UNIT 5

INDIVIDUAL VERSUS GROUP LEARNING

Many students prefer the individual learning. They claim that having all the teacher's attention is very profitable. In addition, having a customed lecture that will fit their needs will make the lessons more valuable to them. Others argue that studying alone will make them focus in their study. However, group learning is the best way for education, and it has a lot of advantages.

First, in group learning, each student will have the opportunity to know other students, which will be very beneficial. Also, it will help us to gain friends ,and to be socially active. In real world, we will have to interact with our colleagues at work. For that reason, having a previous experience at school in dealing with other students will help us in the future. Employers nowadays require new qualities for their employees , one of them is being socially active. 

In addition, group learning will allow us to compete with each other to get the higher grade. So, there will be a positive reinforcement is group learning which is having the highest grade. However, having private tutor will not allow us to compare our educational level with other students. 

At the same time, when students study with peers , will experience the cooperation concept. Sharing notes and information in a study group is a type of cooperation that is fundamental for any future success. Moreover, in a study group, all the students will share their information , consequently, a better understanding for the lecture can be done. On the other hand ,in individual learning students will struggle a lot to comprehend their lessons. Also, they will waste a lot of their time searching for new material by which they will complete their notes. 

To sum up, group studying is way better than individual studying. Studying with other students will make us gain friendships, knowledge and better understanding for the material. On the contrary, individual learning is more difficult, and it will make the students miss all the advantages given by group studying

DEFINITION OF GROUP LEARNING 

In group learning students work with their peers to accomplish a shared or common goal. The goal is reached through interdependence among all group members rather than working alone. Each member is responsible for the outcome of the shared goal. "Cooperative learning does not take place in a vacuum." Not all groups are cooperative groups. Putting groups together in a room does not mean cooperative learning is taking place. In order to have effective group learning the following 5 essential elements are needed. 

POSITIVE INTERDEPENDENCEEach group member depends on each other to accomplish a shared goal or task. Without the help of one member the group is not able to reach the desired goal. 

FACE-TO-FACE INTERACTIONPromoting success of group members by praising, encouraging, supporting, or assisting each other. 

INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITYEach group member is held accountable for his or her work. Individual accountability helps to avoid members from "hitchhiking" on other group members' accomplishments. 

SOCIAL SKILLSCooperative learning groups set the stage for students to learn social skills. These skills help to build stronger cooperation among group members. Leadership, decision-making, trust-building, and communication are different skills that are developed in cooperative learning. 

GROUP PROCESSINGGroup processing is an assessment of how groups are functioning to achieve their goals or tasks. By reviewing group behavior the students and the teacher get a chance to discuss special needs or problems within the group. Groups get a chance to express their feelings about beneficial and unhelpful aspects of the group learning process in order to correct unwanted behavior and celebrate successful outcomes in the group work. 

ISSUES AND CONCERNS WITH NRESPESCT TO ORGANISING LEARNING:

STUDY HABITS:

According to Good [33] the term study habits as: the students’ way of study whether systematic, efficient or inefficient etc.’

good study habits are perceived to be the determinants of the academic performance.

Study habit refers to learning which leads to the achievement of a learner‟s goal, through a prescribed pattern of steady behaviour.

Effective study habit refers to a situation in which a learner studies regularly to achieve maximum success in his school work.

Types of Study Habits :

There are some known study/reading habits which have either positive or negative orientation. For the purpose of this topic, they are grouped into:

Hobbial Recreational Concentration

HOBBIAL :

A hobby is an activity one does because he derives some joy and satisfaction in doing it.

After formal education attainment, some people like reading as their hobby.

The purpose is to widen the reader‟s horizon in things educational, religious, political, economic, current affairs, fiction and non-fiction.

The practice of reading as a hobby makes one to be versatile in knowledge in many areas and the person can discuss knowledgeably with others.

This type of reading is a positive one to learning not only in developing mental reasoning but also in helping the person to satisfy his interests and aspirations.

RECREATIONAL:

reading for recreation or relaxation is very common among the education elite

Students should be encouraged to read magazines instead of reading text books all the time.

