For the effective implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD),
appropriate teaching-learning strategies need to be carefully selected and used. Cooperative
Learning (CL) is a well-studied strategy that has been found effective across various
academic levels and subjects. CL refers to a method of instruction whereby students work
together in groups to reach common goals. In contrast to the conventional method where
students work individually or competitively, with CL students help one another and benefit
from sharing ideas. CL subsumes a large variety of techniques suitable for different
educational situations. This paper presents an account of an action research where CL was
found effective in teaching science in a school. Many research studies and a meta-analysis
show that the wide-ranging benefits of CL include improved individual achievement and the
development of social skills among learners. In developing countries like India, a land full of
diversities, purposive use of CL can help strengthen the base of democracy. This in turn can
help the initiation and sustenance of ESD. In India the use of group learning methods has
long been advocated, but its implementation is subject to the choices of individual teachers
and institutions.
This paper puts forth the case for intentional and systematic inclusion of CL strategies in the
formal education system for the better implementation of ESD in India.