Overcoming the Primitive Brain's Resistance to Cooperation in the Classroom

Opinion: The Great Cooperation Delusion

Cooperative learning, that darling of the progressive pedagogue, is nothing more than a fool's errand masquerading as an innovative approach to education. Despite the glowing rhetoric and idealism of its proponents, the notion that students can set aside their baser instincts and work together in harmonious collaboration has proven time and again to be little more than a pipe dream.

Like hapless lambs to the slaughter, students are herded together and expected to jointly produce projects and solve problems. But underneath the surface of these contrived groupings, the same age-old human impulses hold sway - envy, ego, sloth, and discord. Put young people together and you get anything but cooperation.

To imagine otherwise is to indulge in magical thinking of the highest order. The proponents of cooperative learning inhabit an educational fantasy land removed from the hard truths about human nature. Are we to believe that students who can scarcely sit still for an hour-long class will suddenly become selfless collaborators on a group project? That seems about as likely as lions and lambs pairing up peaceably on the Serengeti.

Even when groups manage to sputter along well enough to complete an assignment, the educational experience is shallow at best. There is no immersion in rigorous solitary work, no confrontation with one's own ignorance, no forced march through difficult material. Students merely divvy up tasks, aggregate work, and call it a day. The notion that deeper learning emerges from this process is laughable.

But the most troubling aspect of the cooperative learning fad is how it coddles young people, shielding them from experiences that might provide essential lessons in dealing with conflict, unfairness and struggle. By engineering artificial scenarios designed to minimize discord, educators deprive students of opportunities to confront life's inevitable challenges. And they implicitly endorse the fantasy that with just enough positive thinking and "teamwork," harsh realities can be banished.

Let us abandon these Pollyannaish notions and return to time-tested approaches that build real character and ability. Students must learn to rely on their own work ethic, initiative and perseverance. Cooperative learning promises easy answers while dodging life's hardest questions. The future demands more rigor, not less. It is time we stop cooperating with the cooperation delusion.

You raise some really important points about the challenges students face today in cooperative and project-based learning environments. The issues you mentioned like group conflict, unclear expectations, lack of negotiation skills, and underdeveloped social skills can definitely contribute to struggles with cooperation.


Food For Thought Moving Forward: 

Dialogue and Discussion
I agree the "primitive brain" or our instinctual responses can also get in the way of cooperation - when we feel threatened or anxious, it's natural to want to either fight, flee or freeze up. Helping students feel psychologically safe to take risks and make themselves vulnerable in group settings is key.

Some ideas that could help:

- Providing more scaffolding and structure around group projects and norms for working together collaboratively

- Teaching conflict resolution skills and having students reflect on their role in the group

- Fostering a classroom culture of psychological safety and belonging

- Starting small with pair work before larger groups to build cooperative skills

- Role playing activities to build negotiation and social skills

- Mindfulness and social-emotional learning to help students manage emotions/instincts

- Checking in regularly with groups and individuals to provide feedback and support

- Rewarding the process not just the end product to incentivize cooperation

The challenges are real, but with patience and intention we can help students develop the skills to work interdependently and have meaningful cooperative learning experiences. What other ideas do you have? Curious to hear more of your thoughts!

You raise a really interesting point about the approach to cooperative learning in Finland's education system. It does seem that starting early to have students work together on challenging, hands-on projects and giving them space to fail and try again helps build critical interdependence, problem-solving and grit/sisu. 

The craft-based learning you mentioned in Finland provides a constructive struggle - one that helps students develop resilience and coping strategies when facing difficulty with others, rather than avoiding teamwork altogether. Allowing setbacks along the way frames struggle as a normal part of the learning process.

This stands in contrast to cooperative learning approaches that shy away from potential conflicts or challenges in an effort to engineer smooth teamwork. While well-intentioned, this could deprive students of opportunities to navigate real interpersonal dynamics and obstacles that are important life skills.

You make a thoughtful point - easy cooperation devoid of struggle may not equip students with the tenacity, empathy and c onflict resolution abilities needed for authentic collaborative problem solving. The Finnish model seems to acknowledge this reality while giving students space to organically develop cooperation as a skill, not just an ideal.

I think you are onto something important here about not shielding young people excessively from productive struggle, failure and conflict. Implemented well, cooperative learning could indeed help build grit and resilience. How can we take lessons from the Finnish approach to better prepare students to handle the inevitable challenges of teamwork? Keen to hear more of your thinking on this.