Institution
for Christian Teaching
Education
Department of Seventh-day Adventist
COOPERATIVE
LEARNING: SETTING THE STAGE FOR
FAITH AND
LEARNING IN THE CLASSROOM
By
Prema Gaikwad, Ph.D.
Head, Department of Elementary Education
Spicer Memorial College
Pune 411007
Prepared for the
19th International Faith and
Learning Seminar
held at
Spicer Memorial College
Pune 411007, India, November
3-15, 1996
274-96 Institute for
Christian Teaching
12501 Old Columbia Pike
Silver Spr9ing, MD 20904 USA
Introduction
Many
teachers know about it; several practice it.
Those who understand and properly use it vouch that nothing else exists
like it. Students seem to thrive with
it; looks like they enjoy their learning a lot more; it seems to have a
therapeutic effect on their self-esteem.
School authorities are pleased about its effect on teachers and
students. Parents are wondering what in the world is going on which make their
children talk a lot more about school.
Yes, cooperative learning is making a difference in the schools and
classrooms.
To be precise, it is eight
years since I have known and practiced cooperative learning. The positive impact of the approach has
changed my outlook of life and my teaching profession. In more recent years as a teacher-educator
in a Christian college, cooperative learning is one strategy that I never fail
to add to my students' repertoire of methods.
I believe it is a professional crime if I did not do it! Modeling a cooperative lesson, and seeing
student teachers practice it with gradual fluency and effectiveness in
classrooms, are very satisfying experiences for me.
In this essay what I wish to
share certain specifics of cooperative learning especially to bring awareness
among educators. I also hope to
highlight the faith and learning benefits of this approach in a Christian
classroom.
What do we see happening in
a typical classroom today? The teacher,
of course, is standing in front of the class lecturing, asking questions, or
trying to maintain discipline. Most
probably students are listening, answering teacher's questions, or engaged in
seatwork. This is a typical
classroom. Research studies (Goodlad,
1984, Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, &
Roy, 1984) have shown that over 85% of instruction in schools goes on in this
characteristic manner. Teachers teach as they were taught. Classrooms are more
teacher-oriented and students are passive learners, vessels to be filled with
information.
As schools are becoming
larger, instruction is getting more impersonal. Teachers are less accessible
due to the larger number of students in each class. Teaching strategies ignore the importance of constructive peer
interactions. Extra-curricular
activities may be the only possibility for any peer interaction, that too
within a limited number of students.
But not all classrooms and
schools fit into such a description.
Educators Exist who believe that learning is an exciting and generative
process that happens between those who want to learn, including the
teacher. Since learning is believed to
be a social phenomenon, they ensure that classroom environment is positive. They
focus on "we" classrooms, using the philosophy that "we are all
involved in this together." Doesn't
that sound like cooperative learning?
Yes, cooperative learning is
rediscovered! Cooperative learning is
not a new Idea. Some of the most
successful advocates of cooperative learning include Colonel Francis Parker in
the 19th century, and John Dewey in the early 1900's. In India,
educators like Ravindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi in the early 1900's had
this concept in-built into their educational practices. For example, the "Gurukul" and "Shanti
Niketan" ideas of Ravindranath Tagore, where students were taught in a
nature atmosphere, incorporated student involvement and cooperation.
Some Biblical Examples of
Cooperation
The capacity to work
cooperatively has been a major contribution to human survival. God expected his children to work
collaboratively in carrying on His plans.
Examples of collaboration in projects such as building the ark,
constructing the tabernacle in the wilderness, and rebuilding the walls of
Jerusalem are but only a few of the many situations given in the
scripture. The schools of the prophets
are a classic example of collaboration in a learning situation. Jesus, the Master Teacher used collaboration
to train his disciples. For instance,
He sent them two by two to go and share the message of love.
Paul has outlined the
significance of working together by using the analogy of the body. He says, "For as the body is one, and
hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one
body" I Cor. 12:12. He brings the point of cooperation, "And the eye
cannot say unto the land, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the
feet, I have no need of you"
(verse 21).
Ellen White recommends
cooperative learning in our classrooms.
