Cooperative Learning Environments

 

Initial reactions to this model is "ughhh, I hate group work"! Through the readings, I realize that it does have value but most of the time I feel like our society has become so accustomed to rewarding the individual that even in group work individualism still prevails. I like the idea of having group rewards when everyone does well individually (like on a test or assignment) but that to me reinforces tutoring your peers rather than discussion and learning together.

 

I currently teach middle school and am having nightmares about using this in the classroom. My students LOVE to talk and LOVE to work in groups together however, most of the time the work is poor and the conversation is focused on the latest gossip. I also deal the problem of teaching an elective class which most students see as a joke. I think my students could really benefit from cooperative learning if I set it up right. Through learning about cooperative learning in this unit, I have a few ideas to implement this in my classroom. First, I like the idea of students really forming a group identity. Hopefully this is establish a willingness to lose the individuality and really allow them to learn from each other differences (very hard for a middle school students who tries to conform). I think this is also necessary to help them get over the preconceived notions they have of each other. If the student is viewed as smart, they feel the pressure to make the group work together. I normally get emails from these parents about the stress level of their student! I like the think, pair, share approach as well as the find-the-fib. I think by having my students use creativity to create the fib, the lower performing students will get more into the assignment. They love anything that is off topic or silly.

 

As for the web approach… I can see this working using online chat and real time capabilities. I envision assignments where each student adds a little and then comes together at the end to discuss and reevaluate how they've done. I would use an online tool such as a wiki to foster cooperative learning. Each student can post their part as well as change their classmates. I think by having to reevaluate the changes made their part by other classmates, the student is forced to learning from their peers. This would also eliminate the in class face to face discussion that I worry would be off topic with my middle school students.