Oregon State University The Nuts and Bolts of an Inquiry Based Cooperative Learning Environment J. E. Trempy Oregon State University

Cooperative Learning A very powerful student active method High student satisfaction High retention of information Stronger impact on student productivity Effective in improving critical thinking, self esteem, racial/ethnic relations and prosocial behavior

What are the impediments?

Students must move from: Passive listeners and note takers to active problem solvers, discoverers, contributors Low/moderate to high expectations of preparedness Low risk private to high risk public presence Personal responsibility for attendance to community expectation Individualistic competition Formal impersonal relationships with peers and instructors to genuine interest in others Viewing instructors and texts as sole authorities to seeing themselves as experts and contributors

Traditional Classrooms Of the four learning styles, Digital (reading/writing) and Auditory learners do not usually face difficulties in traditional college classrooms Visual and Kinesthetic learners however are often left behind

Multi-Sensory Teaching Propose: all students learn more and better from multiple sense presentations (Woods, 1989) Reading 5-10% retained + Hearing 10-20% retained + Visual 30% retained + Speaking 70% retained + Doing >90% retained

What is cooperative learning? Learner centered instructional process. Small (3-5 students), intentionally selected groups of students work interdependently on a well defined task, such as a problem to be solved. Students are individually held accountable for learning and participation. Cooperation is necessary for success. Instructor/Professor is the facilitator/consultant in this group learning process. D. Johnson and R. Johnson

Cooperative learning is NOT: Students sitting together and discussing, yet working on their individual assignments. Students doing individual projects or assignments with the instructions that the ones who finish first are to help the others. Assigning a task to a group of students, yet only a few members of the group work on the assignment. D. Johnson and R. Johnson

Cooperative learning is NOT a new idea Talmud: “In order to learn you must have a learning partner.” Quintillion: “Students could benefit from teaching one another.” Seneca: “When you teach, you learn.” Comenius (1592-1679): believed students would benefit both by teaching and being taught by other students. Lancaster/Bell (late 1700’s): used cooperative learning groups in England. Lancastrian school opened in New York City in 1806, bringing this teaching method to America. D. Johnson and R. Johnson

Do you know how your students interact with one another? We (the professor) spend a lot of time arranging appropriate interactions between students and materials We devote some time learning how to interact with our students. However! Very little time is spent on how students should interact with each other. Peer interaction is a neglected aspect of instruction.

Three basic ways students interact with each other as they learn Competitively: compete to see who is the best Individualistically: work alone toward a goal Cooperatively: work together toward a goal with a vested interest in each other’s learning as well as their own Of the three, competition is presently the most dominant Current teaching strategies reinforce competition Promote individualistic learning in college courses

Big difference between assigning students to work in a group and structuring groups of students to work cooperatively. Cooperative learning is not discussion groups (collaborative learning) or study groups. Cooperative learning is not a group of students assigned to do a project where only one or two members in the group actually contribute

Elements of Cooperative Learning Clearly perceived positive interdependence Considerable promotive interaction Clearly perceived individual accountability and personal responsibility to achieve the group’s goals Frequent use of the relevant interpersonal and small group skills Frequent and regular group processing of current functioning to improve the group’s future effectiveness R.T. and D.W. Johnson

What is positive interdependence? Students perceive they are linked with their team in such a way that they cannot succeed unless their whole team does. each team member’s efforts are absolutely required. Students must coordinate their efforts with the efforts of their team in order to complete a task. Each team member has a unique contribution to make to the joint effort because of his/her expertise and responsibilities. Expert roles Functional roles: recorder, spokesperson, summarizer, corrector, skeptic, organizer, manager, observer, time keeper, conflict resolver, liaison

What is promotive interaction? Team members encourage and facilitate each other’s efforts to achieve, complete tasks, and produce in order to achieve the group’s goals.

How might you structure accountability?

How might you structure accountability? No freeloaders allowed Size of the group---should be small. Individual grades Individually test after completing the cooperative activity. Observe the activities of the group. Ask each member to participate in a presentation so as to demonstrate what they have learned. Have each student teach the other students what they have learned.

“I will pay more for the ability to deal with people than any other ability under the sun.” -John D. Rockefeller Not only are interpersonal and small group skills important in the real world, they are an essential element of cooperative learning. Humans are not born instinctively knowing how to interact effectively with each other. Students must be provided with role models examples of effective interpersonal skills group processing opportunities

What is group processing? reflection on how well the group is functioning formulating plans as to how to improve the groups’ work processes. Purpose: to clarify and improve the effectiveness of the members efforts to achieve the group’s goals.

Structuring Cooperative Learning Activities Think pair share: dissect a question that has multiple components Jigsaw: each team member is assigned a mini topic to research. may meet with members of other groups students then meet to discuss, integrate and further refine Constructive controversy: assigned opposing sides of an issue Group investigation inquiry based, problem based, case study based

Other Small Group Activities?

How do you develop appropriate activities for inquiry based cooperative learning? Consider demographics and skills when developing teams Act like a manager and be a role model: don’t be afraid to emulate good interpersonal skills

What are Common Mistakes Group size too large Not preparing students to work in cooperative groups Assuming students will magically develop social skills. Not teaching students appropriate interaction skills Letting students choose their own groups Not planning tasks with care, an unclear learning goal Assuming cooperative groups can handle complex tasks Not building in accountability Not carefully monitoring groups while they are working

Myth : Students know how to be productive in a group situation. Reality : Students do not know how to work productively in groups. The professor must assume the role of CEO for this course be responsible for initially defining team goals facilitating productive team interactions a liaison for each team is identified

Myth: Students know what to do in a cooperative learning environment. Reality: For the most part, students will not know what to do in a cooperative learning environment because they have been conditioned to learn competitively/individualistically. Provide mini learning activities that require frequent use of relevant interpersonal small group skills Opportunity for group processing