Design and validation of a questionnaire to assess cooperative learning in educational contexts

The goal of the present study was to design and validate an instrument to assess the basic elements of cooperative learning, as well as a cooperation index. 11.202 primary education (grades 5, 6), secondary education and baccalaureate students (5.838 males, 5.364 females) from 68 different schools in 62 cities all over Spain agreed to participate. The age range was 11-18 years. The participating students had experienced several cooperative learning techniques during the last six months. The first version of the questionnaire was assessed by a group of experts. A pilot study with 60 students similar to the target sample was conducted on the second version of the instrument. The final version underwent several statistical tests. The Cooperative Learning Questionnaire included five subscales: Promotive Interaction, Positive Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Group Processing and Interpersonal skills. Factorial and confirmatory analysis showed that all reliability indices were acceptable, even under the most difficult conditions. The questionnaire showed adequate convergent, discriminant and concurrent validity. Results showed that it is an easy instrument to assess all the basic elements of cooperative learning in primary, secondary and baccalaureate students and obtain a global cooperation factor.