CL Unit One
Unit Objectives
Upon completion of this unit students will be able to:
- Identify what cooperative learning is through discussion.
- Compare and contrast the differences between group work and cooperative learning.
- Explain the differences between hetero and homogeneous grouping and how it applies to CL lessons.
Instruction
How often do we use "group work" in our classrooms? Do you assign roles to students in the groups? Is every student held accountable? Do students know how to work together as a team to achieve a common goal? Throughout this unit you will learn all of these aspects and more of cooperative learning.
Begin the unit by reading the article below. This will give you a geneneral overview on the basics of Cooperative Learning.
Now that you've read about an overview of what cooperative learning is, use this next article to help you break down cooperative learning lessons into five elements. When designing and planning cooperative learning lessons, it is essential to include each of these pieces in order to maximize student learning. Students not only need to have clear cut goals and objectives for cooperative learning lessons, but they need to know how to work together as a team in order to reach that goal.
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The Five Elements
Finally! The last piece of Unit One. Sure, we may place our students in groups to finish a certain task but exactly how effective are those groups? Does everyone have a role? Is everyone working together as a team? What kind of groups should we set up? These are all questions you need to think about when designing a cooperative learning lesson. The groups should be chosen ahead of time and there should be a reason that you are setting up the groups the way they are. Are you keeping similar ability levels together or are they mixed up? Why did you make that decision? Should students with similar interests be grouped together? How would that help that group reach their task goal? How can you make the group work together more efficiently? Should you assign roles that are strengths to them or weaknesses that they should work on? Why did you make those decicions. These are all things that need to be considered when designing cooperative learning groups. Use the article below to help you determine what makes cooperative learning different from group work.
Group Work vs. Cooperative Learning
Assessment
Using two of the above resources, complete the comparison chart studying the differences between "group work" and cooperative learning.
File:CooperativeLearning Chart.pdf
After you have completed the chart, answer the three discussion questions below:
- What are the five elements of cooperative learning?
- How are these elements of cooperative learning different from "traditional learning"?
- How can these elements make learning more effective?
CL Units Home
Continue to Unit 2!