CHAPTER 19
QUESTIONS ABOUT COOPERATIVE LEARNING
Adapted, with permission, from The Cooperative Learning Center at the University of Minnesota
Co-Directors: Roger T. Johnson and David W. Johnson
What are the common advantages and disadvantages to using cooperative
learning groups in the elementary classroom?
Roger Johnson replies:
The major advantage is the increased learning
and retention when students have to be concerned about each others' learning
and talk through the material verbally. There are numerous other positive
outcomes demonstrated in the research as well including increased self-esteem,
acceptance of differences in a diverse classroom, positive attitudes toward
school, subject matter and teacher, etc.
Some advantages not talked about as much are the
way the role of the teacher changes from direct teaching (center of attention)
to monitor, intervener, processor. Many teachers have reported that they
know the students much better because they are watching them learn, listening
to them talk, and interacting with them directly in the small groups. ....
Most of the disadvantages come from not implementing
the cooperative structure carefully. If you just put students into groups
to learn and don't structure the positive interdependence and individual
accountability, you find groups where one person does most (or all) of
the work and the others sign off as if they learned it, too; or you have
a "bossy" student who doesn't allow the others to take part; or other group
dynamic problems that come from not setting the ground rules for behavior
and carefully crafting the group dynamics. Even when the structure is done
well, there are still students who need help learning cooperative skills
(communication, leadership, trust building, decision making and conflict
resolution). ....
It is also evident from the research that
cooperative groups are at their best when the school work is difficult
and/or complex. Easy tasks can sometimes be done as well alone (although
learning spelling words is more fun and effective in a pair). ....
It is also thought that it takes more time
to teach material in a cooperative way (although more students learn more
of the material). This is probably true, especially in the beginning when
cooperative learning is new to the teacher and to the students. Cooperative
learning does not necessarily replace good teaching, it usually follows
it so you have two stages to teaching: the teaching of the material and
the "taking ownership" in the cooperative groups. (In an inquiry lesson
that sequence might be reversed.) However, when the teacher gets
more precise in the teaching and realizes that she only has to teach it
well enough for at least one person in each group to understand, things
speed up. The students also get more comfortable and skillful as
they succeed together. Even then it might take more time to get better
learning.
It is good to look at cooperative learning
as a process to increase learning outcomes but it has inherent value in
itself. Helping students learn how to build and maintain relationships
is a priceless gift for friendships, family, future jobs and in a democracy.
The values that are inherent in the cooperative structure (i.e. appreciation
of differences, teamwork, integrity, building strong individuals cooperatively,
etc.) are the key to a democratic way of life.
There are also positive values in teaching students
to work well individually and to compete appropriately (learning and enjoying
the experience whether you win or lose). See the book, LEARNING TOGETHER
AND ALONE (Prentice Hall) for how to use all three goal structures appropriately.
How do I assure that students achieve their maximum potential, and
do not 'ride on the shoulders' of other students?
Roger Johnson replies:
In our definitions of cooperation, you will
find that one basic element is "individual accountability" (each student
contributing to the learning of the group). This starts with the teacher
clearly saying that all group members must sign off on the answers indicating
that they agree and can explain each answer. Other strategies include:
If there are several people hitchhiking,
follow up the project with an individual test.
Announce that you will move from group to group
and put one person on the spot to represent the group and explain any part
of the assignment already completed.
At or near the end of the assignment, have each
group member leave their group and pair up with a person from another group
and compare answers and rationale.
Give groups a number and have group members letter
off. Pull "answerers" out of a hat (i.e. 3B).
There are others as well. The main thing that needs to be done is to
impress all group members that they are not being a good group member if
they let someone not learn.
For further ideas, check the paper "Overview of
Cooperative Learning" on the web site www.co-operation.org.
How do you do meaningful assessment in group work that reflects individual
accountability?
Roger Johnson replies:
The strength of meaningful and manageable assessment
in the cooperative classroom is that much of the assessing is self-assessment
and peer assessment. When students get into the habit of assessing their
own work and sharing in with peers in a small group where it often gets
adjusted slightly, the concept of continuous, performance assessment really
begins to happen at an individual and group level. If the teacher is worried
about wide spread "hitchhiking" in groups, an individual test can be given
to all students with the results processed in the groups (How well did
each of us do? What could we do to perform better?).
