Cooperative Learning

The Structure of Physics Lessons §Mini-lecture §Class Work ( In Groups) §Small Quiz §Practice, Experiment / Homework (Group) §Chapter Test §Follow-up homework (Hard/Easy)

The Standard Class Work Home Work Chapter Test H.W (followup) AL (E)

Teaching Method Group Work Experiment Do it yourself

CA §CA from the average group score of your team

What is Cooperative Learning and How is it Different from Competitive and Individualistic Learning? (I) §Cooperative Learning: The instructional use of small groups through which students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning. §Competitive Learning: Students work against each other to achieve an academic goal (e.g. "A") that only one or a few students can attain.

What is Cooperative Learning and How is it Different from Competitive and Individualistic Learning? (II) §Individualistic Learning: Students work by themselves to accomplish learning goals unrelated to those of the other students.

What Are Some Benefits of Cooperative Learning?

Cooperative Learning Helps To: §1. Raise achievement of students. §2. Build positive relationships among students (The heart of creating a learning community that values diversity). §3. Gives students the experiences they need for healthy social, psychological, and cognitive development.

Research Review(I): §1. Higher Achievement §2. Increased Retention §3. More positive heterogenous relationships §4. Greater intrinsic motivation §5. Higher self-esteem

Research Review(II): §6. Greater social Support §7. More on-task behavior §8. Better attitudes toward teachers §9. Better attitudes toward school

Additional Benefits of Cooperative Learning (I): §1. When students are working toward a common goal, academic work becomes an activity valued by peers. §2. Students are motivated to help one another learn. §3. Students are able to translate the teacher's language into "student" language for one another.

Additional Benefits of Cooperative Learning (II): §4. Students who explain to one another learn by doing. §5. When students have to organize their thoughts to explain ideas to teammates, they must engage in cognitive elaboration that greatly enhances their own understanding. §6. Teammates can provide individual attention and assistance to one another.

Traditional Learning Groups(I): §Responsibility only for self §No interdependence §No individual accountability §Social Skills Assumed §Teacher Primary Resource §Teacher Intervenes

Traditional Learning Groups(II): §One Appointed Leader §No Group Processing §Top Priority: Get the Job Done

Cooperative Learning Groups(I): §Responsibility for each other §Positive Interdependence §Individual Accountability §Social Skill Taught, Reinforced §Students are Major Resource

Cooperative Learning Groups(II): §Teacher Interacts §Shared Leadership §Groups Process Their Effectiveness §Top Priority: Get Job Done,Have Fun, Like Each Other

What are the Basic Elements of Cooperative Learning?

Johnson & Johnson(P.I.G.S.) §Positive Interdependence §Individual Accountability §Group Interaction §Social Skills

Positive Interdependence § Interdependence exists when students perceive that they need each other in order to complete the group's task (sink or swim together). §We can tweak interdependence through joint rewards, mutual goals, shared resources and assigned roles.

Individual Accountability §Each students performance is frequently assessed and the results are given to the group and individual. §Teachers may effect this element by giving individual tests or calling on individuals within the group to demonstrate a skill or respond to questions.

Group Interaction §Students promote each other's learning by helping, sharing, and encouraging efforts to learn. §Students explain, discuss, and teach what they know to classmates.

Social Skills §leadership, §decision-making, §trust-building, §communication § conflict management.

What Are Some Things Students Should Do When Working in Cooperative Learning Groups?

Some Expected Behaviors(I): §1. Everyone contributes and helps. §2. Everyone listens to others with care. §3. Encourage everyone in your group to participate. §4. Praise helpful actions or good ideas.

Some Expected Behaviors(II): §5. Ask for help if you need it. §6. Check to make sure everyone understands. §7. Stay on-task with your group.

Each individual is responsible for: §1. Trying §2. Asking §3. Helping §4. Courtesy

As a team, we are responsible for: §1. Solving §2. Consulting with other groups if we are confused §3. Helping our group members and other group members (if asked) §4. Working together to achieve tasks and goals

Some Individual "Roles" that will help your group work better and stay on task are:

Task Master: §Role: Makes sure the group stays on task. §Sample Statements: "Have we gone over section 3 yet?" "That's interesting, but our job is to...." "We need to move on now, we're running out of time."

Checker: §Role: Checks to make sure that everyone agrees with the answer and that all understand. §Sample Statements: "Everyone initial if you agree." "Mary, do you understand?" "John, could you describe that on your own?"

Gatekeeper §Role: Makes sure each person has a turn and that all participate about equally. No loafers; no bullies. §Sample Statements: "That's interesting, Joe. Do you agree, Susan?" "Let's hear from Pete."

Praiser §Role: Encourages others to share ideas, give opinions, and to work hard. Makes sure that group members know they have done a good job and are appreciated. Praises ideas, help. §Sample Statements: "I know we can do this." Let's keep trying. We can do it!" "We only have two sections left to do." "Great idea!"

Recorder §Role: Records the group's answers once all agree. Completes all Group Evaluation Forms. §Sample Statements: "Say that again so I can write it down correctly."

STUDENT TEAMS -ACHIEVEMENT DISVISIONS (S.T.A.D.)

MAIN CONCEPT OF S.T.A.D. §Student Team Learning methods §emphasize the use of team goal and team success, §which can only be achieved if all members of the team lean the objectives being taught. §the team's work is not done until all team members have mastered the material being studied.

