2.2 Theoretical Basis of the Research源'自:751-'论.文'网"]www.751com.cn

     According to the literatures at home and abroad, it is found that the theoretical basis of cooperative learning is very massive and scientific. It covers a wide range of content. In general, cooperative learning is based on the theory of constructivism, motivational theory, and theory of social cohesiveness. 

 Constructivism, a learning theory, became very popular in the Euro-American countries in the late 1980s. It has been exerting great influence on every field of every subject at an accelerating speed, especially making a tremendous impact on education. The basic precondition of constructivism is that learners are required to construct their knowledge through the interaction between their previous knowledge and the new knowledge that they are learning. Learners interact with the knowledge, the learning environment and with other learners. Through interaction, learners’ perception of knowledge will be changed or altered. 

 Motivational perspectives on cooperative learning mainly focus on the reward or goal structures. In this perspective, cooperative learning creates situations; inpidual personal goals can only be achieved if the group is successful. Motivation is based upon the fact that group incentives induce students to encourage goal-directed behaviours within the group. Methods developed in relation to motivational theory have group rewards built in (Zhang Li, 2009: 153).