Cooperative Learning Mark Robertson Tessi Program in Applied Mathematics University of Arizona Reasons for considering Cooperative Learning Active learning is usually more effective than passive learning Teacher becomes a facilitator rather than lecturer Teaching and learning occurs within the group leading to better understanding Small group activities develop higher order thinking More Reasons Student learns additional skills such as teamwork responsibility as a group member articulation of ideas and social skills Participation in an academic group provides support which leads to student retention and success Common Worries Students are less productive standards are lower Less material is covered Teacher loses control of the class Learning is misguided students want to learn from authority Difficult to evaluate individual students Time factor reorganizing Lower standards Research shows that students in group learning situations always learn at least as much as those taught individually Davidson 1990 In addition to grading and individual motivators peer team commitment becomes a third motivator Teacher must be involved to make sure the group is directed Less Material Covered Teaching versus learning Less material but learned more in depth Careful planning can cover more material than lecture based methods by encouraging out of class learning Losing Control Many students drift off during traditional lecture based courses When working in groups they are focused on the course content Supervised participation encourages students to make progress on the material Misguided learning Instructor must have confidence in the group learning ethic Students consistently rate wellstructured group courses as their favorites Many additional personal skills besides course material are learned Evaluation Group activities in general cannot be graded individually Individual accountability is key to maintaining a functional group work ethic Group activities should be structured so that participation leads to better evaluation Time factor Structure is vital and can take time to plan At first group activities can be basic and progress to being more central to the course Challenges for the Teacher Focus moves from teacher to students Must develop observation skills to be able to guide and evaluate members of the groups Structure of the activities is crucial to framing the progress and subsequent guidance and evaluation 3 Four Patterns in Deep Learning Motivational Context Learner Activity Interaction with others Structured Knowledge Base Rhem 1995 Motivational Context If the student thinks they need to learn something they will be more motivated to do so Motivation comes from ownership of the material Learner Activity Active participation goes hand in hand with deep learning Activities must connect well with the concepts they are meant to teach Interaction with others Group work brings an additional perspective to the learning process Other group members can have helpful viewpoints on the material Structured Knowledge Base Engaging prior knowledge students have is necessary Integrating material with previous experience will allow students to want to move forward 4 Team Considerations Size Formation Roles within Classroom Behavior Team Building Team Size Recommended size is four Small enough to prevent hiding members Large enough to keep group functional if a member is unavailable Also easily splits into pairs for easy divvying up of material Team Formation Student selected teams more homogeneous less successful Fiechtner Davis 1985 Teacher selected teams random or criteria based Combination Students indicate preferences teacher decides groups Random vs Criteria Random Groups easy to form usually heterogeneous but random Criteria based Students indicate interests background experience teacher matches students that complement each other Rotating Group Roles Facilitator Keeps group on track divides the work moderates discussion Recorder Keeps track of records group materials assigned activities Reporter Gives oral report of the group activities as necessary Timekeeper Makes sure deadlines are met Classroom Norms Encourage cooperative rather than competitive behavior Questions should be fully discussed within the group before approaching the instructor Use of team building exercises 5 Structuring Structure is crucial to keeping group work focused and on task Five beginning structures Think Pair Share Lyman 1981 Roundtable Value Line Corners Three Step Interview Think Pair Share Start with probing question Allow enough time to think 1 min Rowe 1974 1978 Student pair to discuss their thoughts on the question This think time is crucial Now 50 of the class is active Lastly students share their results Responses are more forthcoming and better than the typical ask answer Roundtable Students in the team go around speaking their responses to the posed question as they add them to a paper for the group As the paper circulates the teams record ideas quickly brainstorming Final review distills the good ideas and then they are presented Value Line Corners Three Step Interview Mostly used for opinion types of questions should X do Y A way of organizing groups so that the members have differing opinions 6 Advanced Structures for Problem Solving Three advanced structures Structured Problem Solving Discovery Learning Davidson 1990 Send a Problem Kagan 1989 Problem Solving Formulation of a problem often more critical than finding the solution Creativity versus machinery Using different approaches Tasks to solve problems Explore problem create hypotheses 2 Identify known pertinent knowledge 3 Identify unknowns 4 Prioritize and allocate tasks to group members 5 Individual study of tasks 6 Share learned knowledge with group 7 Apply knowledge to problem 8 Assess and reflect on the solution and process Woods 1994 1 Structured Problem Solving Teams work to solve problem Individuals in each group are assigned numbers At the end of the allotted time instructor calls out a number and that student presents results This ensures that everyone in the group knows and understands the solution and can explain it Discovery Method Give the students appropriate background readings methods and or data Prepare some questions which make the groups consider how to use the given information to answer Have students report on their findings Students need to discover the answers Example from evolution course Give students a cranial cast a few