Cooperative
learning is pedagogical practice that has attracted much attention over the
last three decade because of a large body of research that indicates students
gain both academically and socially shared goal (Johnon&johnson,2002;Lou et
al.,1996;slavin,1996). More over, when students work cooperatively together,
They show increased participation in group discussions, demonstrate a more
sophisticated level of discourse, engage in fewer interruptions when other
speak, and provide more intelectually valuable contribution
(Gillies,2006;Webb&Farivar,1999)
By
interacting with others, children receive feedback on their activities, they
learn socially appropriate behaviours, and they understand what is involved in
cooperating and working together (Dewey 1940,1966).
By
working cooperatively, student develop an understanding of the unanimity of
purpose of the group and the need to help and support each other's learning
which, in turn, motivates them to provide information, prompts, reminders, and
encouragement to others' requests for Help or perceived need for Help
(Gillies,2003a;Gillies&Ashman,1998)
In
a review of sixty studies of cooperative learning conducted in elementary and
secondary schools between 1972 and 1987, Slavin (1989) found that while cooperative
learning may be an effective means of increasing student achievement,
opportunities for learning can be maximized only if group goals and individual
accountability are embedded in the cooperative method used.
In
the student team learning approach advocated by Slavin, all group members are
required to learn the information assigned to their achievement level (i.e.
high, medium or low achievement) and are able to earn rewards for their group
on the basis of being able to do so. Motivation to achieve is enhanced because
children are competing against others from the same achievement level and not
against those from different achievement levels.
In
effect, group rewards and individual accountability may be used to enhance
academic achievement by creating peer norms and sanctions that encourage
children to learn.
Motivation
plays an important role in the development of social skills and the
facilitation of interactions between peers.
Good
cooperative lessons challenge children to work together to achieve common
goals. Most cooperative activities described in the literatureinvolve groups of
four or more.
For
activities that are more structured (e.g. playing a game with rules), involve a
defined end-point (e.g. matching blocks to a pattern), or require high levels of
academic skills (e.g. composing a role-play), it is best if young children work
in pairs,so that each child has to co-ordinate activities with only one other
person (Watson et al. 1988)
students
in the cooperative condition were rated by the observers as having a stronger
sense of group centredness or group feeling than their peers in the competitive
groups.
childhood
can develop positive attitudes towards school and learning, and towards peers,
and can provide abundant opportunities for learning how other people think, for
developing language skills, and for learning how to solve interpersonal
problems.
At
the same time, one of the goals of using cooperative learning is to facilitate
children’s development by giving them opportunities to solve problems on their
own
For
example, struggling to solve an interpersonal problem in a cooperative learning
activity can provide young children with the opportunity to learn why rules are
necessary and later, with teacher guidance, help them to decide for themselves
what they need to do to get along better with one another (DeVries and Zan
1994).
One
of the rationales of grouping children up in the classroom is that each
children has some particular strength and that will be brought out by the wide
variety of tasks that are assigned to the group. In the way, the thinking goes,
students who are good at one skill can be a leader in that area, while another
child, who has different strengths, will take over in a different area. Knowing
that she / he can contribute to the group that perhaps the others don't have.
Sometimes students want a break, sometimes they want to coast. Cooperative
learning practices help to bridge the gap.
Ideally,
teachers are trained to take their existing lessons and restructure them to be cooperative.
Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students
work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning (Johnson et al.
1998a, b, 2002).
Any
lesson in any subject area for any age student can be done cooperatively. There
are three types of cooperative learning formal, informal, and cooperative base
groups.
formal cooperative learning
Formal
cooperative learning consists of students working together, for one class
period
to several weeks, to achieve shared learning goals and complete jointly
specific
tasks
and assignments (Johnson et al. 1998a, b, 2002).
Informal cooperative learning
consists
of having students work together to achieve
a
joint learning goal in temporary, ad-hoc groups that last from a few minutes to
one class period (Johnson et al. 1998b, 2002).
During
a lecture, demonstration, or film, informal cooperative learning can be used to
focus student attention on the material to be learned, set a mood conducive to
learning, help set expectations as to what will be covered in a class session,
ensure that students cognitively process and rehearse the material being
taught, summarize what was learned and pre-cue the next session, and provide
closure to an instructional session.
Cooperative base groups
are
long-term, heterogeneous cooperative learning groups with stable membership
(Johnson et al. 1998b, 2002).
A
great strength of cooperative learning is that it provides teachers with many
opportunities to instruct children in the social, emotional or moral domains at
a time when such instruction is immediately relevant. Howes and Ritchie (2002)
compare such embedded instruction or support to coaching and present convincing
evidence of its effectiveness in the early childhood classroom. Embedding
instruction in the context of ongoing classroom learning is similar to the ways
that nurturing parents instruct children in the social and moral domains, and
is likely to be more effective than decontextualized lessons in good character
or social skills (Noddings 2002; Watson in press)
Cooperative
learning is gaining popularity for a number of reason. Evidence incidates that
it raises achievement, promotes positive self concept, and raises regard for
others. It appears to be especially useful for students from racial minority
and low socio-economic groups who have not excellend to the same degree as
middle income majority-culture pupils in the traditional competitive classroom.
Cooperative learning may also help to lessen the fatalistic attitude toward
schooling that is often found among students from minority groups and those who
have experienced repeated failure in the schools. When these students notice
the value of their input and effort, a more internal locus of control and
belief in one's ability is fostered.
Implementing
full-scale cooperative learning is not a simple task. Teachers may wish to
start with periodic lesson of units and build from there. The effort expended
is probably well spent as "...What we know about effective instruction
indicates that cooperative learning should be used when we want students to
learn more. Like school better, like each other better, and learn more
effective activities an ideal vehicle for teachers to structure the environment
for successful peer interactions and to provide students with the coaching and
support they need to develop their social and emotional skills and
understanding.
When
cooperative groups function well, children learn from one another, and come to
like and respect one another, yet at the same time they learn to think for
themselves and to explain the reasons for their opinions. Shy children can
become contributors to the group, assertive children can learn to solicit the
opinions of others, and all group members deepen their understanding of what it
means to collaborate, negotiate and compromise to achieve fairness for everyone
(Watson et al. 1988)
.
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