Monday, November 28, 2011
Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is one type of instructional strategy. Students at all levels, K-post secondary, are often engaged in cooperative learning at some time during an academic year. Some students learn best when working with others, while the opposite is true for some. How do you think cooperative learning should be implemented into classrooms? How do you think cooperative learning should be assessed?
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I think that cooperative learning should be implemented often in the classroom. I believe that the benefits of cooperative learning generally outweigh the drawbacks. Some students may prefer working alone; I usually prefer working alone just because it is hard to find time to meet with other college students. I also like that I can work at my own pace or more efficiently if I do it my way. However, it is always great to have a second opinion. All people benefit from seeing something from a different perspective because it opens your mind to new knowledge and ideas. It is also important to remember that students can sometimes explain concepts to each other better than a teacher might be able to. Sometimes they need a classmate to explain it in a simpler way or point out where they have gone wrong.
ReplyDeleteI think that assessment of cooperative learning usually depends on the situation. You would probably want to assess how much work the student completed on their own, as well as how well they worked with others. If it was a large project it would be a good idea to give a group score, but then give each individual points based on their contribution. That would make it fair. It would also motivate the students to keep tabs on themselves throughout the learning/working process.
I think that it is important for cooperative learning to be implemented into the classroom. Cooperative learning is very beneficial for students and helps them learn to work with others and gives them new ideas that they might not have thought of on their own. Cooperative learning helps students become better problem solvers also since they are working with other students to come up with new ideas, instead of just asking the teacher questions.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important to take into account each person's role in the cooperative learning when assessing the cooperative learning. I have worked in groups where one group member either doesn't show up or doesn't contribute at all. In this case, it would be unfair to give everyone in the group the same score since one person didn't do anything and didn't deserve the score. I think that it's extremely important that each group member receives an individual score so that the assessment is done fairly.
Something else to keep in mind about cooperative learning would be behavior issues. When students are working together there may be more behavior issues than when they work independently. As a teacher, it would be important to have some basic group work rules already established. These would consider sharing ideas, splitting up work fairly, respecting others' opinions, etc. The first few cooperative learning activities will probably have a higher incidence of behavior issues, but once the students adjust to working with others it should happen lesson frequently.
ReplyDeleteI think cooperative learning should be implementated often in the classroom. Many-most children enjoy working with partners and groups. This is great for collaborations, and furthens students' learning with ideas from one another. There can be problems with cooperative learning though. Some students just enjoy working alone. This is alright, but sometimes students due need to be forced to work with peers once inwhile. There can be great benefits to it. Tho other prblem that can arise is who you are working with. Teachers, especially in the lower elementary grades, most often should assign groups or partners themselves. Otherwise, students will always work with the same partner or may pair up with someone who they do not work well together with. Cooperative learning can be assessed in a variety of different ways. I think in the elementary grades, it should just be assessed by walking around and monitoring and looking at how much each students got accomplished. In the older grades or post-secondary, I think it is important to assess the project or assignment as a groups, but to also assess each group member individually. It can also be beneficial to assess each other.
ReplyDeleteI think that cooperative learning is a very important instructional strategy because it is used throughout all of a student's schooling. We still use it in college and will end up using it after also, so it is a very important thing to be exposed to. It is great for students in the younger grades because it helps with social skills and collaboration with other students. I think that cooperative learning can be incorporated to any subject, but it is important to know just how much group work to incorporate. The only troubles with cooperative learning is how to assess or grade the students success in the group. I think that it's important to look at the group as a whole first and see how well they worked together and what the outcome of them working together was. On the other hand though, it is extremely important to look at each specific student and how well they individually did. If you don't look at individual work, students could end up slacking, or being left behind and not really grasping the material or helping their group.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with what Elizabeth said about how teachers should choose the groups or partners that students have when working together. If students have a choice they will always pick their friends. This could lead to a major problem in elementary grades because they are still learning major concepts and could both end up not growing as learners. I think that once students get into middle school and high school, they should have more of a choice. By high school, majority of students understand they are responsible for their work and usually choose wisely when picking a partner. This isn't always the case though, and I think that having the teacher choose groups/partners should still happen occasionally in the older grades.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Elizabeth that it is good for all students to work in groups sometimes, even if they prefer working alone. I think it is also important for teachers to choose the groups that students will be in so that students have the opportunity to work with different people. This will help students to be more open minded and willing to work with other people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Krislyn said about it is great for students in the younger grades because it helps with social skills and collaboration with other students. I think that cooperative learning can be incorporated to any subject, but it is important to know just how much group work to incorporate. I think students definitely need to be introduced to cooperative learning in the early grades. It does need to come with a limit though. It is also great for students to work independently. They grow in their own individual skills by doing this. They need to be able to develop their own skills in order to work with peers.
ReplyDeleteCooperative learning can be very beneficial in all classrooms. Even the Iowa Core Curriculum states the importance of team work/cooperation under the employability skills section. The ICC states that, "Employers are demanding that employees demonstrate the skills to work productively in teams." Even though most elementary students will not be applying for a job anytime in their near future, it is important to instill the belief of the importance of cooperation. When the teacher implements cooperative learning into their classroom they are directly helping the students practice social skills for their future.
ReplyDeleteI think that cooperative learning would be best used when a new concept is being taught. This way, when the students are still trying to learn, they can bounce ideas off of one another and learn from each other. This is very beneficial for the teachers as well because normally when the students learn something new, there are many questions about the concept. If the students can help each other, than the teacher can reach students more effectively because there will hopefully be less questions. Cooperative learning can also be used if you have a student that behaves and focuses better while working with a partner or small group for a classroom management strategy.
To assess cooperative learning, I would give each child a role to complete so that even though the students are working together, they both have something different on the same assignment to complete. This way, I will be able (most likely) to tell if both students did the work evenly. I would also circulate throughout the room to observe the participation of the students working together.
I agree with Kat when she mentions that a student might be able to more effectively express a new concept to a struggling partner than the teacher could. Sometimes the students just need to hear a simpler version of an explanation, and I also think that is a great benefit to the cooperative learning style. I also agree with Katelyn when she expresses the importance of fairness when assessing cooperative learning. Krislyn also makes a great point at the beginning of her blog when she mentions that cooperative learning will be carried through most of their schooling and how because of that, it is important to introduce it early on.
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