Cooperative Learning in Physical Education: Initial Challenges and Developmental Proposals

Abstract

This article is part of a thesis that studies efficiency factors of Cooperative Learning in Physical Education. The objective is to present the results of a review about constraints faced by teachers who use this strategy and, in addition, show how it can be used progressively and effectively in PE classes. A bibliographic review was conducted revealing challenges faced by teachers who use Cooperative Learning strategies. The review included searches in the following databases in late 2018:

Teseo, Google Scholar, Dialnet, EBSCOhost, Scopus and Web of Science. Results show that when using this strategy, certain difficulties may arise which we classified into seven categories: 1) Lack of student skills and experience; 2) Previous negative experience of the student; 3) Lack of training among the teachers; 4) Organizational problems at the school; 5) Family opposition; 6) Teacher cannot control classroom behavior; and 7) Unrealistic teacher expectations. Two proposals for executing the Cooperative Learning in PE were found to be progressive and effective. They set variables that influence cooperative learning as well as the necessary conditions to minimize or resolve problems at the onset: The Motor Coopedagogy Approach (Velázquez, 2014, 2015b, 2018), and the Cooperative Learning Cycle (Iglesias, González and Fernández, 2017).