Students, who read magazines at intervals learn to relax, cool their brain and avoid mental fatigue.

This type of studying produces positive results as it keeps the student‟s interests, helps them to acquire more knowledge and makes for a disciplined life in the school

CONCENTRATION:

it is the most important one that provides the desired outcome. Experts have come up with several formula for effective results in studying situation.

The techniques are SQR3(RRR) ROSEMARY(L)

SQR3 TECHNIQUE:

S-Stands for survey ,which means going through the headlines and sub-headings to the end in order to have a general impression of the written material.

Q-Stands for Question: This demands that on the basis of general impression of the material to be read, the reader should formulate question on the broad ideas and it stimulates areas for further for further study.

R1-(i.e. first R) Means Read: Read the chapter or passage carefully to pick out answers to the questions which were formulated. In this context, concentration is the watch word, as one has to avoid all forms of distractions. In the course of the reading, one has to look for answer to the questions.

R2-(i.e. the second R), Means Recite: The reader is required to recite to himself or to a friend or to write down all the salient points he shifted from the passage.

R3-(i.e. Third or last R) Means Review or Revise: At the end of the four steps above, the reader should go over the passage for better and more permanent understanding of the passage read. He should attempt to answer the questions he formulated in step two above.

ROSEMARY (L):This is most suitable

to study large materials, to study difficult material and for preparation for tough examinations

R:- Repetition: read the material over and over again, re-read many times as you can to make it completely familiar and get used to the words inside the material or topic(s) treated. O=Over-Learning:-Here, the repetitive reading and re-reading again and again will produce over-learning of the material to the extent that if you have to forget any part, that part will be minimal. S= Summarization: - For effective study habit, summary should be short and straight to the point. E= Enumeration: - this is a follow up to the last step; enumerate the major points in a linear manner, the most important points coming first. M=Mnemonics: Devise mnemonics for important ideas, principles, concepts, formulae etc. This is to help immediate recall and reutilization of such ideas, formula etc.A = Application: - Apply the material learnt to personal life . R = Revision:- Revise all you have done ,up to this stage. Give yourself thorough revision, bringing every thing learnt to memory Y= Yes:- I know it now! I can apply it to any situation of my life to impact my world. L Means linkage: link the materials read to practical daily living to enable internalise the facts.

Techniques For Effective Study Habit Formation:Students should be encouraged to acquaint themselves with the following

as a means to achieve better results Scheduling Working condition Concentration Learning Reading note-taking taking examination teacher consultation

The formation of effective study habit in school ,

is an outcome of good guidance and counselling program. will create the awareness for regular and steady learning.

SELF LEARNING: Self-Learning method is an individualized method of learning. Self-learning modules are designed where the learner is free to choose

what to learn, how to learn, when to learn and where to learn. The learner is getting accustomed more and more to non-formal mode of

education thereby shifting the preference to self-learning methods. Even most of the print materials that come into the market are meant for

self-learning. The learner is at an advantage to use this form of non-formal mode of

education using self-paced learning materials. The teaching-learning-evaluation all happens without face-to-face

interaction. There is no fixed time and no fixed number of classes. To make this learning process effective, it is essential for a Trainer to

have the conceptual knowledge of self-learning approach and also the design of self-learning modules and materials.

The Trainer should also look at the three domains of learning viz., cognitive, affective and psychomotor and the emphasis required while designing the learning resource material.

BENEFITS OF SELF LEARNING:

Student becomes an independent thinker. Student learns to accept responsibility. Student gains the freedom to learn without restrictions. Student earns accountability. Intrinsic rewards become the focus, that good feeling inside that

comes from a job well done.  Student tests well because he is used to tackling problems on his

own, which equals confidence. Students retain more naturally when they do the work versus

parents spoon feeding the information into them. Students learn where to go when help is needed. There is no need

to worry about gaps in their education because if they need to know something down the road, they will just look it up on their own.

Student has the courage to delve into an area of interest to study it without having to wait for a teacher to teach it.

Students become more than prepared for college study, which will require motivation and planning ahead. 