She says, "Cooperation should be the spirit of the classroom, the
law of its life . . . Let the older assist the younger, the strong the weak,
and so far as possible, let each be called to do something in which he
excels. This will encourage
self-respect and a desire to be useful" (1952, pp. 285, 6).
The True Basics
Long before the academic
basics including the "3R's" can be taught to Children, there is
another fundamental set of "3R's"
that need to be taught. They are the
true "basic," the habits of the heart. These are RELATEDNESS, RESPECT
AND RESPONSIBILITY. Children who master these Skills and Attitudes have a sense
of self-esteem. This correlates not
only to positive behavior but also greater achievement in the academic "3R's,"
"Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic."
To incorporate these basics
in a classroom, it is important to set an appropriate classroom climate. The climate of the school or classroom is
the atmosphere or feeling that pervades it daily. In the blue print of Adventist education given by Ellen White (1923, p. 473) she says, "A Christian
influence should pervade our schools."
The Value-genesis research
conducted in both North American Division and the South Pacific Division
yielded information about what makes the difference in a good Adventists school. Among the factors that students identified
are potent in the Adventist school they attend is that they see the school
environment as warm and accepting (Rice, 1993/94).
From the above discussion it
is evident that teachers in Adventist schools not only have the greatest
responsibility of integrating faith in learning in their classroom but also
that they need to provide an environment conducive for this to happen. How is faith developed?
Faith Development
Faith is developed through
relationships. Hill, (1996, p. 3) defines relationship as an "emotional
connection, which can involve acceptance, intimacy, love, trust,
self-revelation, agreement." This
involves a personal relationship with God and others. Thus social interaction is a powerful shaper of faith and is the
only way through which faith can be developed. The family, peers, school, and community have a greater role in
the Development of a child.
Teachers have the
opportunity to facilitate social interactions, which could Result in faith
development. But to understand how
this is done in a classroom we need to see the options that teachers have in
classroom room structuring.
The Three Classroom
Structures
Focusing particularly on the
classroom interactional patterns, let us look at the types of environment or
structures that teachers create in their classrooms. Teachers can arrange their classroom
v
Competitively so that students work to
achieve a goal that only one or a few students can attain;
v
Individualistically so that students work
independently on their own learning goals at their own pace to achieve a preset
criterion for success; and
v
Cooperatively so that students work
collaboratively in small groups, making sure that all members accomplish the
goals.
Out of these three classroom structures, the cooperative learning structure stands in contrast to the other two structures. It has the potential to lend itself as a framework for integrating faith and learning in the hands of an effective teacher. This classroom structure could enhance creating an environment of warmth and acceptance.
For the past half-century the competitive and
individualistic goal structures have dominated most of our education. An extensive and inappropriate overuse of
competitive and individualistic instructional methods in schools probably is
the cause of many difficulties students encounter outside of school. Besides that such practices do not
adequately prepare students for the kinds of cooperative efforts that will be
expected of them in their future work and home lives. It is imperative that we structure our school life in ways that
are congruent with the future lives of our students.
This is not to say that
teachers must do away with individualistic and competitive structures in their
classroom. These have their benefits,
when used judiciously. They need not
to be the dominating classroom structures.
Cooperative
Learning: A Description
The concept of cooperative
learning might sound simple. But
cooperative learning is not having students sit side-by-side at the same table
to talk with each other as they do their individual assignments. It is not having students do a task with
instructions that those who finish first are to help the slower students. Cooperative learning is not 
assigning a report to a
group of students wherein one student does all the work and the others put
their names on the product, as well (Johnson, Johnson, Holubec, & Roy,
1984).
What is cooperative learning then? Cooperative learning refers to a variety of
methods for organizing classroom instruction so that students work and learn in
small groups of two to five students.
Five basic elements of cooperative learning make it what it is. They are:
Positive Interdependence
Goals are structured so that
students need to be concerned about performance of all group members as
well as their own. This may be achieved
through mutual goals, divisions of labor, dividing materials or information
among groups members, assigning students differing roles and by giving joint
reward. All individuals must succeed
for the group to succeed.
Individual Accountability.
