State of Kuwait Ministry of Education ELT General

State of Kuwait Ministry of Education ELT. General Supervision Day 1 Strategies for Cooperative Learning

Icebreaker: One is not quite right! Introduce yourselves and make three or four statements about yourselves, one of which is false. Then get the rest of the group to vote on which fact is false.

TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE

OBJECTIVES OF THIS SESSION Recognise the differences between COOPERATIVE and TRADITIONAL learning. Define “cooperative learning”. Discuss reasons for using cooperative learning in our classrooms. Identify some elements of cooperative learning. Identify and practice some cooperative learning strategies. Discuss some challenges facing the application of cooperative learning.

Activity 1 Traditional and Cooperative Learning Groups What Is the Difference?

COOPERATIVE LEARNING VERSUS TRADITIONAL LEARNING � Cooperative learning is just one form of classroom/student learning structure. � Other forms include: Individualized (criterion-based grading system) Competitive (norm-based grading system) � Cooperative learning is perhaps the most important of the three types of learning situations, yet it is the least used (<20% time).

Cooperative Group Traditional Group o Positive interdependence Ø No interdependence o Individual accountability Ø No individual accountability o Heterogeneous membership Ø Homogeneous membership o Shared leadership Ø One leader o Responsible to each other Ø Responsible only for self o Social skills directly taught Ø Skills assumed or ignored o Teacher observes & intervenes Ø Teacher ignores groups o Group processing occurs Ø No group processing o Mutual assistance Ø Competition

Activity 2 What is Cooperative Learning?

COOPERATIVE LEARNING: DEFINITIONS Cooperation -- working together to accomplish shared goals Cooperative Learning -- the instructional use of small groups wherein students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning Instruction that involves people working in teams to accomplish a common goal People working under conditions that involve both positive interdependence (all members must cooperate to complete the task) and individual and group accountability (each member is accountable for the complete final outcome). Cooperative learning, is also called collaborative learning, occurs whenever students interact in pairs or groups to share knowledge and experiences.

COOPERATIVE LEARNING: TRAITS ( COMMON ELEMENTS) Shared learning goals -- working together to accomplish shared goals Desired outcome in which the students demonstrate as a group and individually a mastery of the subject studied Goal structure -- specifies the ways in which students will interact with each other and the teacher during the instructional session Small groups working on a structured activity – Students of different levels of ability Occurs when the essential components required for each cooperative activity are ensured.

The more students work in cooperative learning groups, q … the more they will learn q … the better they will understand what they are learning q … the easier it will be to remember what they learn q … the better they will feel about themselves, the class and their classmates.

Outcomes include: o Higher achievement and greater productivity o More caring, positive, supportive, and committed relationships o Greater psychological health, social competence, and improved self-esteem. o Acknowledgment of individual differences o Interpersonal development o Active involvement in learning o More opportunities for personal feedback o Deeper understanding of content

Other outcomes include: o Higher motivation to remain on task o Active and constructive involvement in content o Ownership of their own learning o Solving group conflicts o Improvement of teamwork skills o Increased student retention o Enhancement of student satisfaction with their learning experience o Development of skills in oral communication o Development of students' social skills

GROUPING PATTERNS

1. Informal cooperative learning groups: They are: ü temporary groups that last for only one discussion or one class period. ü ü ü Their purposes are: to focus student’s attention on the material to be learned, set a mood conducive to learning, help organize in advance the material to be covered in a class session, ensure that students cognitively process the material being taught, and provide closure to an instructional session. They may be used at any time and can last a few minutes or a class period.

2. Formal cooperative learning groups: ü Designed for students to have enough time to thoroughly complete an academic assignment. ü May last several days or weeks. Design tasks include: o Positive interdependence o Face to face promotive interaction o Individual and group accountability o Social and Interpersonal Skills o Group processing

Activity 4 Suggest class activities that use cooperative learning

Examples of cooperative learning activities Ø Ø Ø Ø Ø Think-pair-share, Role-plays, Open-ended free conversations, Information-gap activities, Problem solving, Storytelling, Cooperative projects, Paired interviews, Sharing opinions, debating, narrating, describing, and explaining

Examples of cooperative learning activities Ø Jigsaw / Expanded jigsaw Ø Group Investigations (PBL) Ø Structured Problem Solving Ø Team-Pair-Solo Ø Numbered Heads Together Ø 2 x 4 Debate Ø Stump your partner

Elements of Cooperative Learning 1 -Positive Interdependence (sink or swim together) q Each group member's effort is required and indispensable for group success. q Each group member has a unique contribution to make to the joint effort because of his or her resources and/or role and task responsibilities.

Elements of Cooperative Learning 2. Face-to-Face Interaction (promote each other's success) Ø Ø Ø Orally explaining how to solve problems Teaching one's knowledge to other Checking for understanding Discussing concepts being learned Connecting present with past learning

Elements of Cooperative Learning 3. Individual & Group Accountability Ø Keeping the size of the group small. The smaller the size of the group the greater the individual accountability may be. Ø Giving an individual test to each student. Ø Randomly examining students orally by calling on one student to present his or her group's work to the teacher (in the presence of the group) or to the entire class. Ø Observing each group and recording the frequency with which each member contributes to the group's work. Ø Assigning one student in each group the role of checker. The checker asks other group members to explain the reasoning and rationale underlying group answers. Ø Having students teach what they learned to someone else.

Elements of Cooperative Learning 4. Interpersonal &Small-Group Skills Social skills must be taught: Ø Decision-making Ø Trust-building Ø Leadership Ø Communication Ø Conflict-management skills

Elements of Cooperative Learning 5. Group Processing Ø Group members discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships. Ø Describe what member actions are helpful and not helpful. Ø Make decisions about what behaviors to continue or change.

Activity 5 What are some of the challenges you might face when you apply cooperative learning?

Conclusion: Cooperative learning: �Cooperative learning has the best and largest empirical base of any educational innovation. �Cooperative processes have been shown to advance higher-level conceptual learning. �Cooperative learning at the high school level is well worth exploring.

REFERENCES David and Roger Johnson. "Cooperative Learning. " [Online] 15 October 2001. http: //www. clcrc. com/pages/cl. html David and Roger Johnson. "An Overview of Cooperative Learning. " [Online] 15 October 2001. http: //www. clcrc. com/pages/overviewpaper. html Howard Community College's Teaching Resources. "Ideas on Cooperative Learning and the use of Small Groups. " [Online] 15 October 2001. http: //www. howardcc. edu/profdev/resources/learning/groups 1. htm Kagan, Spencer. "Kagan Structures for Emotional Intelligence. " [Online] 15 October 2001. "http: //www. kagancooplearn. com/Newsletter/1001/index. html College Level One — Collaborative Learning Page. On the web at: http: //www. wcer. wisc. edu/nise/cl 1/CL/resource/R 1. asp Panitz, T. (1996). A Definition of Collaborative vs Cooperative Learning. On the web at: http: //www. lgu. ac. uk/deliberations/collab. learning/panitz 2. html

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