The Role of Instructor in Group Or Cooperative

Learning

• More Heads are Better than One

Formal Cooperative Learning

Structured via pre-instructional decisionsSet tasksMonitor groups while they workEvaluate student learning and group

function

Instructor Makes pre-instructional decisions

Specify academic and social skills objectives

Decide on group sizeDecide group compositionAssign rolesArrange the roomPlan materials

Explain Task and Cooperative Structure

Explain the academic taskExplain the criteria for successStructure positive interdependenceStructure intergroup cooperationStructure individual accountabilitySpecify expected behavior

Monitor and intervene

Arrange face-to-face promotive interaction

Monitor students’ behaviorIntervene to improve taskwork and

teamwork

Evaluate and Process

Evaluate student learning--involve students in the assessment process

Process group functioning--list three things they did well as a group and one thing they will do better tomorrow

Jigsaw GroupsDivide students into groups of fourAssign each student a different portion

of the project/assignmentHave group members from different

jigsaw groups assigned the same task reform into expert groups

Once members feel comfortable with their topics they rejoin their original group and explain what they have learned

Informal Small Group Work

Temporary Ad hoc groupsFocus student attention on materialEnsure students cognitively process the

materialAllows for identifying and correcting

misconceptions, incorrect understanding, gaps in comprehension

Personalize learning experience

Focused Discussions

During lecturing and direct teaching, every 10 to 15 minutes, students are asked to discuss/process what they are learning

Plan your lecture around a series of questions

Think, Pair, Share (turn to your partner)

Every 10 to 15 minutes during a lecture

Think: Students think independently about the question that has been posed, forming ideas of their own.

Pair: Students are grouped in pairs to discuss their thoughts.

Share: Student pairs share their ideas with a larger group, such as the whole class.

Closure focused question

Students are asked to summarize what they have learned from the lecture

Point students toward the homework

Instructors define learning goals

Instructors define learning goals

Problem solving Reviewing of material Building group cohesion Increasing social skills Reinforcing a concept

Problem solving Reviewing of material Building group cohesion Increasing social skills Reinforcing a concept

Strategies for improved group work

Strategies for improved group work

Teach students how to cooperate Assign students to heterogeneous groups

Give students explicit instructions for each activity

Hold each individual student accountable for participation and learning in group work settings

Teach students how to cooperate Assign students to heterogeneous groups

Give students explicit instructions for each activity

Hold each individual student accountable for participation and learning in group work settings

Five Basic elements for Groups (formal/informal) Five Basic elements for Groups (formal/informal)

Positive interdependenceIndividual accountabilityFace-to-face interactionInterpersonal and small group skills

Group processing

Positive interdependenceIndividual accountabilityFace-to-face interactionInterpersonal and small group skills

Group processing

ReferencesCooperative Learning Institute and Interaction Book Company, Johnson, Johnson & Smith http://www.co-operation.org/

Frey, Nancy,Douglas Fisher, & Sandi Everlove (2009). Productive Group Work: How to Engage Students, Build Teamwork, and Promote Understanding. Alexandria, VA:ASCD.

Halpern, Diane, and Associates (1994).Changing College Classrooms:New Teaching

and Learning Strategies for an Increasingly Complex World.San Francisco:Jossey-Bass Publishers.