Do Peer Relationships Affect Achievement?
David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson, and Cary Roseth There was a time when teachers discouraged the formation of friendships among students in their classes because they were worried that it would result in students being distracted from the academic tasks and engaging in socializing and off-task behavior. At the very least, friends were separated so that they did not sit near each other. Friends were seen as attentional temptations, competing for students attention with the teacher and the learning assignments. Sitting by their friends placed students in a conflict between attending to their friends or attending to the teacher. This was especially true when teachers lectured and assigned individual seatwork. Teachers who use cooperative learning have a different point of view. They know that the experience of working together to achieve a mutual goal results in more positive relationships among students, even diverse students from different cultures, ethnic groups, social classes, and
