What is the name of a teaching strategy that uses small teams with students of different ability levels and varied activities to improve understanding?

• A. Cooperative Learning
• B. Parallel Teaching
• C. Co-teaching
• D. Complementary Teaching

Answer: (A)

Cooperative learning centers on students working in small, mixed-ability teams with tasks that require collaboration to understand the material. The idea is that diverse strengths within a group help everyone grasp the content as team members explain concepts to one another and support different ways of thinking. Structured elements keep the work moving: each member has a role and a clear responsibility, tasks are designed to require interdependence so the group succeeds together, and students discuss and reflect on their process to solidify learning. This combination—heterogeneous groups, varied activities, and built-in interdependence—best fits the description of using small teams and multiple ways to engage with the material to improve understanding.