Where Heart Meets Mind!!! Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning

If learners can be "confident in their individuality, yet enriched by their collaborations with colleagues, then the result may be truly empowered individuals ." As my teacher once said:" The supportive environment helps students become more of who they want to be. They are all very different, with their individual needs, strengths and weaknesses. Yet, they have been able to find  common ground, appreciate each other, and find a place for all their voices."

Why Cooperative Learning???

Learning is a social activity, People learn in communities. Together, they accomplish more than as individuals and they have more fun in the process. Students are no different.
When students collaborate, they have an opportunity to discuss new concepts with someone close to their own level of understanding. They get to try out new ideas and ask questions in a small group before speaking to the whole class or finishing a written product. When students discuss and defend their ideas or solutions with teammates, they learn to think problems through, to support their own opinions, and to critically consider the opinions of others before coming to a conclusion. And they learn that, in the end, the responsibility for learning still rests with them.

How It Works???

 cooperative learning goals can only be achieved when all members of the team are learning and improving. The task is not only to do something as a team but also to learn something as a team. Because individual students compare their scores only with their own past performance, every team member is able to contribute equally to the success of the team.
there are three elements which are the key of making cooperative learning effective: team recognition, individual accountability, and equal opportunities for success.

 

How Will Cooperative Learning Benefit my Students?

 Using cooperative learning in the classroom has positive effects on academic achievement,  relationships, development of English proficiency, liking of self and others, and attitudes toward school and teachers.

• When students work together toward a common goal, academic work becomes valued by peers.
• Students are motivated to help one another learn.
• Students take responsibility for their own learning.
• Students translate the teacher’s language into kid talk for one another.
• Students learn to see situations from another’s viewpoint, justify their own viewpoints, and analyze ideas.
• Students have fun learning.

When students have to organize their thoughts to explain ideas to teammates, they engage in cognitive elaboration, or an extension of their thinking, which enhances their own understanding, even when they are learning in a second language.

 Basic Elements of Cooperative Learning:

Cooperative Learning is a teaching arrangement that refers to small, heterogeneous groups of students working together to achieve a common goal. Students work together to learn and are responsible for their teammates' learning as well as their own. The basic elements are:

1. Positive Interdependence - occurs when gains of individuals or teams are positively correlated.

2. Individual Accountability - occurs when all students in a group are held accountable for doing a share of the work and for mastery of the material to be learned.

3. Equal Participation - occurs when each member of the group is afforded equal shares of responsibility and input.

4. Simultaneous Interaction - occurs when class time is designed to allow many student interactions during the period.

 

 Cooperative Learning Structures:

 

Think-Pair-Share. 

Give students a question or a problem and have them think quietly of an answer or solution.  Have them discuss their response with a student sitting close by, and then have them share with the entire class. A time limit of one or two minutes should be used for the pair exchange.  This is a good technique for breaking up a presentation, as well as an assessment of student understanding.

Three Step Interview. 

 Students form pairs and one-partner interviews the other on a predetermined topic for two or three minutes; partners switch roles.  Then pairs combine to form groups of four. Each group member introduces his or her partner, sharing the information from the original interview. This is a great icebreaker activity and also fosters active listening.

 

Jigsaw.

 Each member of a "base group" is assigned a mini topic to research. Students then meet in "expert groups" with others assigned the same mini topic to discuss and refine their understanding.  Base groups reform, and members teach their mini topics to each other. You can give a brief oral or written quiz to the group, representative, or each member of the team to assess mastery of the material.

Roundtable.

 Groups of three or more members brainstorm on an assigned topic, with each member taking turns to write down one new idea on a single piece of paper.  The process continues until members run out of ideas. When time is up, the group with the most number of independent ideas presents to the class. 

corners:

the teacher asks a question or proposes a topic, each corner of the room is designed as an area representing a different response to the topic. students then move to the appropriate corner corresponding to their own thinking.

Graffiti

Graffiti Writing is a cooperative learning structure that facilities brainstorming and also doubles as a group energizer. Each cooperative group of 3 or 4 students is given a piece of chart paper and different colored markers. Group #1 might have black markers; group #2 green markers, etc. There needs to be a different color marker for each group so that the teacher can track each individual group’s contribution.Each group is given a different question, topic, issue, or statement to which they respond. All students can respond to the same topic.For a short time period (3-5 minutes), every group writes their “graffiti” (words, phrases, statements, pictures) on their particular topic.After about three to five minutes, the teacher stops the groups and asks each group to pass their graffiti sheets to the next group. The new group with the sheet reads what has already been written or drawn on the sheet and adds additional new information. Continue the process until each group’s original sheet has been returned to them.

 ...Students are motivated to be involved in learning when the learning experience is perceived as personally meaningful. Group rewards that are fun, that capture imagination, and that focus on shared celebrations of success  may be more effective in motivating students to work together and learn. When learning outcomes need to be measured and reported, grades will reflect student accomplishments.