Self-learning gives the opportunity to develop a good work ethic. Self-learning allows the learner to go as deeply into a subject and

interact with the subject matter as deeply as he would like to go.

Self-learning enables the learner to limit the number of interests undertaken so as not to be spread too thinly.

Self-learning allows the family to function as a family without emulating an institution at home.

Self-learning eliminates all excuses for not reaching one's potential. It will never be anyone else's fault if the student doesn't learn.

Self-learning is more fun than being taught at.

Self-learning means that mom can read great books rather than teacher's manuals and text books.

Self-learning trains one to go to the source for information which reduces the possibility of erroneous material. 

Self-learning is the wave of the future now that so much information is available at our fingertips.

Self-learning means that babies and toddlers get more attention from mom because she is not busy playing teacher.  

LEARNING TO LEARN SKILLS:

Learning to learn skills helps thepupils to develop the 5Rs ,

Readiness

Resourcefulness

Resilience

Responsibility

Reflection

As the name indicates, learning to learn skills are the general skills that enable students to profit from institution. These include the following:

Attention control:

The set of skills involves the students’ awareness of when they are and are not attending to a task. If learner develop conscious control of this process, learning improves

Goal setting: Successful students set goals that challenge their capabilities .

Short term goals are more likely to be completed than long term goals. Students will learn more if they can set both long term and short term and know the difference between them.

Weak students often read academic materials simply because they are told to do so. But a good student sees a purpose in reading.

Cognitive restructuring:

The term CRS simply means that the learner uses cognitive processes to restructure the information that he/she is trying to process.

This set of skills involves verbal communication and affirmation. When we talk to our selves about a task, our thoughts become more salient and more manageable.

An affirmation is the statement of a positive self belief regarding a task. Students who make positive affirmations and who talk to themselves clearly about the task learn more effectively than students who do not do so.

Difficulty in Restructuring:

One of the difficulties of cognitive restructuring is that it may be done incorrectly i.e., the learner may restructure of the information inaccurately, but not realize the error

Children need to develop the ability to talk to themselves constructively. The importance of cognitive restructuring is supported by the ideas of Vypotsky and by other researchers.

Self Evaluation: This set of skills focuses on monitoring progress towards a goal.

At this point we are verifying whether we are on track to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves

Weak students are often astonished when they perform inadequately on a test and they have no idea of their problem when they get failure. On the other hand good students are able to use failure as a foundation for a plan to do better

These LLS enable students to use their learning time effectively. It is possible to teach learners to improve these skills; and students who improve these skills. Often show dramatic improvement in academic performance. These skills can be applied across all subject area.

PARADIGMS FOR ORGANIZING LEARNING:

The three paradigms are

Teacher centered paradigm Learner centered paradigm Subject centered paradigm

Teaching and learning occur in all the paradigms.

TEACHER CENTRIC PARADIGM:

In teacher centric approach,

Students are viewed as 'empty' vessels and learning is viewed as an additive process.

Consequently, there is no (or little) attempt to take into account students’ previous and/or implicit knowledge, that is to say what learners may know already (even though ‘imperfectly’ or ‘erroneously’) about the subject(s) of their study.

Teaching is geared for the 'average' student and everyone is forced to progress at the same rate.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TEACHER CENTRIC PARADIGM:

Assumptions about education:

Content is primary and instructor owns the knowledge

Instructor is central Learning is cumulative Students enter class with empty minds Facts and concepts can be learned without experiencing or applying them Success is an individual accomplishment Classroom is private

EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Instructor transfers information to students ,Students to accumulate knowledge

In teacher-Centric Paradigm, the instructor does not reflect critically on how students learn. Nor is the instructor expected to reflect. It is considered the students responsibility to learn, by which is meant, to absorb the information presented.

