Some additional reading:
Tips for Climate Setting in Cooperative Learning Classrooms
Susan Ledlow, Arizona State University
Solomon, Davidson, and Solomon suggest that, for cooperative learning to work
optimally, the classroom should become a community of learners, "a united,
interdependent, mutually supportive and cohesive unit, motivated to work, study, teach,
and learn together" (1992, pp. 51-52).
Kagan similarly refers to building the will to
cooperate as one of the key concepts for successful cooperative learning (1992, p.
4:2):
" But, while many of my students are enthused about the opportunity to learn with and from
their peers, it is not uncommon for me to encounter students who are reluctant to
participate in cooperative learning teams."
So how does one take a class of students whose feelings about cooperative learning
range from love through indifference to downright hostility and turn them into a community
of learners? The first (but by no means the only) step is to work on creating a class
climate that encourages cooperation. Listed below are some strategies that have worked
well for me. Try those that seem to fit your needs and teaching style; adapt or disregard
those that don't. I'd also recommend that you read more on this complex subject
(references and suggested books are included at the end) and talk with other teachers
about their experiences.
1. Communicate clear expectations to students about CL on the first day of class.
I recommend that you inform students that you plan to use cooperative learning, why you
use it, and what it means to them. Will they be graded on class participation? What
happens if they come to class unprepared? It's particularly important to let students know
about your policies on group grades. (Incidentally, I find that my students' anxiety about
cooperative learning greatly diminishes when they find out that I don't use group grades
in my undergraduate classes.) It's also a good idea to acknowledge that some people would
prefer to work alone, and to point out the activities and assignments they'll be working
on independently. Typically, I stress the information in my syllabus that relates to
participation and homework points. I also include a statement about CL, like this:
Learning is a constructive process, i. e., in order to learn, you must take in new
information and process it in light of your previous knowledge and experiences to
construct new meanings. Individual reading, reflection, and writing, are important to
learning, but I believe that discussion, debate and analysis of new ideas with your peers
is even more critical....
Cooperative learning has been repeatedly shown to increase student learning, to enhance
critical thinking skills, to improve communication skills, and to increase student
satisfaction with classes in which it is used. Students who have taken my classes in the
past have reported that they appreciated having a chance to get to know other students and
develop relationships that have enriched their academic and personal lives.
2. Provide a non-threatening, hands-on, introduction to cooperative learning that
students can easily accomplish.
Rather than telling students that cooperation makes learning fun, demonstrate it. Put
students into teams and have them do a simple, well structured cooperative activity. The
activity could introduce your course, cooperative learning, or your content. For example,
a great idea for your first day of class is the Syllabus Jigsaw, developed by Brenda
Larson of Chandler Gilbert Community College. Brenda puts her students into teams, gives
each team member a different page of her syllabus and has them look for the answers to
questions about the course. She reports that they remember much more about the syllabus
than when she lectured to them, and she´s able to give them a feel for her favorite
cooperative learning technique, Jigsaw.
3. Develop Class Groundrules
After a few days of experiencing CL in your class, have your students develop a
"Code of Cooperation" or a set of ground-rules that will enhance their teamwork.
I often have them develop rules within their teams, then make a master list for the class.
Many of the rules they come up with are identical to rules I would have chosen (e.g.,
"Come to class prepared and willing to participate" or "Criticize ideas,
not, people."), but I think that students are more invested in rules that they
develop themselves.
4. Personalize the learning environment
People in a learning community know and use each other's first names. Name tags or
tents work well in large classes. In smaller classes (up to 50 students) , try the Name
Game, developed by Jim Luotto and Edwina Stoll (Department of Communication, DeAnza
College): moving clockwise, each students says his or her first name, the names of all
students who came before him, and then his/her first name again. Johnson, Johnson, and
Smith (1992, p. 8:10) offer a number of suggestions for personalizing the learning
environment. They especially recommend monitoring cooperative learning teams closely, so
that you get to know students better and can interact with them more informally than you
would in a whole-class setting.
5. Conduct Classbuilding Activities
Kagan comments that, in CL classes, "it is important that students see themselves
as part of a larger supportive group - the class - not just as members of one small
team" (1992, p. 9:1) Class-builders help all students in the class get better
acquainted and hopefully, develop that sense of mutual support. Some class-builders are
simple, nonverbal strategies. For example, you might use a thumbs-up or -down poll of the
class to compare reactions to an idea. Others are more complicated and lengthy activities,
like The Circles of.... The Circles of... has students write information about themselves
and their interests on a graphic organizer composed of many circles. They then mingle
around the room, asking each other questions about the information in their circles. (It
can also be used to form heterogeneous teams.) Some faculty members do a lot of
classbuilders at the beginning, and less as the semester progresses. I'm more inclined to
spread them out fairly evenly throughout the semester. Experiment and see what works best
for you.
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