Effective classroom climates promote learning. Classroom climates that enable students to learn effectively provide structure, warmth and support. Mistakes are treated as learning opportunities, questions are encouraged and support from peers is critical. An effective classroom environment is not only a physical setting, but it is also a psychological home base for students' improvement in critical thinking, task learning, and information retention. Effective classrooms all feature positive relationship development, students' personal development, and skilled management by the teacher where expectations are clearly communicated and understood.
Cooperative learning places individual learners in small groups to foster a sense of interdependence and teamwork and to increase individual performance. Different types of groups and learning formats exist, but all place equal responsibility on each member of the group to distinguish cooperation from individual, competitive learning. Cooperative learning is not simply having students work in groups or sit next to one another to discuss material, it is a teaching approach that enables learners to teach and be responsible to each other.
Positive classroom environments dramatically increase the likelihood that collaborative learning strategies can be effectively implemented. To create effective environments for learning, teachers should establish high expectations that are applied equally to all students. These expectations should be expressed with friendliness, compassion, openness to students' questions and needs and enthusiasm on the part of the teacher. Teacher participation may also help with the development of students' social skills, which are critical to creating a comfortable atmosphere.
Cooperative learning approaches may begin with physical placement of students. Round tables or desks arranged in circles can help facilitate student interaction. Another key element is the establishment of roles. For example, one student may be a record keeper, another may be a presenter, another may be a manager and so on. The goal is for students to understand that their performance is dependent on the group's performance, that they cannot succeed without the group and the group cannot succeed without them.