Assessment of results:

Instructors are assessed at the end of term on organization of lectures, coverage of appropriate content, understanding of the content, preparedness for class, respect for students questions and comments �

Students are tested infrequently on knowledge of content Students are classified by average grades and sorted for careers, because

ability is assumed fixed and scarce. Students are weeded out

Teaching methods and classroom environment:

Lecturing speeches and declarative statements Emphasis on content only Environment competitive and individualistic

Instructor’s responsibilities :

Present the content, including selecting it Be current in knowledge of content Organize linear, logical lectures Deliver clear presentations Test for recall of content Control classroom Be an actor

Student’s responsibilities :� Record and absorb knowledge Recall content on tests

Instructor students relationship :

Impersonal Little interaction between instructor and students or among students

Motivating and mentoring students :

Students are expected to be self-motivating Mentoring consists of enhancing the learning of content

Student’s goals:� Complete the requirements for the degree

Preparation for teaching:

Master the contentany expert can teach Develop clear presentations of lectures Teaching is a routine activity

Reviewfor Teaching-Centered Instruction:

Tests:

Matching of content to course goals Appropriate level of challenge Appropriate grading criteria

Classroom Exercises:

Supplements course content Encourages meaningful learning experiences Is appropriate level of challenge Outlines assessment method

LEARNER CENTERED PARADIGM:

Assumptions about education:

Process of learning is as important as content

learned Instructor and students are partners Learning is a dynamic process of restructuring Students enter class with a perceptual framework intact Facts and concepts must be tested and used to be learned Success results from teamwork Classroom is public.for review, assistance, and research

EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Instructor creates a learning environment Students develop skills in constructing and using knowledge with instructor.s guidance

Assessment of results:

Instructors are assessed on students. learning Students. learning is assessed frequently by instructor with classroom assessment techniques Students are assessed on what they can do with the knowledge Instructor uses assessment data to develop students. competencies and talents. Students are assumed capable of success

Teaching methods and classroom environment:

Various active learning methods, including lecturing Equal emphasis on content, learning process, and classroom environment Environment collaborative, cooperative, supportive of learning risk-taking

Instructor’s responsibilities:

Be current in knowledge of content Possess pedagogical content knowledge What students have learned, both the content and process of learning Set learning outcomes and goals of course Set explicit standards for learning and classroom environment

Establish a supportive classroom environment Prepare for multiple paths of inquiry in discussion Regularly assess student learning Integrate course with others so that learning with respect to contextual cues of one course can be transferred to cues of another course Share control of content, direction, and pace of course with students Facilitate and guide Be a coach

responsibilities Record and absorb knowledge Recall content on tests

Student’s responsibilities :

Care deeply about own education Learn to monitor and discuss own learning Collaborate with instructor and other students to discover and construct a framework of knowledge that can be applied to new situations

Instructor students relationship:

Personal, with students known as individuals in order for instructor to use their interests, backgrounds, and needs to select content and establish a learning environment Partnership between instructor and students Underrepresented minorities and other non-traditional students engaged

Motivating and mentoring students:

Help students learn how to set goals, establish plan to achieve goals, and record progress Align students. intact motivation with course goals Mentoring consists of helping students become lifelong learners and turning majors from students into apprentices Students. goals Complete the requirements for the degree

Student’s goals:

Develop skills for lifelong learning

PREPARATION FOR TEACHING:

Master the content Develop interpersonal skills of questioning, listening, responding, and sensitivity to group processes Learn how to assess students. needs and levels of understanding Develop pedagogical content knowledge Teaching is complex and requires training

Reviewfor Learner-Centered Instruction:

TESTS:

Matching of content and skills to course goals Tests knowledge of concepts as well as algorithms for solving problems Grading rewards learning rather than placement in class

CLASSROOM EXERCISES:

Is part of course content Is part of a learning experience Has amount of guidelines appropriate for learning outcomes Uses learning groups to teach abilities to solve problems Uses inquiry project for deep understanding Asks for student feedback on how well they are Learning Instructor uses feedback to adjust lesson and improve learning immediately Students learn self-assessment, which is related by instructor to goals of course

Subject centered learning:

The terminology for subject-centred learning is derived from the work of Palmer (1998), who places at the centre of teaching the relationships between the three ‘beings’ involved: the teachers, the learners, and the subject. Palmer’s (1998) notion of the subject as ‘a being’ changes the way that learning is framed and celebrates the primary bond as with the subject. The difference between subject-centred learning and learning of a subject is the distinction that: ‘The subject centred classroom is characterised by the fact that the third thing has a presence so real, so vivid, so vocal, that it can hold teacher and students alike accountable for what they say and do’ (Palmer, 1998: 117). Gathering around the ‘third thing’, students and teachers place at the centre of their experience of learning and teaching, and learning about teaching, the subject.

