25 Years of the IASCE

Yael Sharan

In the 1970s, the work of many pioneering educational researchers, teachers, and teacher educators centered on the re-emerging field of cooperative learning. They had the opportunity to present their work to one another in 1979, at the first international conference on cooperative learning. To ensure the continued exchange of their ideas and experiences, they established the International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education (IASCE). The 1979 conference was the first of IASCE's typically biennial international conferences, and also the beginning of the Association's newsletter, that has consistently gathered and broadcast information about current research and practice of cooperative learning. By now, copies of the first typewritten issues of the newsletter have yellowed, yet they clearly testify to the breadth of the Association from its beginning. In Vol. 1, Number 2, March 1980, Shlomo Sharan, IASCE's first secretary and later its president, listed members of the Association who attended the founding conference in Tel Aviv. They came from countries such as Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, the Philippines, Mexico, England, and Israel to present their work. From the United States came other educators, who combined research and practice, among them Richard Schmuck, Robert Slavin and Nancy Madden, Spencer Kagan, Elliot Aronson, and Neil Davidson. At the second conference, Elizabeth Cohen and others joined the Association. Through the efforts of IASCE members and many others, cooperative learning went on to become the most thoroughly researched educational practice. In the 80s and 90s, when the effects of their work had taken root, several researchers, such as David and Roger Johnson, Spencer Kagan, and Robert Slavin, created their own prolific organizations. A parallel development at this time was the creation of regional chapters, who encouraged and strengthened the application of research findings to local needs. The first one was founded in California – the California Association for Cooperation in Education (CACIE, which lasted several years), followed by the Great Lakes Association for Cooperation in Education (GLACIE) and the Mid-Atlantic Association for Cooperation in Education (MACIE). Utah and Ohio also had regional chapters for a while. The network of educators who contributed to the growth of the field broadened as other organizations concerned with cooperative learning were established elsewhere as well. The newsletter became a glossy magazine, ably edited by Liana Forest and Ted Graves. Another look at the March 1980 newsletter reveals the full table of contents of Cooperation in Education, the book that incorporated papers and abstracts from the first conference. Several chapters describe different cooperative learning methods, mainly of a generic nature. Since then, the focus of research and practice has been in constant flux: from the effectiveness of specific methods, to the application of methods to various content areas, to the combination of methods to promote more general educational goals, to cooperative learning in staff development and school organization, and to teacher education for cooperative learning. All these issues still engage IASCE members. Throughout the years, IASCE members have been among those at the forefront of the evolvement of cooperative learning, e.g., contributing to books that mark progress in the field, such as the recent Professional Development for Cooperative Learning - Issues and Approaches (1998), and Teaching Cooperative Learning: The Challenge for Teacher Education (2004). In 1979, the international base of the Association was set and is still expanding. IASCE now boasts members from many parts of the world, including Asia and Eastern Europe. For instance, a new IASCE chapter was recently formed in Japan. Wherever educators seek ways to enhance students' responsibility for their learning, and teachers seek to refine their ability to create an interactive and nurturing learning environment, they draw on the power of cooperative learning, and on the experience of IASCE members. IASCE members continue to publish books and articles that report on their diverse contributions to the development of cooperative learning. Our conferences continue to serve as a platform for the fertile exchange of ideas about theory and practice in the field. In honor of IASCE's 25th birthday, a collection of articles originally published in the newsletter in 2002 - 2004 will be included in the CD-ROM of proceedings of the Singapore conference. In these articles, several IASCE members candidly write about how and why cooperative learning developed in their respective countries. In introducing, implementing, and disseminating cooperative learning, they encountered problems familiar to all, yet their solutions are varied and will remind readers that there is always much to learn from the creativity and determination of educators all over the world.

Happy 25^th Birthday to IASCE!