'A very important contribution … It integrates contributions from developmental, educational, and social psychology … (providing) a basis for understanding the principles and processes that are involved in cooperative interaction in diverse educational and organizational settings.' Morton Deutsch

• Introduction: an overview of the theoretical anatomy of cooperation in the classroom Rachel Hertz-Lazarowitz, Valerie Benveniste Kirkus and Norman Miller; Part I. Developmental Foundations and the Social Construction of Knowledge: 1. From convention to invention: three approaches to peer interaction during writing Sarah J. McCarthey and Susan McMahon; 2. Cooperative problem solving: a link to inner speech Barbara L. Bershon; 3. Children's instrumental help seeking: its role in the social acquisition and construction of knowledge Sharon Nelson-LeGall; Part II. Social Skills and Classroom Factors Influencing Peer Interactions: 4. Understanding interactive behaviours: looking at six mirrors of the classroom Rachel Hertz-Lazarowitz; 5. Testing a theoretical model of student interaction and learning in small groups Noreen M. Webb; 6. Scripted cooperation in student dyads: a method for analysing and enhancing academic learning and performance Angela M. O'Donnell and Donald F. Danscreau; Part III. The Effects of Task and Reward Structure on Academic Achievement: 7. When and why does cooperative learning increase achievement: theoretical and empirical perspectives Robert E. Slavin; 8. Positive interdependence: key to effective cooperation; Part IV. Factors Influencing the Promotion of Positive Intergroup Relations: 9. Social categorisation and intergroup acceptance: Principles for the design and development of cooperative learning teams Norman Miller and Hugh J. Harrington; 10. The impacts of role reversal and minority empowerment strategies on decision-making in numerically unbalanced cooperative groups Geoffrey M. Maruyama, Sharon Knechel and Renec Peterson; Conclusion: cooperative interaction: implications of current research for classroom application Rachel Hertz-Lazarowitz, Valerie Benveniste Kirkus and Norman Miller.