Cooperative learning for the inclusion of the most vulnerable students

The purpose of this project is to identify and gather evidence on how collaborative processes and strategies among teachers to develop educational practices in cooperative learning teams contribute to the inclusion of the most vulnerable students. In this way, we aim to help respond to some of the immediate challenges facing our country's educational policies in order to promote the inclusion of all students.

The research carried out by the Research Group on Diversity in Education (GRAD) at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia, on Projects 2006-2010 and 2015-2019, have made it possible to develop the CA/AC Program (Cooperate to Learn/Learn to Cooperate), to develop a process of support for numerous and various types of centers, and to create the Khelidon Network of centers for cooperative learning with more than 60 centers in constant reflection and innovation on how cooperative learning can contribute to cohesion, inclusion, and equity. The research reports on the development of the 2015-2020 Project highlighted the relevance of two dimensions of the CAAC Program's development that seem to require further investigation: collaboration among teachers for the development of cooperative learning and support for eliminating barriers to the inclusion of the most vulnerable students in cooperative learning teams. These two topics, which are also the subject of other international and national research, have prompted a process of reflection within GRAD, which has led to a seminar developed by the Khelidon Group.

Cooperative learning to eliminate barriers with teachers from 11 schools and institutes during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years, during which some strategies and tools have been developed that seem useful for teachers and that we consider appropriate to validate. The research seeks to validate, expand, and develop the knowledge acquired through a triangulation process with three working teams from centers in Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, and Valencia (Castellón) over two academic years.

The overall objective of the research would be to compare, generate, and validate tools and strategies for collaboration among teachers in the analysis of inclusive educational practices in cooperative learning teams, enabling the development of educational materials and proposals for peer support that contribute to improving the presence, participation, and learning of the most vulnerable students and their inclusion in the team, in the classroom, and in the school.

To develop the project, a research team has been set up with three researchers from the GRAD at the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia and three researchers from the University of the Basque Country and the Jaume I University of Castelló, as well as three working teams with training managers and teachers from centers in the four autonomous communities where there are permanent seminars or training courses on the use of cooperative learning.