Learning how to integrate those components along with the other aspects of cooperative learning will enhance all classrooms and especially "have positive effects on students' mathematical achievement'. Positive achievements is what should be sought on every level and those teaching methods that assist in accomplishing this goal should be integrated.
One recent article touted the fact that a variety of teaching methods should be sought out in order to allow all students to benefit from the variety and creativity it takes to implement such methods.
Are we concerned with developing creativity in relevant teachers, students, processes, and/or curricula; with pedagogic practice and/or theory; with institutional practice and/or public policy? The answer turns out to be "all of them and more" (Elton, 2007, p. 373). Elton's study seems to say that the answer to an improved classroom experience is the creativity exhibited by the educators as well as those being educated.
Another consideration might be to include a certain percentage of research in the student's work. One researcher is "convinced that applied research findings could significantly improve student learning and attitudes" (Battersby, 2007, p. 377). By having the students research the fundamentals of mathematics, and perhaps the founders of the different areas of mathematics could lead to student's having a far greater understanding of the practical applications of mathematics as well as the mathematical why's and wherefores. Battersby also "makes the point that new and old teaching interventions cannot be directly compared as they do not have the same objectives" (Battersby, 2007, p. 378).
Battersby's statement begs the question(s), what are the current objectives of education and have they really changed over the past couple of decades? Is the objective of education to allow the student to learn, or as many experts now believe, is the objective to ensure the student is prepared for life after schooling? One study shows that "recent research suggests that work-based learning is complex, cognitive, and context dependent, and involves initiation into a community of practice (Billett, 2000; Wenger, 1998)" (Chin, Bell, Munby, Hutchinson, 2004, p. 401).
What Chin et al. concludes is that the objective of modern educational system(s) should be to train students concerning what comes after school is finished, and that it takes an entire community to do that training. One could assume that the entire community would most likely be effective in teaching as long as there was a large amount of communication between students and students, students and teachers, teachers and administrators, administrators and parents and that the way to accomplish this communication, especially in the classroom, would be to have discussion groups. Teachers could still monitor these groups to keep them on track and to offer advice and wisdom in the subject area. Studies have shown that such teacher intervention methods work in the classroom arena, even if it is in a mathematical classroom.
One study that showed the effectiveness of such interventions showed that "Teacher interventions (TIs) involved groups of ninth-grade students working on an algebra problem; videotaped lessons were transcribed and analyzed. Results showed that teachers initiated most TIs and typically did so when students were off-task or showed little progress. After TIs, students' TOT and problem solving often improved" (Chiu, 2004, p 365). This improvement should come as no surprise, it makes sense to most people that when a student is corrected the result can be that the student learns the correct answer or method.
Chiu's study went on to explain that "Teacher evaluations of student actions had the largest positive effects, serving as gatekeepers for other teacher actions.
Higher levels of teacher help content tended to reduce post-TI TOT, while teacher commands reduced post-TI TOT only when a group grasped the problem situation. In summary, TIs can increase TOT and problem solving, especially if teachers evaluate students' work" (Chiu p. 366). The key, according to Chiu, is that teachers must evaluate the progress of the student.
This statement portrays the level of experience the teacher should have in order to affect efficient methods of teaching in the classroom. A study conducted by Veenman et al. states, "Dyads with experience in cooperative learning achieved more than dyads without such experience" (Veenman, 2005, pg. 118).
Therefore, the experienced teachers who implement cooperative teaching methods meet with more success, according to Veenman et al., than do teachers without such experience. Experience can come from actually doing, but it can also come from watching others experience as well. The point is that teachers who are taught in cooperative learning methods, will likely implement such methods in the classroom, no matter what...
Among the last advantages of cooperative learning in the classroom is the increase in competition that every student experiences as s/he collaborates with other students/teammates in the process of accomplishing a particular task or activity. There is one caveat, however, in stating this observation about cooperative learning: increased competence is induced only in learning processes wherein information used by students are similar or identical with each other (Buchs, 2004:310-1). An
It prepares kids for the type of thinking essential to living and working in a very social world. Through this involvement, a teacher can make a huge impact in a student's life, (Wong 2002). Spencer Kagan believes that the levels of student participation should be equal in order to maximize student potential. With all students actively engaging at the same level, each student will increase their capability of understanding the
Teacher could also have class come up with a name for the substance. Anticipation Guide Name____ Date Prediction Please list five words that you think will describe the texture of the "Mystery Substance" After the Activity Please list five words that actually did describe the texture of the "Mystery Substance" (you can use some of the same words, but ONLY if they are accurate) Science- Grade 2 Key Concepts: _Estimation Science Objective: Students will learn the basics of scientific
The main concentration of this study was on the various approaches that were adopted in numerous educational institutes and universities and how their incorporation of cooperative learning strategies proved constructive. The demographics or spectrum of this study was very vast and carried out analyses and comparisons of universities from Australia, UK and the U.S.A. This particular study highlighted the CL strategies employed in the RMIT Graduate School of Business
Size/Cooperative Learning & it's effects on participation Action Research Question Will cooperative learning have a significantly positive impact on smaller or larger classes? The purpose of this study was to investigate if cooperative learning will have a significantly positive impact on smaller or larger classes. In order to have valid results, I used both my largest and smallest classes as my sampling. I also incorporated a variety of teaching styles with cooperative
In particular, they specify the need for students to be good listeners, team players, and to make compromises to work toward mutual goals (Scheuerell, 2010). Group work must be a time for students to engage in productive and accountable collaboration around a task or problem that causes them to rely on one another's part or participation to ensure successful completion. Successful group work can be designed and presented to the
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now