Every student needs to
master the assigned material and is responsible to demonstrate accomplishment
of the learning. Each student is given
feedback on his or her progress and the group is given feedback on how each
member is progressing so that the members can help and encourage each other.
Group Processing
Students are given time and
procedures for analyzing how their learning groups are functioning. It is not only the content that needs to be
mastered but also the social skills that help all group members to maintain
effective working relationship within the group. Group members assess their collaborative efforts and target
improvements.
Social Skills
Students are deliberately taught human
interaction skills that enable groups to functions effectively, for example,
taking turns, encouraging, listening, leadership, ability to communicate, trust
one another, and to mange conflict.
They are also motivated to use these skills. Specific strategies exist for teaching social skills along with
the content.
Face-to-Face Interaction
Students work together in close proximity and
dialogue with each other in ways that promote continued progress.
Faith
Benefits of Cooperative Learning
From looking at these five essential
attributes of cooperative learning, it is evident that they illustrate the
outworking of numerous Christian values, which lie at the heart of faith
formation. Interdependence focuses on
a concern for others, which is another way to expressing love. Accountability is a demonstration of our
responsibility for each other's welfare.
Collaboration gives the ability to work closely with others, seeing
their point of view. Listening,
encouraging and trusting are essential elements if affirmation and support, which
help, comprise faith. Face to face
interaction promotes the type of closeness required for formation of caring
community. Table 1 summarizes the
connections.
Table 1
Connection between
Cooperative Learning And Faith Formation
|
Attribute of Cooperative Learning |
Benefit in Faith Formation |
|
Positive
Interdependence |
Concern,
Love |
|
Individual
Accountability |
Responsibility for others' welfare |
|
Group
Processing |
Seeing
others' perspective |
|
Social
Skills |
Affirmation
and support |
|
Face
to Face Interaction |
Closeness |
Other Benefits of Cooperative Learning
In recent times several
groups of researchers and practitioners have been connected with cooperative
learning. David Johnson, Roger Johnson,
Robert Slavin, Elliot Aronson, Shlomo Sharan, and Spencer Kagan are a few names
of these. The research studies on
cooperative learning are overwhelmingly positive. The following are the main benefits identified by the extensive
studies (Johnson, Johnson, &
Holubec, 1988).
F
Higher achievement and
increased retention
F
Greater use of higher level
reasoning strategies and increased critical reasoning competencies.
F
Greater ability to view
situations from others' perspectives.
F
More positive attitudes
toward subject areas, learning, and school.
F
Higher achievement and
greater intrinsic motivation.
F
More positive attitudes
toward teachers, principals and other school Personnel.
F
High self-esteem based on
basic self-acceptance.
F
Less disruptive and more on-task behavior.
F
Greater collaborative skills
and attitudes necessary for working effectively with others.
F
More positive psychological adjustment and health.
The student achievement
suggested by these benefits can, in the hands of the Christian teacher, build the
identity of faith from a Christian perspective; I believe strongly that
cooperative learning has the potential to transform classrooms, schools, and
ultimately society, by creating communities of caring and support. Working together,
communicating, sharing, finding common goals and the commonground--these are
central values for Christian educators and ones that we believe can be realized
in classrooms through cooperative learning.
Dimensions of Learning and Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is implicitly
in the Dimensions of Learning model, a model that develops students thinking
ability. The Dimensions of Learning is
an instructional program than grew out of the comprehensive research- and
theory-based framework on cognition and learning. Teachers have the responsibility not only to teach the content but
also to teach how to learn. Five dimensions
of learning are identified:
1.
Positive
attitudes and perspective about learning
2.
Acquiring
and integrating knowledge
3.
Extending
and refining knowledge
4.
Using
knowledge meaningfully
5.
Productive
habits of mind
All the dimensions are enhanced
through cooperative learning but dimension four is even more affected by it. The meaningful use of knowledge through decision
making, investigation, inquiry, problem solving and invention are probably done
more efficiently by a cooperative group than by an individual (Marzano, 1992). These dimensions, assisted
by cooperation, focus on one of the primary goals of Adventist education--the
development of the power of intellect. Extensive research studies (Slavin,
1989/90) have shown that cooperative learning has a positive effect on student
achievement.
