Cooperative Learning

1149 Words3 Pages

In the last couple of decades there has been an increasing awareness of and focus on co-operative learning in classrooms, this focus has had both positive and negative effects on the students involved in it. Co-operative learning is a technique that involves students forming small groups and working together towards a common goal e.g. completing a specific task (Bainbridge, C. 2010). Co-operative learning is a social issue because it has a very different effect on gifted and high achieving students, than it does on lower and middle achieving students, and a lot of teachers do not realize this when they include co-operative learning in their teaching.

I decided to investigate co-operative learning (CL) for two main reasons, firstly because after reflecting back on my own school experiences I found the best memories I have of school were from my first Primary school in Rotorua where I had a beginning teacher who did a lot of CL activities with us and made the topic we studied more relevant to us by making it a more real thing. The topic we studied was Ancient Egypt and some of our group tasks were to make a mummy, re-create the landscape of a section of Ancient Egypt, and other things which were ‘hands on’ practical tasks, but required some research beforehand, planning, and a lot of co-operation between group members. In the process of completing those tasks we learnt how to function as a group, learnt about our topics and also how to do things like make nets for pyramids and apply bandages. Mr D (our teacher) also linked our topic to other areas of his teaching, such as music, classroom management and a rewards system involving a ‘Pharaoh for the day’ status, all of these made that year my most memorable one. If I compare my expe...

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...h level students in same ability groups. This would give the high level students opportunities to extend themselves, while also allowing them to help students who may be struggling at times.

Works Cited

Bainbridge, C.(2010) Co operative Learning. Retrieved March 25, 2010 from http://giftedkids.about.com/od/glossary/g/coop_learning.htm

Gillies, R., Ashman, A.(2003) Co-operative learning: The social and intellectual outcomes of learning in groups

Johnson, D., Johnson, R.& Holubec, E. (1998). Cooperation in the classroom. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Thomson, C. (2000) Co-operative learning : what it has to offer New Zealand teachers Research information for teachers ; no.3 (p. 38-41)

Johnson, T. & Johnson, R.(n.d.) Cooperative learning, values, and culturally plural classrooms. Retrieved March 28, 2010 from http://www.co-operation.org/pages/CLandD.html#hist

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