Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Instructional Strategies
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 is important in the classroom. Some students are too shy to speak up in a big class, so if they are in a smaller group or with another person they are more likely to speak up. It also gives the opportunity for multiple perspectives of a topic to be brought up and might get others thinking more. I think that cooperative learning should be optional in a classroom because some students work better in groups or with another person and other students work better by themselves. I think that cooperative learning should be assessed as a group and individually to make sure that each person is participating and contributing in what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteI think cooperative learning is very important. When students are allowed to work together they come up with more ideas, and have fun more completing a task. I think it should be implemented when you are introducing a topic to the class, and then give them an assignment in class to complete. That way if something was unclear to them they can ask their partner and be on task, rather than bothering their neighbor and getting them distracted. I also agree with Kylie, and that if students don't like to talk in front of others small groups are perfect because that way they can discuss their ideas and show that they were thinking and processing during the lesson. I think it should be assessed through an informal evaluation over how well students are on task and contributing knowledge. The students need to know that they are being assessed, and that for them to do well they must contribute at least a couple (2-3) ideas and not be off task more than 1 minutes
ReplyDeleteI think cooperative learning has its pros and cons. Working together allows students to see other views on a topic. Students tend to learn more and become more informed on a topic when working together. However, if friends get paired to work together, it may be possible that no learning occurs. The friends may see it as an opportunity to talk about things other than school. Another scenario may be that one person does all the work. It is very frustrating when two people get the same grade when only one person put in the effort. Overall, I think students eenjoy working together. It puts less stress on the students when they can help each other out. I agree that cooperative learning should be assesed both individually and as a group. By doing this, students who did not put in any effort will not get the same grade as students who did put in a lot of effort. I would also assign roles to each group member. By doing this, not only does each student have a job, but the teacher can see how much effort was put into the project by looking at their work for their assigned job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kylie in the fact that cooperative learning should be assessed both individually and as a group. Group members should not get similar grades if the same amount of effort was not put in to it. If students know that their group members are grading them, they are more likely going to put in the effort. However, when friends are put in a group together, they often feel like they need to give their friends high grades. They are scared their friend will be mad at them if they give them a low grade. To prevent this from happening, I would have each student do their assessing at their desk. I would remind the students that the information is kept confidential, so they should grade them on how they really feel.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sarah that it is very frustrating when everyone gets the same grade, but everyone didn't put the same amount of effort into it. It is especially frustrating when you are the one that is putting all the effort into it. That is why I think that students should get to choose their groups or partners. And if a teacher sees a problem with friends grouping up together, then maybe she can split them up.
ReplyDeleteI think cooperative groups should be used in the classroom. Cooperative groups allow students to hear more than one opinion, justification, or idea. They also implement and develop teamwork skills. For those students who prefer to work individually, I would allow this, but I would also be sure to take note of it. For future assignments which may require to work in a group I would be sure the student works in a group. When using groups, I would allow the students to choose their groups as long as everyone is being included. If there is always one or two people who are constantly left out I would start to assign groups. To assess the cooperative groups I would give each group the same grade. However, I would have each student rate each other based on a criteria provided by the teacher. If one or two students in the group was rated low by each group member I would pull that student(s) aside and ask they why their group members may have rated them so poorly and what they could do to fix it. With this, I would also pull the rest of the group aside and ask them why they rate the group member poorly.
ReplyDeleteI think that cooperative learning in the classroom is a really good idea. I think that students sometimes learn better in a group setting, depending on who is in their group with them. If a student is in a group with a bunch of his or her friends, maybe cooperative learning isn't the best strategy in that situation. I think cooperative learning is very beneficial because it gets the group talking together, and thinking up different ideas, even triggering different thoughts from the others in the group. I think it is very important to have different thoughts in groups, because it keeps the kids open-minded, and it keeps their brains moving as far as having new ideas instead of sticking to their idea because they think it sounds better. I think for it to be implemented in classrooms, it should be students who can work well together and not mess around the entire time. I think it should be assessed both individually and by the group because it can show what you did individually to help he group think, and what you added to the discussion or activity. Also, I think it should be by the group because if the group worked well together, and came up with many different ideas, or one universal idea, then the group should be rewarded for working so well together.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kylie's statement about some students being too shy in the classroom to speak up on their own, so being in a group setting might help that situation. Also, it might even give the students confidence and motivation to do well on this certain activity or discussion. Maybe that student didn't have the motivation as an individual, but with the others in the group helping out and sharing their ideas, it can help the student to become more comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI think that cooperative learning is important to use in the classroom. From my personal experience I work better in a group than I can by myself. I feel like I can say more to a small group than I can say to the entire class. When you work in groups you have a chance to hear others ideas rather than your own. However, if I had to implement cooperative learning in the classroom I would do one or two things. First, I would have students decide whether they want to work alone or in a group. Sometimes students work better alone rather than in groups. Second, I might pair students up who I think can work cooperatively with each other. When it comes to assessing cooperative learning I think it is important to assess group and individual work. Depending on the age group I might have the students do a peer evaluation on each other to determine how well each student participated. I will do classroom observations and observe the groups working in the classroom to determine a group grade.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kylie's comment. There are children who are just too shy to say something in class. I am one of those students. I don't know why but you get this thought stuck in your head that the other students will judge you with no matter what you say. When working a small group it is easier to say something to the group. You feel that you can get your idea or thought out without being judged by a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteI think working cooperatively in the classroom is extremely important. I think working together helps create an environment conducive to new ideas. It allows students to bounce ideas off each other and open their minds to a new way of thinking. This is something I think is very valuable. I also think it is beneficial that students work in small groups because it teaches them leadership. In this setting, if everything is planned correctly, each student should be expressing his/her own feelings, opinions and ideas to the rest of the group. I think this should be assessed on an individual and group effort. This will help keep the group balanced as far as who does the work.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cassie when she says she feels better speaking in front of a small group as opposed to speaking to the whole class. I think many others would agree also. Speaking in front of a class, for me, is usually quite intimidating. However, speaking in a small group gives me the confidence and ability to really open up and express my thoughts, opinions and ideas.
