the rules will ultimately benefit them. Successful classrooms depend on students who feel compelled to respect each other. One of the most effective ways to induce students to follow the rules is to give them an incentive to do so. Some of the ways to do this are to award students bonus points or homework passes for exceptional behavior. To better establish cooperation and culture with the entire class, predicate your rewards on the entire class' behavior rather than on individual students' behavior.
The cultured classroom becomes cultured when it can successfully meet its responsibilities. One of the best ways to challenge your class with more responsibility is through a class pet. A class pet will teach students how to delegate responsibility equally amongst each other to complete tasks necessary to keep the pet alive and well. If the class is to become truly cooperative and cultured, responsibilities such as feeding and cleaning out a holding tank cannot go unfulfilled.
While guest speakers do not necessarily add much in the way of building cooperation, they do help build character and culture among your students. Guest speakers help teach students how to persevere through hardship and never give up. Besides being inspirational, guest speakers provide students with informative information regarding careers or social issues, for example. Invite a guest to speak to your class at least once a month to to help build their cultural awareness.