There are three concepts of S.T.A.D.: §team rewards, § individual accountability, §equal opportunities for success.

team rewards, §Teams may earn certificates or other rewards if they achieve above a designated criterion. §Teams are not in competition.

Individual accountability §the team's success depends on the individual learning of all team members. §This focuses the activity of the team members on tutoring one another §And making sure that everyone on the team is ready for a quiz or other assessment that students will take without teammate help.

Equal opportunities for success §Students contribute to their teams is based on their improvement over their own past performance. §This ensures that high, average, and low achievers are equally challenged to do their best, and the contributions of all team members will be valued.

Five major components of STAD : §class presentations, §teams. §Quizzes §individual improvement scores, §team recognition.

Class Presentation §Material in STAD is initially introduced in a lecture-discussion conducted by the teacher, §Class presentations in STAD differ from usual teaching only in that they must be clearly focused on the STAD unit. §Students must pay careful attention during the class presentation, because doing so will help them to do well on the quizzes, and their quiz scores determine their team scores.

Team §Teams are composed of four or five students who represent a cross-section of the class in academic performance, sex, and race or ethnicity. §The major function of the team is to prepare its members to do well on the quizzes..

Team §Most often, the study takes the form of students discussing problems together, comparing answers and correcting any misconceptions if teammates make mistakes.

The team is the most important feature of STAD. §At every point, emphasis is placed on team members doing their best for the team, and on the team doing its best to help its members.

The team provides §the peer support for academic performance that is important for effects on learning, §the mutual concern and respect that are important for effects on such outcomes as intergroup relations, self-esteem, and acceptance of mainstreamed students.

Quizzes §After one to two periods of teacher presentation and one to two periods of team practice, the students take individual quizzes. §Students are not permitted to help one another during the quizzes. This makes sure that every student is individually responsible for knowing the material.

Individual Improvement Scores §To give each student a performance goal that the student can reach, but only if he or she works harder and performs better than in the past. §Any student can contribute maximum points to his or her team in this scoring system, §but no student can do so without showing definite improvement over past performance.

Individual Improvement Scores (II) §Each group is given a "base" score, derived from the group average performance on similar quizzes. §Then students earn points for their teams based on how much their quiz scores exceed their base scores.

Team Recognition §Teams may earn certificates or other rewards if their average scores exceed a certain criterion. §Students' team scores may also be used to determine up to five bonus points toward their grades.

Team Recognition §Certificates for teams that meet high standards of performance, newsletter recognition, bulletin-board displays, special privileges, small prizes, or other rewards emphasize the idea that doing well as a team is important.

Schedule of Activities

STAD consists of a regular cycle §Teach. Present the lesson. §Goup discussion. Students work on worksheets in their teams to master the material. §Test. Students take individual quizzes. §Team recognition. Team scores are computed based on team members' improvement scores, and certificates or other recognition are given to high-scoring teams.

These activities are described in detail below

Teach. §Teach Time: One to two class periods. §Main idea : Present the lesson.

In class presentation (I) §Tell students what they are about to learn and why it is important. §Briefly review any prerequisite skills or information. §Stick close to the objectives that you will test. §Focus on meaning, not memorization.

In class presentation(II) §Actively demonstrate concepts or skills, using visual aids, manipulative, and many examples. §Frequently assess student comprehension by asking many questions. §Have all students work problems or examples or prepare answers to your questions. §Call on students at random

In class presentation(III) §students work one or two problems or examples and give them feedback §Move rapidly from concept to concept as soon as students have grasped the main idea.

Team Study §Time: One to two class periods. §Main idea: Students study worksheets in their teams. §The team members' tasks are to master the material you presented in your lesson and to help their teammates master the material.

Team study (Notes I) §Have teammates move their desks together or move to team tables. §Students to work together in pair or threes.

Team study (Notes II) §Problems : student in a pair or three should work the problem and then check with his or her partner(s). §Missed a question: his or her teammates have a responsibility to explain it. §Short-answer questions, they may quiz each other.

Team study (Notes III) §They an not finished studying until they are sure their teammates will mate 100% on the quiz. §Make sure that students understand that the worksheets are for studying--not for filling out and handing in. §Have students explain answers to one another instead of just checking each other against the answer sheet.

Team study (Notes III) §When students have questions, have them ask a teammate before asking you. §While students are working in terms, circulate through the class, praising teams that are working well, sitting in with each team to hear how they are doing and so on.

Quiz §Time: One –half to one class period §Main idea: Individual quiz §Do not let students work together on the quiz; at this point students must show what they have learned as individual. §Either allows students to exchange papers with members of other teams, or collect the quizzes to score after class.

Team Recognition §Main idea: Figure individual improvement scores and team scores and award certificates or other team rewords.

Figuring Individual mid Team Stores §As soon as possible after each quiz, you figure individual improvement scores and team scores and award certificates or other rewards to high-scoring teams

Improvement points:

Team scores: §Average of each student's improvement §Note that team scores depend on improvement scores rather than on raw scores on the quiz.

Recognizing Team Accomplishments §"great team," 4; §"superteam," 5. §Note that all teams can achieve the awards; teams are not in competition with one another. §Make bulletin-board displays listing the week's super teams and great-teams or displaying Polaroid pictures of the successful teams.

Re-computing Base Scores §Every marking period, re-compute students' average quiz scores on all quizzes and assign students new base scores.

Changing Teams § After five or six weeks of STAD, reassign students to new teams. §This gives students who were on low- scoring teams a new chance, allows students to work with other classmates, and keeps the program fresh.

End