In most of the cooperative learning models, faculty are present. They may distance themselves a little bit at the beginning, but they don't go off and grade papers or have coffee. They're still there paying attention, and then most faculty wander around to listen in; and of course you need to do this fairly carefully because you can be intimidating. Often when you stop by a group early on, they'll all stop talking and look at you and wait for you to say something, and you need to try to turn it back to the group or move on if it's making them nervous. . . . Most groups go through that phase where our presence seems to raise their level of responsibility, but eventually they don't notice that the faculty member is there and that's what I'm looking for. They're comfortable with the process, they're engaged with the material and one another, and they don't notice what's going on around them.

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