Cooperative Learning Strategies
One objective of this essay
is to help teacher implement cooperative learning. With this in mind, a repertoire of cooperative learning strategies
will be listed here. The common themes
in all of these are:
4
The
class is divided into small groups (typically with two to five members each), who
work together cooperatively to discuss and complete an academic task.
4
Task
can be given at various levels of intellectual complexity: facts skills,
concepts, principles, problem solving, and creative thinking. A teacher
presentation may or may not precede the group activities.
4
The
teacher states guidelines to foster cooperation and mutual interdependence
within each group, circulation from group to group and noting progress and
problems for later processing.
Scores of cooperative learning
strategies exist. Now that the basic
principles of cooperative learning are described, let us look at a few strategies,
which are popular and easy to use. It is
easy for a teacher to see that each strategy has its own unique purpose and
goal.
Turn to Your
Neighbor or Think-Pair-Share
First each student is given time
to think about the problem y the teacher.
Students then pair up to discuss the idea, to write of to draw as
instructed by the teacher. During Share
time, students are called upon to share the answer with the class as a whole.
In a high school or college
situation, this strategy can be called the "three minute pause". After a lecture of say, 10 or 15 minutes,
the teacher asks the students to turn to their neighbors and summarize the
points learned. This helps recapitulate
the important points as well as avoids the monotony of a lecture.
Pairs of Pairs
Students write out a list of
responses to a question or statement.
They first work in pairs and make one list. Two pairs then get together and make a single combined list. All the members of the groups are
responsible to know what is on the list.
Numbered Heads
Together
The teacher has students
numbered off within groups, so that each student has a number: 1, 2, 3, 4, or
5. The teacher asks a question. Students "put their heads together"
to make sure that everyone on the team knows the answer. The teacher calls a number (1, 2, 3, 4, or
5) and students with that number can raise their hand to respond.
Inside-Outside
Circle
Students stand in pairs in
two concentric circles. The inside circle
faces out; the outer circle faces in.
Students respond to teacher questions as they rotate within the same
circle to face a new partner.
Jigsaw
The teacher cuts the
teaching material into four or five meaningful parts and gives to the members
of the base group. Each group member is
given a different part and is responsible for learning it and then teaching it
to his or her group mates. For helping
to do this, the members from each team having the same material meet together
to learn their material. This group is
the expert group. They come back to
their base group to teach other members.
Each individual in the group is responsible for the whole material. The teacher may give a quiz and the group is
awarded for their performance.
Co-Op
All students are given a
pretest on any memory items such as vocabulary words, math facts, geography
terms. Have each student make a set of
flash cards on the words or problems he or she missed on the pretest. (Regular paper that is cut would do.) In pairs they tutor each other. The tutees will hand over the cards so that
the tutors can show and teach. Praises
are given liberally for a correct answer and the card id "won back"
to the tutee. The tutor and tutee
switch roles.
The T-Chart
This strategy is especially
useful for teaching a social skill. The
teacher writes the name of the skill to be learned and practiced and draws a
larger T underneath. The title on the
left side of the T is "Looks Like" and the one on the right side of
the T "Sounds Like." Write
down a number of behaviors that operationalize the skill on the left. On the right side write a number of phrases that operationalize the skill. Have all students practice "Looks Like"
and "Sounds Like." Let's look
at an example. For teaching the social
skill "Encouragement" the
T-chart may look like this.
Inherent within each human
being is the need to be loved and encouraged. By giving, we receive. Classrooms become places where such giving
and taking goes on. It is obvious that
the T-chart cooperative strategy is a powerful means of developing and using
Christian values among the students.
Teams-Games
Tournament
The base group revises the
lesson together. The teacher forms
tournament teams of 3 or 4 members from different base groups. Each of these tournament teams is assigned a
table and is provided one set of question and answer sheets, number cards
(corresponding to the number of questions), and a score sheet. Each member takes turn in picking the number
cards and answering the corresponding question from the question sheet. The other members verify the answer from the
answer sheet. Points are won for each
correct answer. The teams may go
through more than one round of the tournament and win more points. After a designated time, the tournament
stops. The teacher tallies all the
group scores and the groups are rewarded for their achievement.