Submitted July 5, 2007
University of South Dakota
LT
712 Principles of Learning for Instructional Technologies
Summer
2007
According
to the American Oxford Dictionary, cooperation
is the process of working together towards the same end. Cooperative learning
is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to
maximize their own and each otherÕs learning. (Johnson & Johnson, 1994).
Class members are organized into small groups after receiving instruction from
the teachers. These groups work through the assignment until all members
successfully understand and complete it. Johnson and Johnson (n.d.) state,
ÒCooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that
all group members gain from each otherÕs efforts.Ó This also means that no one group member possesses all the
information, skills, or resources necessary for the completion of the assignment. Johnson and Johnson (1994) continue,
ÒThere are three basic ways students can interact with each other as they
learn. They can compete to see who is best. They can work individually toward a
goal without paying attention to other students, or they can work cooperatively
with a vested interest in each otherÕs learning as well as their own.Ó
Competition is presently the most dominant with the majority of students in the
United States viewing school as a competitive enterprise where one tries to do
better than other students.
Cooperation among students who celebrate each otherÕs successes,
encourage each other to do homework, and learn to work together regardless of
ethnic background or whether they are male or female bright or struggling,
disabled or not, is still rare. (Johnson & Johnson, 1994). According to
Panitz (n.d.), ÒThe underlying premise for cooperative learning is founded in
constructivist epistemology. Knowledge is discovered by students and
transformed into concepts students can relate to. Learning consists of active
participation by the students versus passive acceptance of information
presented by an expert lecturer.Ó Johnson and JohnsonÕs (1994) research has
shown that cooperative learning techniques promote student learning and
academic achievement, increase student retention, enhance student satisfaction
with their learning experience, help students develop skills in oral
communication and social skills, promote self-esteem, and promote positive race
relations. Cooperative learning is an effective approach in the classroom when
used correctly by educators.
Educators
fool themselves when thinking that well-meaning directives to work together,
cooperate and be a team will be enough to create cooperative efforts among
group members. Placing students in groups and telling them to work together
does not in and of itself result in cooperation. Sitting in groups can actually
result in competition at close quarters or individual work with talking. (Johnson & Johnson, n.d.) The
essential elements of cooperative learning are necessary for long-term success.
Sapon-Shevin, Ayres, & Duncan (1994), assert, ÒIf teachers or students are
uncomfortable with cooperative learning, it is often because they have adopted
the technique without a firm understanding of the underlying principles and without
sufficient support to implement creative, multilevel cooperative learning
activities.Ó The essential elements are: positive interdependence, face-to-face
interaction, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small group
skills, and group processing.
Positive
interdependence is successfully structured when group members perceive that
they are linked with each other in a way that one cannot succeed unless
everyone succeeds. Each group memberÕs efforts are required and indispensable
for group success and each member has a unique contribution to make. Each
member has a unique contribution to make because of his or her resources and/or
role and task responsibilities. (Johnson & Johnson, 1994)
In
face-to-face interaction, students do real work together, in which they share
resources, help, support, and encourage each otherÕs efforts to achieve. This
includes orally explaining how to solve problems, teaching oneÕs knowledge to
others, checking for understanding, and discussing concepts being learned. This
ensures and academic and personal support system. ÒThe drawbacks of groups composed entirely of weak students
are obvious and groups of all strong students are likely to parcel out the work
rather than engaging in the group discussions and informal tutoring that lead
to many of the proven instructional benefits of cooperative learning,Ó declare
Felder and Brent, 2001).
The
third element is individual and group accountability. The group must be
accountable for achieving its goals and each member must be held accountable
for contributing his or her share of the work. Some ways to maintain student responsibility are keeping the
size the groups small, giving individual tests to each student, randomly examine
students orally by calling on one student to present his/her groupÕs work to
the teacher or class, observing each group and recording frequency of member
contributions, assigning one student in each group the role of checker, and
having students teach what they learn to someone else (Johnson & Johnson,
1994). Felder and Brent (2001), suggest that collecting peer ratings and using
those to adjust grades for each member can also be worthwhile. In a peer
rating, the students confidentially rate their teammates and themselves on
various aspects of cooperative work. The individual ratings for each member are
divided by the overall team average rating to determine grade adjustment
factors. The product of a studentÕs adjustment factor and the team assignment
grade is that studentÕs grade for the assignment.
Johnson
and Johnson (n.d.), report that cooperative learning is more complex than
competitive or individualistic learning because students have to engage
simultaneously in task work and teamwork. Social skills for effective
cooperative work do not magically appear when cooperative lessons are employed.
Instead, Òsocial skills must be taught to students just as purposefully and
precisely as academic skills. Leadership, decision-making, trust-building,
communication, and conflict-management skills empower students to manage both
team work and task work successfully,Ó according to Johnson and Johnson,
(1994).