Characteristics of SUBJECT CENTERED LEARNING:

Characteristics of Subject Centered Curriculum

Learning subject matter is an end in itselfListening to lectures, studying the textbooks and studying forexamination are all practices that show the influence of the subjectcentered curriculum approach. The subject teacher considers it ofgreat importance to cover the prescribed textbook. Since a specificamount of subject matter is to be learnt in a set time. If subjectmatter has been learnt, the teacher and students feel satisfaction.

There is a predetermined uniform standard of knowledgeThose who follow the subject centered approach strongly advocateminimum standards. They advocate set standard for a class to be achieved by all students in order to qualify the examination. In other words a time limit is placed on achievements and if the pupil fails, the course must be repeated. The teacher attempts to bring the pupil up to the set standard. Thus failures are required to repeat a grade or they are dropped out fromtheir institutions.

Practice in skills is emphasized Drill in specific skills is one of the typical characteristics of the subject curriculum. Drill session, remedial work, review work ,coaching classes are

often devoted to such type of drill. This drill is given in equal amounts to all pupils in the group.

Emphasis is placed upon acquiring information for future useThe subject matter selected for a course, is considered to be of value in adult living rather than child's immediate needs. Thus adult problems are given more weight than problems of children in youth.

Progress is measured by how much of the subject a pupil has learntAs the subject matter is an important thing to be learnt, learning is measured by how well the subject matter has been mastered. Frequent tests are given to check the extent of achievement by the students.

Each subject is distinct entity (unit) with a logical organization of its ownEmphasis is placed on the acquisition of skills, facts and information in different logically organized subjects. The members of the staff, teaching different subjects do not plan courses together and they do not discuss common problems.

Subject matter is selected by adults previous to the teaching, learning situationsAs the subject matter is taught in logically organized discipline, therefore, the content of the course is selected before it is taught. For this purpose they receive help from subject matter, specialists, supervisors, administrators and textbook writers.

ORGANISING LEARNING IN HETEROGENOUS CLASSROOMS:

 Heterogeneous Groups are groups that include students with a wide variety of instructional levels. Heterogeneous Groups stem from the education precept that a positive interdependence can arise from students with varied learning levels working together and helping each other to reach an instructional goal

SOCIO- ECONOMIC BACKGROUND:

There is considerable evidence that ethnicity, language accent, andvisible ethnic appearance (Rosenholtz & Cohen, 1985) act as status characteristics.Research on status characteristics bas demonstrated the power ofdifferences in race, ethnicity, and perceived academic ability 10 activatedifferential expectations for competence (Berger, Rosenholtz, & Zelditch,1980).

On a wide variety of intellectually important tasks, those who rank lowin the status order are expected to be less competent than those who rank high.Once these general expectations become salient in a social situation, a status organizing process takes place whereby high-status individuals are expectedto be more competent on the specific task at hand. The initial differences in status become the basis for a self-fulfllling prophecy whereby those who are expected to be more competent become more active and influential in group interaction and are thus likely to be perceived as having made a more important contribution to the group task.Members of any racial or cultural group that come to school without preparation at home or in special preschools are very likely to acquire low academic status in a short time. In learning environments, where there is socioeconomic and academic heterogeneity, those who are in the low-ability groups are expected to do poorly at a wide range of academic/intellectualtasks (Cohen, 1988).. INTERESTSInterest problems may arise due to the differences among students in terms of their attitude towards the subject matter and/or the teacher; their knowledge of language; and their personality. For instance, some students may find lessons boring, as the topic has no familiarity with their own life or their interests. Furthermore, some of the students may not be interested in the lesson, unless they do get the chance to express their own ideas since the teacher talks too much during the lesson or the other students take many turns. Hence, teachers should be aware of the different interests of the students to organize and to arrange activities accordingly.