Education is a personal transaction among students and
between the teachers and students as they work together. [1]
 |
| tribes.com |
That is a paradigm
shift for educators in that many of us were brought up in the
lecture-discussion-worksheet era and rarely experienced cooperative efforts in
the classroom. However, with the publications by Dave and Roger Johnson from
the University of Minnesota in the 1980s, and an initiative to implement this
methodology in schools of education, a large segment school-age children began
working in group settings with peers.
Certification
programs exist that train teachers to be the designated school representative
for cooperative learning after attending week-long seminars such as that
offered by Dr. Spencer Kagan [kaganonline.com]. Many educators are having
success using cooperative learning in their classrooms where they witness
cognitive and social benefits.
Having students work in groups without
orientation to the methodology
I believe that students
perform optimally in well-structured cooperative learning avenues rather than
random group situations where they have not been counseled on the basics of
cooperative learning etiquette. I can't imagine a teacher saying: "Hey
guys, form groups of three of four in different parts of the room and finish
this worksheet."
The novelty of such
a sudden departure from the lecture-discussion-worksheet process may prove
successful the first time but may result in chaos as students look around to
see what everyone else is doing. Several of the students may never become part
of a group of three or four, and probably will find a location to do the
worksheet on their own. There might be some earnest collaboration but not
everyone will end up benefiting from the experience, and that is one of the
goals of cooperative learning – maximizing the knowledge transfer to everyone.
To derive the
benefits of a cooperative effort as discussed in previous posts, the teacher
must have a well-articulated plan in terms of a) directions for the assignment
as well as b) the group behaviors expected of students in such a configuration.
Establishing successful cooperative learning
For one, the teacher
must demonstrate organization and leadership from the start of the school year.
The students need to know that their teacher has mastery of content and has
established a safe and focused environment. From here, the teacher can trust
that assignments will be completed in an expedient manner when students go into
the group mode, facing each other in teams of three, four, or five.
Children are used to
playing at recess and outside of school, but typically in gender-selecting,
rough-and-tumble, and game-oriented way. They benefit from such interaction
both physically and emotionally but are not performing academic tasks, which
have different goals.
The teacher needs to
explain the rules for group learning, that is, the nature of the desired information
flow during exercises. In a number of cases the students may have been exposed
to cooperative learning in another classroom and only require fine tuning of
the acceptable interactive behaviors.
Here is how cooperative learning should be
prefaced:
1) In order to facilitate the material of this lesson you
will be doing an assignment in groups of 4. It is called cooperative learning
and is used in many schools.
2) You are to cooperate
on the best answer for each question.
3) Talking is good. Everyone's opinion matters and there
should be an equal amount of participation. If there is a disagreement, clearly
and tactfully state your point of view. Come to a consensus that everyone can
live with. Nobody is to get angry or impatient. Each member of the group is
important. A major objective of this classroom set up is to be sure everyone
feels that they have a stake in the learning and are accepted members of the
group. It is therefore everyone's responsibility to make others feel welcome. Along
with your writing, face each other, and have eye contact along the way. If you
feel that a member is being uncooperative, calmly state your concern to the
student, and what you expect for the rest of the meeting. Ask the teacher to
intervene if the problem cannot be resolved.
4) Everyone is to have the same answer in the spaces
provided but document your perspective in the margin if it differs from the
group.
5) You are all in this together and your team is to be
successful in two main areas: as (a) communicators and (b) assimilators of
information.
Give roles to the team
members
It is recommended that each member have a role in the
process. Designate the following as per your instructional needs:
Leader
Delegates responsibilities and leads the discussion.
Provides feedback about the team's progress. Makes comments to individuals that
make them feel valued. Follows the script of behavioral objectives specified by
the teacher. Encourages participation. Makes sure the other responsibilities
are met. Is the motivator to see that the tasks are carried out successfully.
Desks/Folders
Moves the desks to positions used for cooperative work. Puts
the desks back to original position if specified by teacher. Passes out
materials and notebooks. Collects at the end and places in a teacher-designated
location.
Recorder
Takes attendance and keeps a record of the frequency of
responses from members (if required). Keeps a record of the progress of the
discussion.
