With an approach of action research, the present study explored how cooperative learning could be applied to calculus teaching and what effects it would bring. Twenty-one students majoring in mathematics were taught calculus with cooperative learning strategies for 16 weeks. The following findings were obtained from the present study. First of all, four strategies were identified to be effective for cooperative learning, including assigning individual and group homework every week, having students learn cooperatively after class, making students keep a record of their group learning processes, and basing each student's individual grade on a combination of individual performance and the average score of the group. Second, cooperative learning was shown to effectively facilitate traditional calculus teaching and enhance students' learning. Furthermore, teachers needed to help students in improving their teamwork skills. The final finding was that both learning space and variations in students' attitude and personality seemed to limit the effectiveness of cooperative learning. The present study concluded with some suggestions for improving mathematics teaching and recommendations for further studies in this area.