The
final element is group processing. This exists when group members discuss how
well they are achieving their goals and working relationships. Group members
describe what member actions are helpful and not helpful while making decisions
about what behaviors to continue or change. Such processing enables learning
groups to focus on maintaining good working relationships among members,
facilitates the learning of cooperative skills, ensures that members receive
feedback, ensures that students think on the metacognitive as well as the
cognitive level and provides the means to celebrate group successes and
reinforce positive behaviors (Johnson & Johnson, 1994). A simple way to do
this is a focused writing of ÒList three things your group is doing well today
and one thing you could improve.Ó
Dr.
Theodore Panitz in chapter four of TedÕs Cooperative Learning E-Book focuses on the reasons why teachers do not use
collaborative learning techniques in their classrooms. He believes the cause
lies in the Òcurrent educational system, which emphasizes content memorization
and individual student performance through competition.Ó The biggest impediment
to cooperative learning lies in the fact that many teachers fell they give up
control of the class if they give more responsibility to the students for their
learning. When a teacher lectures, he/she gets the feeling that the content is
being covered, because it has been presented to the students in an orderly
fashion. (Panitz, 2005). Another issue is that many teachers lack the
self-confidence to try methods that may expose them to potentially difficult
situations when students ask unanticipated questions. Cooperative learning
redefines the role of teacher from expert to facilitator. Some people cannot
face the risk because of a fear of looking stupid. Panitz (2005) says,
ÒAllowing and encouraging students to answer each otherÕs questions is contrary
to the typical teacher centered class. Cooperative learning contradicts the
concept that teachers are repositories of subject knowledge whose role is
simply to pour in the open, empty willing minds of students, their vast
reservoir of knowledge.Ó Another of the many fears Panitz describes is the fear
of the loss of content coverage. This occurs because group interactions often
take longer than simple lectures. Students need time to accumulate enough
information in order to use it within their groups and they need time to work together
for presentation to the whole class.
Panitz,
Johnson, R. and Johnson D. suggested similar class activities that use
cooperative learning. One was the ÒJigsawÓ. This activity uses groups of 4-5
students in which each group member is assigned some unique material to learn
and then to teach his group members. To help in the learning, students across
the class working on the same subsection get together to decide what is
important and how to teach it. After practice in these expert groups, the original
groups re-form and students teach each other. Then an assessment follows. ÒPair
ReadingÓ is another suggested activity. Pairs of students work together to read
the same section from the text. One student explains the section to his/her
partner. The partner listens and then asks questions. The listener rephrases
the explanation and then students alternate the roles of explainer and listener
until all the material is completed. Groups of students are asked at random to
explain the material to the whole class as a check of understanding. In ÒRound
Robin Brainstorming,Ó the class is divided into small groups with one person
appointed as the recorder. A question is posed with many answers and students
are given time to think. After the think time, members of the team share
responses with one another round robin style. The recorder writes down the
answers of the group members. Each person in the group in order gives an answer
until time is called.
In
conclusion, Johnson and Johnson (1994), state that their research and the
research of many others dating back to the late 1800Õs has established that
having students work together is a powerful way for them to learn and has
positive effects on the classroom and school climate. The ability of all
students to cooperatively work together is the keystone to building and
maintaining stable marriages, families, careers, and friendships. Being able to perform technical and
academic skills are valuable, but of little use if the person cannot apply
those skills in cooperative interaction with other people in career, family,
and community environments. We need to encourage that a healthy portion of
instruction is cooperative.
References:
Felder,
R. M., & Brent, R. (2001). Effective strategies for cooperative learning. Journal
of Cooperation & Collaboration in College Teaching, 10, 69-75. Retrieved July 1, 2007, from http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Cooperative_Learning.html#Publications-Coop
Johnson,
R. T. & Johnson, D. W. (1994). An overview of cooperative learning.
Retrieved June 29, 2007, from http://www.co-operation.org/pages/overviewpaper.html
Johnson,
R. T. & Johnson, D. W. (n.d.). Cooperative learning. Retrieved June 29,
2007, from http://www.co-operation.org/pages/cl.html
Panitz,
T. Dr. (n.d.), Cooperative learning saves the day: One teacherÕs story.
Retrieved June 29, 2007 from Education World Professional Development Center
web site: http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr287a.shtml
Panitz,
T. Dr. (2005), Why more teachers do not use collaborative learning techniques
[Electronic version]. TedÕs Cooperative Learning E-Book (chapt.4). Retrieved June 29, 2007, from http://home.capecod.net/%7Etpanitz/ebook/contents.html
Sapon-Shevin,
M., Ayres, B. J., & Duncan, J. (1994), Cooperative learning and inclusion.
Retrieved June 28, 2007, from http://www.co-operation.org/pages/overviewpaper.html