Besides the individual test, many teachers will single out one person
in a group while they are working and ask them (informally) to explain
an answer. If anyone has difficulty explaining, the group is charged with
reviewing that material so that all group members know the material. It
is also helpful to train students into the role of checker who has to validate
that all the group members have learned the material before the group is
finished or a product is turned in. For more ideas, see Cooperation in
the Classroom or Circles of Learning, or Nuts and Bolts of Cooperative Learning.
When should cooperative groups be changed?
Roger Johnson replies:
The rule we use is to feel free to change
groups after they have experienced success. If the groups are not successful,
they need to process why they are not successful and work through it. If
you change groups for unsuccessful students they take a negative attitude
and lack of confidence with them to the next group and that one doesn't
work, either.
Often the curriculum gives you good changing
points (i.e. end of a chapter, end of a unit, end of the week). Keep in
mind that a worthy goal is to have every student working cooperatively
with every other student in the classroom eventually.
....
The longer you leave groups together, the
better they should become if they are working under a cooperative structure.
However, the more often you change the groups, the sooner a cooperative
umbrella spreads over the entire classroom so that students are concerned
about everyone's progress. The rule of thumb is to leave groups together
long enough to be successful and then you can change them. Groups that
are unsuccessful need intervention and time. Many primary teachers will
change groups weekly; some do it daily (depending on the assignment); many
use different groups for different subjects to give students more exposure
to new partners. The main thing is to keep the groups small and to change
them often enough to have your most reluctant students say, "Put me with
anybody".
What changes in teacher behaviors may require extra effort in cooperative
learning?
Roger Johnson replies:
Use the monitoring
time wisely. Because the students are active during the learning time rather
than passive, the teacher is free to monitor what students are saying to
each other and what they are doing to accomplish the assignment. What is
even more exciting is that the learning is taking place out loud and you
can hear it as it happens. All monitoring should be purposeful (and often
isn't) and should lead to insight on how students deal with the content,
how they interact with each other and who each one of them is as a person.
The teacher must "learn" the students.
Teachers must trust the peer interaction to
do many of the things they have felt responsible for themselves. Trusting
positive peer interaction is mastered over time. The teacher often thinks
they could "say it better" than a peer, but must realize that they are
not "listened to" in the same way. Sometimes it is good to time how long
it takes you to get to the student active part of the lesson and 'wear
tape on your mouth' as you monitor.
What about the Kid Who ...?
The Most Difficult Students
One of the most common, if not the most common
question asked about cooperative learning always begins with, "What about
the kid who...?". Obviously some of the people asking this question are
looking for a magic wand which cooperative learning certainly is not. It
does not make a hyper-active student calm when they are put into a cooperative
relationship with other students. What you have is a cooperative group
with a hyper-active student in it. However, we have noticed that students
often do better at handling difficult students than adults do and they
often have more influence.
There are many different kinds of "difficult
kids". Some are described as unmotivated, others as bossy, or silent, or
resistant. The most difficult seem to be those with behavior problems,
especially abusive behavior toward other students. Actually, there are
no two difficult kids who are the same and to develop strategies for refocusing
a student on appropriate behavior and academic success, we would need to
observe the student in action and brainstorm with the teacher who sees
them each day. .... You cannot really generalize about difficult
students. To really go to work on the problem we would need to be
there, observing, interviewing and brainstorming to devise strategies for
each "difficult student".
Nevertheless, here are a few things to consider:
1) First you need to celebrate all the students
who are successfully working in their groups. Start with this positive
feeling and hold on to it as you focus on a problem with a difficult student
or group.
2) Sometimes students are damaging the work
of the group enough that they require a "Time Out" from the group. They
should be separated, informed that they were holding the group back from
their work more than helping it (preferably with specific examples of their
negative behavior), and asked to do the assignment on their own. Keep in
mind that a "Time Out" carries the message that they will be returned to
the group in due time (usually the next class period) and they should be
ready to be a productive member. Isolating a student completely from cooperative
work is the same as giving up on their developing the skills needed to
be a part of a productive cooperative relationship in the future and it
doesn't give their classmates a chance to "capture" them eventually. The
"Time Out" process may need to be repeated several times and some students
may be more than a one-semester or one-year project.
