In this action research project of Academy students in Algebra 1 Track 3, I incorporated group work after some lessons and not after others which compared whether the use of group work post the lectures has an effect on their understanding. Through the research, I analyzed the effects of this increased student discourse in regards to the cooperative learning in the classroom. After the research, from clear analysis, it was evident that cooperative learning is effective in the classroom and raises the grades of students. The grades on tests and quizzes are much higher when the students work together in comparison to individual work. Therefore, through this project, I demonstrated the positive effect of group work on the students’ grades, which I previously questioned. Throughout my student teaching, I noticed that students work together at the end of class very often. Hence, I wanted to see if the time that they were using to work was beneficial. Thus, I decided to incorporate structured group work into my lessons, and take some action in researching it’s effectiveness in the classroom. In this action research project, the benefits of cooperative learning are discussed, analyzed, and illustrated along with the potential disadvantages
