Very interestingly, collaborative learning is something I will consider in the future and I can see the benefits of collaborative learning and the connection between learning that involves both students and faculty. As an English teacher in college, I incorporated a lot of group work into my lessons. I did so for a number of reasons. Sometimes it was because a task seemed like a natural complement to cooperative learning, like the days when I wanted students to brainstorm ideas together. At other times, it was just a matter of mixing things up and doing something else. And then there was the principle of “fewer grades”: if I had 120 students and I gave an assignment in groups of four, it would mean that I would only have to grade 30 final products instead of 120. At some point in this process, our tendency may have been to divide the group. The effect of this choice will usually be to make us feel better and it will stop the conflict. But from the perspective of the social learning model, it will show why it may not be a good idea. If students learn that we save groups by dividing them when they don`t get along with each other, we will have more groups asking us with their words and/or actions to divide them and free them from a group of students they didn`t want to work with at all. Ultimately, if cooperative learning hasn`t really worked for you in the past, you don`t lose hope. There are so many people who have found fantastic ways to get it right, so choose yourself and your students again, try some of the things we`ve covered here and see if you can do better next time.
How to play a role. While this may seem like common sense, few students know what constitutes the successful execution of their role. Giving a title to a student is not enough preparation for his work. It will be helpful to create a written job description for common roles that you use during cooperative learning. A written statement is useful on several levels. First of all, it brings the clarity that only words can. Second, it helps the student who prefers to read the information privately rather than having to ask. Third, it gives group members a tool for cases where they need to remind a member of their group what it means to fulfill their role. Fourth, it saves us a lot of verbal explanations over time.
However, we will also want to take advantage of opportunities to clarify what it means to fulfill each role effectively. An effective means will be our own positive recognition. In our feedback process, we can stop the group and mention a behavior we just saw to clarify the quality. Imagine, for example, that we notice a student who is in the role of the recorder, who takes the opportunity to read to the group what he has written from time to time, and we realize that it is an effective action. This may not be something we have included in the written work description (it will be next time, now that we have seen it), but we want others to be aware of it in order to improve the quality of other groups as well. We could say something like, “I noticed that Javier in this group took the opportunity to read to the band what he writes as a recorder. Do you think that is useful? (We ask Javier`s group, which answers in the affirmative). This can be an effective technique for recorders of any group they can try.
“Remember our guiding principle of making public positive recognitions and private negative recognitions. Reflection Chapter 12-h: Reflect on your experiences as a student in cooperative groups. How did you feel when you were evaluated based on the performance of the entire group? Do you see the pros and cons of individual and group notes for collaboration? How will this affect your decisions as a teacher? Aside from the academic and social achievements that cooperative learning has provided for generations, we are now at a time when it may be more important than ever. By studying the many factors involved in the formation of groups, it becomes clear that this task must be carried out carefully. Much of the potential management problems will be due to a neglectful development of the group (Lotan, 2006; Rubin, 2003). Remove the students from the group. It is tempting to relieve some students` discomfort by removing a member of the group they don`t like or don`t want to work with. For the boring member of the group, this can be a convenient way not to have to look stupid or work with others to become so boring that the teacher comes to him and removes him from the group. But examine these dynamics using the social learning model. When we allow students to dictate who they want in their groups by sulking, complaining, or being passively aggressive, we amplify that behavior in those students; and 2) teach the rest of the class that if they do the same, we will help them and also allow their intolerance. If we continue to suppress students, we quickly create outcasts.
Do not move the mouse pointer. Send the message that we trust that students can find a way to function more efficiently, and then we put our energy into the students who are on the job and invest in the process. We give the group time to solve “their problem”. Learning style similarities – The teacher creates groups that have personality types, cognitive styles, learning styles, or a type of intelligence. It is best to group by learning the style of using mixed groups. To create the most heterogeneous combination in terms of learning style, first identify each student`s preference on the Extraversion/E vs Introversion/I and Concrete (Sensate/S) vs Abstract (Intuitive/N) scale. This can be done in several ways, including managing the Paragon Learning Style Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, or the Kolb Learning Style Inventory. Once you`ve determined each student`s style preference, try creating groups that include all four combinations of types. The cooperative group skills that students must master include how to listen, how to resolve conflicts, how to communicate concerns, how to make decisions, how to play a role, how to execute the necessary learning process, and how to share. Below are descriptions of each of these skills. I love the concept of collaborative learning, which I`ve been hearing about for a few years, but I`ve only ever done individual activities.
My biggest question is how to teach these collaborative skills – whatever they are – well. I know there is a bit of information about explicit teaching in this article, but I`d like to read more concrete information about what it looks like.