3) Change groups often and announce the change
schedule so that other students realize they are not "stuck" with the difficult
student forever. Everybody will get their turn. Sometimes a particular
group or student will find a way to focus the difficult student enough
to be part of the group and join in on the successful completion of an
assignment. That is quite a celebration by the group and is remembered.
4) Many difficult problems can be addressed
anonymously and in a problem solving manner by the class. Some teachers
devote the first 5-10 minutes of a class period periodically for a brainstorming
session around, "What would you do if a member of your group ....?". Have
the groups come up with strategies, chose the two they like best, then
list them on the board and process them with the class so they have something
to try. Feel free to add your own strategies, too. Actually the best ideas
often come from the students who own the negative behavior. The bossy students
have the best ideas on how to handle themselves.
5) A personal contract with the student is
sometimes effective. Sit down with the student and privately process the
problem. It is good to have specific data to share, but you should
turn the conversation quickly to problem solving. One of my favorite questions
is, "Under what conditions would you agree to try hard to work in a group?".
Sometimes the student suggests something that could be easily done (i.e.
"If I could work with ..."). In that case you can make a secret contract
with the student. Sometimes it is a contract that can be shared with the
cooperative group the student is working in so that they can help the student
keep the contract.
6) One of the problems with difficult students
is the initial reception of the student by the other group members. Obvious
dismay or derision by other students starts the group badly for all. One
of our teachers had success integrating a difficult student by attaching
"bonus points" to the student so that the group already had five points
on the project or test before they even started. This procedure may have
worked because it identifies the student's problem openly and honestly
to the group and it certainly made the welcome more positive. Actually
when word got out, other students were asking if they could have the difficult
student next time. If it makes you uneasy to address a student problem
publicly, you should think about what the message from the teacher that
they will help you hide the problem suggests.
7) In extreme cases, you will need to get
other professionals to observe and diagnose strategies for the student.
We are getting a growing number of students with rather severe problems
that need more than one opinion. Special Education Teachers have training
in this area and School Psychologists are glad to have a real student to
concentrate on rather than paper work. Perhaps the student is going to
need an adult (or older student) to sit behind them in the group to remind
them of appropriate behavior. Even if it is only for one period a day,
we need to keep trying to integrate the most difficult students into the
group as productive members.
The results of isolation are never learning interpersonal
skills, remaining isolated for long periods of time or finding other isolates
to form a counter culture. Generally they will mean that you will pay taxes
to take care of those students later rather than having them work in an
organization and paying into your social security. The most important advice
then for difficult students is for us to keep trying. Trust your appropriately
behaving students; they are smarter about each other than you think.
What Happens to the Bright Students?
There is an implicit feeling behind the question
that bright students are better off on their own or are being taken advantage
of by their less able group members. Actually, when bright students are
working in heterogeneous groups, two things occur which are to their benefit.
When they explain their idea to others, especially if it needs to be done
carefully, they learn the material they are explaining in more depth and
remember it longer. This phenomena, called "cognitive rehearsal", is often
noted by teachers when they discover that they don't really understand
something until they have to teach it. The other positive outcome is the
way bright students are perceived by their group members. When students
are in competition with bright students, they tend to denigrate them and
stereotype them as "brains" or "nerds". It is another matter when they
are part of your cooperative group. They are seen as resources and are
valued as teammates. The social integration and appreciation of our brightest
students by their peers is a much more appropriate attitude than the social
isolation of the competitive setting.
Keep in mind that not all time is spent in
cooperative learning groups (students also work individually), and that
sometimes it is good to put the brightest students in a cooperative group
with each other to extend their thinking. Flexible classrooms where students
are in many different kinds of groups and often work alone as well are
ideal.
Cooperative Learning Resources Bibliography Ch. 18: Cooperative Learning Ch. 3: How To
Train Ch. 2: How
She Did It Ch. 1: Class Session Scripts: Relax
Visualizing
Attitude Self-Evaluation
Table
of Contents © Harold Jung. haroldjung50@hotmail.com
