The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cooperative learning structures on students' memory recall and comprehension. Research suggests that cooperative learning structures are a more effective teaching strategy due to their responsive facilitative nature. The students in the study were 26 fifth graders from a range of different ethnic backgrounds, all living in a suburban area. During the intervention, students were expected to memorize vocabulary definitions by working in cooperative learning groups. After these cooperative learning structures were implemented, students were given vocabulary assessments and opinion surveys and the results were then contrasted against vocabulary assessments and surveys done after direct instruction. Findings suggested that there might be some correlation between cooperative learning structures and comprehension, motivation, self-regulation, and conceptual misunderstandings. These findings might incline teachers to test out the impact of cooperative learning structures in their own classrooms to see if there if similar effects are achieved.