Summarizer/Clarifier
Gives the group a summary of what occurred and clarifies
when a members asks. The leader is to call on this individual from time to
time.
Checker
Asks members of the group to give brief updates on the
progress from time to time. Checks to see that everyone understands what is
going on.
Wildcard
Assumes the role of any missing member or fills in however
they are needed.
Reader
Reads summaries,
group notes, or information from texts.
Arranging furniture to maximize the face-to-face
proximity
 |
| igesl.elevatedpulse.com |
The best proximity
is face-to-face and this can be achieved by turning individual desks into a
cluster. Moving chairs may be all that is needed to maximize the face-to-face
arrangement should your room be furnished with tables. The team modules should
be separated as far as possible to minimize distraction and allow you to move
easily between the groups. The transition
should be smooth when you shift your lesson from the row arrangement to the
clusters and back again. Keep the desks/tables in the cooperative configuration
if that is how the class is to begin the next day or the next group that comes
into the room. Having monitors designated for furniture movement helps.
Groups should have a
name. Many use sports icons such as Eagles, Lakers, or Orioles. Having bobble-head
representatives may improve the experience.
Depending on your
level of organization have students maintain pocket folders or three-ring
divider folders. Handouts and quizzes and papers would be compiled. Maintaining
a portfolio is a popular method used by many teachers. Allow the students to
tape pictures of family members and pest n these portfolio notebooks.
The teacher during the cooperative lesson
Though the teacher
has a different position in the classroom during the cooperative sessions, you
nevertheless can intervene in various ways. One is to simply stand off to the
side or sit at your desk. In other words, the students are engaged in what they
are doing following the directions of the assignment. A well-planned cooperative
classroom functions autonomously from the teacher.
The teacher must
inculcate the purpose of group work and specify the directions for the
assignment explicitly. Therefore, unless there is a mistake on the handout, the
students function as teams, discuss their mission, and clear up any ambiguities
independent of the teacher.
However, the teacher
can intervene in meaningful ways. One is to move from group to group to monitor
progress and entertain questions. I would position my chair (mine had rollers) right
into a cluster, maintain close proximity with the students, and have a brief
discussion about their work. I would roll to the next group upon completion.
Another is to call a
member from a team to your desk to check on the group's progress and make
corrections on her paper that will be dispensed when she returns to her group.
Those one-on-one moments could include questions such as: "how are things
working out for your group?", or "how did your volleyball team do
yesterday?"
Using assessment for the cooperative lesson
It is common to use
assessment instruments that would be completed by you as well as those for your
students. I highly recommend using one or more of these devices because it will
help the students to gauge what behaviors are desired, reinforcing your initial
comments about the value and purpose of cooperative learning. The teacher
observational report forms will help you to develop an objective perspective on
the effort of the students during group sessions. These online sites have a number of these forms:
http://www.dailyteachingtools.com/cooperative-learning-evaluate.html#1
http://www.lapresenter.com/CoopEvalPacket.pdf
A more complete set
of assessments can be found on a search engine using:
'Cooperative
learning teacher evaluation form'
In addition, you can
verify the inclusiveness of the session by giving a brief individual quiz. The team
score will then be the average of the members.
Conclusion
This post is
designed to provide an introduction to the implementation of cooperative work.
There are a number of publications on this subject and it is recommended that
you examine them to expand your knowledge of the subject. Your school's
professional library probably has some.
The previous posts
discussed the enhancement of productivity when people embark on face-to-face
encounters from both neurological and observational research studies. This post
helps a teacher get started with the cooperative learning process. Cooperative
learning works best when the rationale is explicitly stated to the students. From
the structure created by the teacher a wide range of assignments can be done that
effectively nurtures assimilation and reinforcement of content as well as the
use of higher order processing including application and creativity.
As significant are
the interactions that stimulate the brain to reinforce the prefrontal cortex
and midbrain areas associated with reward. The dopamine secretion in this
reward system serves to motivate the individual to continue to prosper in the
face-to-face environment and become better content area facilitators and
friends.
References
[1] Johnson, D., Johnson, R., Learning together and alone, cooperation, competition, and individualization. 5th ed., San
Francisco, CA, Pearson Education
