Cooperative+Learning

Read and Reflect Reading this information affirms some of what I already knew about cooperative learning. Cooperative Learning has been a popular instructional delivery method for awhile and it was given a big focus when I was working on my teaching certificate, so much of what mentioned in the reading was covered in my classes. In fact during many of those classes we were put into cooperative learning groups to complete projects together.

Now, I better understand some things about cooperative learning. If there was one thing I would say I understood better now it is the different types of groups used for cooperative learning. I tend to use more informal groups since our class sizes are so small. Many times I placed students in groups based on ability ( to ensure those who struggled had a strong leader) but everyone was responsible for the success of the group. Also, I never gave much thought to base groups until reading this module.

I think I will change the way I use cooperative learning in my classroom. While I think cooperative learning groups have many benefits (learning to work with others, fulfilling your responsibilities, learning leadership qualities) it is difficult to use in my class due to the class size (10) and attendance. Many times when I have used this method, there is at least one group where one member has an attendance problem and the other person has to complete the problem alone. Attendance is the major obstacle that needs to be overcome in order for cooperative learning to work in my class but it is something I can not control. Due to the problem with attendance, I think I will focus more on informal groups for small projects.

Apply and Reflect

While I was working on my masters in an online program, we were often paired with others in the cohort for group projects. Most of us lived and worked in different cities and only knew each other discussion groups online. One of our projects was completed using //Google Documents// where we each had different roles and wrote our findings on the document, we also each used a different color font so we were able to recognize when something new was added or exited.

Currently in my geometry class, students are working on a Webquest in cooperative groups. This is an ongoing project that they may work on once a week or biweekly to complete. The assignment is very simple, but it gives the students a chance to experience working in cooperative groups and taking on various roles (as defined by the Webquest in this case) such as leader, recorder, researcher etc. This particular assignment could be completed in less than a week, but I chose stretch it over the quarter to offer the students something constructive to fill down time (when assignment is done for the day) other than computer games. Also, stretching the work also addresses the issue of absent group members, the extra time allows for more opportunities for all group members to be present to complete the project.

Group Project https://docs.google.com/document/d/12NQk6Zej6DC3EiYbkIpVS4DCmYuGVt4GjnmtHQDS5Ss/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1