I've heard it said that cooperative learning strategies are hard to implement in the general education classroom. I believe that not only can it be done, but that it’s impossible to teach without these! Here is a link on the research that supports these in the classroom. The research Marzano has done has greatly impacted my teaching philosophy. As he notes, it is important when utilizing these strategies to be systematic in their use. It is important to embed individual and group accountability, as well as ensuring the interaction and interdependence within students is positive. I think teachers may shy away from these strategies because we can feel out of our comfort zone at times. Most of the teachers today were traditional students of yesterday. We sat in rows facing the teacher, and didn't have many opportunities to share our learnings with our peers. Even as teachers, the professional development we attend rarely implement the strategies they so adamantly teach!