The Role of Instructor in Group Or Cooperative Learning More Heads are Better than One

Formal Cooperative Learning Structured via pre-instructional decisions Set tasks Monitor groups while they work Evaluate student learning and group function

Instructor Makes pre- instructional decisions Specify academic and social skills objectives Decide on group size Decide group composition Assign roles Arrange the room Plan materials

Explain Task and Cooperative Structure Explain the academic task Explain the criteria for success Structure positive interdependence Structure intergroup cooperation Structure individual accountability Specify expected behavior

Monitor and intervene Arrange face-to-face promotive interaction Monitor students’ behavior Intervene to improve taskwork and teamwork

Evaluate and Process Evaluate student learning--involve students in the assessment process Process group functioning--list three things they did well as a group and one thing they will do better tomorrow

Jigsaw Groups Divide students into groups of four Assign each student a different portion of the project/assignment Have group members from different jigsaw groups assigned the same task reform into expert groups Once members feel comfortable with their topics they rejoin their original group and explain what they have learned

Informal Small Group Work Temporary Ad hoc groups Focus student attention on material Ensure students cognitively process the material Allows for identifying and correcting misconceptions, incorrect understanding, gaps in comprehension Personalize learning experience

Focused Discussions During lecturing and direct teaching, every 10 to 15 minutes, students are asked to discuss/process what they are learning Plan your lecture around a series of questions

Think, Pair, Share (turn to your partner) Every 10 to 15 minutes during a lecture Think: Students think independently about the question that has been posed, forming ideas of their own. Pair: Students are grouped in pairs to discuss their thoughts. Share: Student pairs share their ideas with a larger group, such as the whole class.

Closure focused question Students are asked to summarize what they have learned from the lecture Point students toward the homework

Instructors define learning goals / Problem solving / Reviewing of material / Building group cohesion / Increasing social skills / Reinforcing a concept / Problem solving / Reviewing of material / Building group cohesion / Increasing social skills / Reinforcing a concept

Strategies for improved group work / Teach students how to cooperate / Assign students to heterogeneous groups / Give students explicit instructions for each activity / Hold each individual student accountable for participation and learning in group work settings / Teach students how to cooperate / Assign students to heterogeneous groups / Give students explicit instructions for each activity / Hold each individual student accountable for participation and learning in group work settings

Five Basic elements for Groups (formal/informal)  Positive interdependence  Individual accountability  Face-to-face interaction  Interpersonal and small group skills  Group processing  Positive interdependence  Individual accountability  Face-to-face interaction  Interpersonal and small group skills  Group processing

References Cooperative Learning Institute and Interaction Book Company, Johnson, Johnson & Smith operation.org/ operation.org/ Frey, Nancy,Douglas Fisher, & Sandi Everlove (2009). Productive Group Work: How to Engage Students, Build Teamwork, and Promote Understanding. Alexandria, VA:ASCD. Halpern, Diane, and Associates (1994). Changing College Classrooms:New Teaching and Learning Strategies for an Increasingly Complex World.San Francisco:Jossey-Bass Publishers.