Cooperative learning involves students working together towards common goals. According to (Orey, Cooperative learning, 2001), this process “involves a series of steps, requiring students to create, analyze and apply concepts.” This instructional strategy promotes student dialogue to foster the generation of ideas through discussion and debate (Orey, Cooperative learning, 2001). Cooperative learning supports the basic assumptions of social learning theory.
Social Learning theories assert that learning occurs by way of our interactions with others (Orey, Social constructivism, 2001). Theorists who maintain this notion of learning also claim that learning is a social process, stressing “the need for collaboration among learners,” (Orey, Social constructivism, 2001). These core beliefs mesh well with cooperative learning strategies. Another principle of social learning theory is that people learn through observing others. By its very nature, students involved in cooperative learning observe the behavior of their peers, learning through watching their behaviors.
One specific strategy that promotes cooperative learning is a jigsaw activity. Students engaged in a jigsaw are responsible for collecting information on a specific topic, and reporting it back to their group (Orey, Cooperative learning, 2001). To incorporate educational technology into this strategy, students could utilize Google Docs and Google Notebook. These online tools enable students to work together in a virtual environment, allowing them to share information in real time, even when they are in different locations (Hargis & Wilcox, 2008). I put my own spin on the traditional jigsaw activity to further promote the principles cooperative learning. After each member shares his or her research with the rest of the group, they will need to synthesize the information further, to solve a problem as a group. This way, the structured problem-solving aspect of cooperative learning is met.
Hargis, J., & Wilcox, S. (2008, October). Ubiquitous, free, and efficient online collaboration tools for teaching and learning. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education (TOJDE), 9(4), 9–17.
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Cooperative learning. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Social constructivism. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
I am always at a loss as to how I could incorporate a jigsaw activity into my math class. Math is something that requires direct or guided instruction followed by practice. I can't see students researching and learning math skills on their own. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteI just used the jigsaw strategy and incorporated Kidspiration into it.
ReplyDeleteMy reading group was going to be reading a book where a parrot was one of the main characters. After a brief discussion with my students, some of which are ELL learners, it became clear that they had little understanding of parrots. So I decided to do a little research with them.
I made a blank web and saved it in a shared files folder where all students could access it. The topics were simple: appearance, sounds, food and home. Each student was assigned one topic and with the laptop found 2-3 basic facts that they placed in the web. When they were done I merged their work into one web, printed it and allowed each student to share what they found, using pictures to assist when needed.
It was successful, and now we can read the book with the students having some basic background knowledge.
basic assumption about cooperative learning... what's that??
ReplyDelete