ReplyDeleteI think cooperative learning is one of the best learning stratgies there is. It has many academic, and social, benefits. First, academically, if you do a group project, it helps students realize that everyone has different ideas of how to get a goal done. The important thing is to learn how to do find the middle ground, or how to compromise, to get to the certain goal together. Cooperative learning can also help students learn how to interact with other students, as well as working on your verbal, and sometimes written, communication. For grading, I would give out two grades. One would be for the whole group, and the other as an individual grade. I could then possibly take the average of the two to get the final grade for the project. I agree with Jody that cooperative learning also lets students hear new ideas, and create new ideas, that they might of been open to before. I also agree with Sarah and others that cooperative learning can also have draw backs. Such as: not everyone contributing, friends being grouped together and not get anywork done, and depending on the grade, it might be hard to get everyone to meet at the same time to work together.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit that I have always been a student who dislikes group work. I much rather do a project on my own, at my own time, and the way I would prefer. However, the ability to work with others is an important skill. Collaboration is a key skill in so many careers now. Students will need to be able to work well with others in the future, so the best place to start is at school.
ReplyDeleteGrading for group projects is a completely different question though. If one student does all the work, it is not fair to give the other students the same grade. One way I've seen professors grade for group projects is to assess the end product as one grade, but then have students grade each other. Then the professor would average those scores out and add it to the first grade. This way, the professor can get an idea of the group worked together and if there were problems with sharing work. I think this would transfer well to upper grades, but I'm not sure how it would work for lower grades. I think a way to transfer this would be to do a verbal assessment with each student individually.
I like that Cassie said she would allow students to choose between working alone or in a group. I think this is a good idea too, especially if the project could easily be completed on an individual basis. I wonder though what would be the best option if it is such a large project, where working with a group is necessary. Would the teacher need to change the project for those individuals so they would be able to complete it? Or would this be a case where the student would not be given the option?
ReplyDeleteI like Blake's idea of giving out two grades, one for the whole group and one for each individual and then averaging the two. This is a great way to get a good balance, and it also helps to prevent one or two students from free loading off of the others because they know they will all be receiving the same grade. After I thought about my original post, I decided that having the students rate each other might not work so well, especially if the groups were chosen and group members may not get along. It may be better to grade individually by having each student write on a sheet of paper what they did to help with the project. This may prevent other group members from singling out a select student.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brienna and that having a sheet for them to list what they contributed to the group could help them have more accountability and participation in the group. I've been in groups where if we have to work together students don't do anything unless they know they are going to be graded on participation. This would also make sure that one person doesn't do all of the work. Cooperative learning would work best in class where the teacher can monitor the groups and make sure they are on task. Also, I think it would be best that the student's don't choose their groups and leave a student out.
ReplyDeleteI believe that cooperative learning should be used in the classroom for students to practice social interaction. I believe that having the ability to communicate effectively with others is an essential skill children need to learn. This skill will be used throughout their whole lives. If students do not possess this skill than a he or she may not be able to reach their full potential. I believe that cooperative learning needs to be assessed. A teacher wants to make sure that a student is contributing to the group and that a student is communicating with others. A cooperative learning assessment can be done with a peer evaluation at the end of a project and can be done by the teacher's observation of group work.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I agree with what you said. I believe that cooperative learning is a great way for students to come up with more ideas. I also think it is great that you mentioned the fact if one student missed a direction he/she has a chance to hear it from a classmate during group work. I think this is a great thing for teachers to remember, and I think it is a great thing for teachers to utilize.
ReplyDeleteI think that cooperative learning should be implemented in the classroom so that students can be able to see what the others are thinking. They should always have the option to work together to better understand something if it will help them. I think that it should be assessed by how much effort they put in and how well they worked as a team with the other students.
ReplyDeleteI believe that collaborative learning is essential in the classroom. I believe that it is important for the students to learn not only from the teacher but from their peers as well. Collaborative learning should play an important part in the classroom. It is a good skill builder for students to learn to cooperate with each other and see another student's perspective. I think it should be assessed in a way to see if the student is working with the group. I believe it should be assessed as a group and the student should be assessed individually too.
ReplyDeleteI think that cooperative learning is very important in the classroom with students. It's great for looking at other students point of views and it also helps with learning how to cooperate with others. Some students may understand things better if they work with their peers rather than by themselves. In order to assess group work, I think that the students need to critique themselves and how they worked in the group as well as how they worked with the other students.
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