Could working together in the classroom bring together two types of intelligence needed to get on?
ASK any teacher if the children in their class are learning cooperatively and you will be told of course they are cooperating. They have to, don’t they? But, cooperative learning is not quite what its name implies and it might indeed hold the key to the teaching of both knowledge and skills simultaneously in the classroom.
So what exactly is cooperative learning? Put simply, it is the teaching of small groups of students who work together to maximise their own and each other’s learning. This might seem to be a case of stating the obvious, as surely all schools do something similar by splitting students into classes? However, it is certainly not as straightforward as that.
It is important to highlight the distinctions between three types of learning that can occur within a group of students: cooperative learning, individualistic learning and competitive learning. In individualistic learning, students learn independently without working in conjunction with their classmates. This is, in effect, what goes on in the vast majority of class rooms. In competitive learning, students also learn independently, but are especially concerned about outperforming their classmates. This kind of learning is predominant in schools which have very strong academic backgrounds and who ‘encourage’ competition amongst the students. In cooperative learning, however, students work with one another in small groups, in a non-competitive fashion to accomplish a common goal. This is a rare scenario indeed, but one that is well worth exploiting more in schools.
Before there is any confusion, it is important to distinguish cooperative learning from simple group work. It is a common misconception that the two are the same but nothing could be further from the truth. In simple group work it is possible for students to continue working individually or competitively, despite the fact that they are physically clustered together. In cooperative learning, students work together non-competitively to accomplish a shared goal, and this is the key difference.
Leading researchers suggest that there are four basic principles which define cooperative learning. These are
· positive interdependence
· individual accountability
· equal participation
· simultaneous interaction
The acronym PIES is often used to represent these principles, and it is asserted that unless all of these principles are implemented, cooperative learning is not taking place.
Positive interdependence means that a gain for one student is associated with gains for the others. Students should be guided to understand that “if one fails, they all do.” This “all for one and one for all” mentality is the central theme of cooperative learning.
Individual accountability means that each group member is responsible for his or her own learning, and for contributing to the learning of group members. This can be a powerful force to try and boost individual students’ self-esteem and self-worth within the group. Equal participation refers to the fact that no student should be allowed to dominate a group and that no student should be allowed to take a back seat. Every teacher knows that equal participation does not occur automatically, so steps must be taken to ensure that it does. Several techniques can be used to achieve this, such as expecting students to take turns speaking, or the division of labour, which means that each group member is assigned a specific role to play in the group.
To provide the optimum environment for cooperative learning it is necessary to arrange the students in small groups and creating a group task that demands all group members need to work together to obtain a solution. Contrast this to a traditional classroom in which students face forward, work independently, and spend the overwhelming majority of the time sitting quietly, listening to the teacher.
The exact way of assigning members to certain groups is a matter of debate among educationalists. Some researchers feel it is acceptable at times to randomly assign students to groups or to allow students to pick their own groups, but most believe it is best if the teacher creates groups which are academically heterogeneous. The ‘ideal’ group might be comprised of a high-achieving student, a low-achieving student, and two average students. It is also a principle of cooperative learning that groups be created gender, race, or ethnic diversity. In particular, students who are physically disabled, or who are not native English speakers, should not be segregated. The emphasis should always be on inclusion rather than exclusion, which has a positive effect on the whole-class situation beyond the curricular area being dealt with.
For cooperative learning to be successful, students should be assigned specific roles within their group. Examples of an ‘academic role’ might be a checker, someone whose role it is to see that the work being carried out makes sense. ‘Social roles’ might be of a motivator or praiser, whose job it is to maintain the group’s morale, or to ensure the group is moving in the right direction. It is through these roles that students will learn far more skills than merely sitting in a classroom listening to a teacher try and explain a concept to them, and skills that can be transferred to other areas of the curriculum.
There are many examples of how cooperative learning can be applied successfully in the classroom. One technique is aptly called the ‘jigsaw’ method, whereby students are assigned a group task, such as solving a multipart mathematics problem, with several distinct components to it. Each student in the group is assigned one component of the task which they must work on independently. After each student completes his or her part, the students group together again, and each student must share their results with the rest of the group. Students must listen carefully to each other, otherwise they will not learn all of the material which they will later be individually tested on. All the individual pieces are assembled to solve the original problem, hence the name ‘jigsaw’.
So why bother with cooperative learning? It certainly sounds like a great deal of work for possibly little return. The major benefit of this approach is that it fosters exactly the same progression of how children learn; children progress from pre-logical thinking, to ‘concrete’ thinking, to abstract thinking. The cooperative learning approach does this by allowing children to work in groups on complex problems, with the goal being to learn and explore abstract concepts. Cooperative learning provides students with the opportunity to explore and discuss topics with their peers in a hands-on, interactive environment. Students bounce their ideas off each other while learning, and receive non-threatening feedback and guidance from each other. In a traditional classroom setting, opportunities for the exploration of abstract concepts are very limited, and students are likely to be intimidated to do so on their own.
Research proves that there are many benefits to using a cooperative learning approach in the secondary classroom. Any teacher knows that adolescents have tremendous energy, and yet are traditionally asked to remain seated and remain quiet throughout a lesson. Additionally, adolescents have a strong need for interpersonal relationships and peer communication, and yet during class they are expected to work independently. The cooperative learning method takes advantage of both aspects of adolescent behavior, and uses those traits in a positive and productive manner.
There are also many other positive results from using cooperative learning. When learning something students must progress through four types of learning, in this order: facts, skills, concepts, and applications. It is in the area of applications, or problem-solving, the highest level of cognitive process that is the ultimate goal for any student. Students can best accomplish this when working in a group where they can discuss problems among themselves.
Researchers have also stated that the ever-present peer pressure can be used to the advantage of the teacher and the students when students are made to work together. In addition, many studies credit the approach with improving cooperative attitudes outside the classroom, and increasing cross-racial friendships.
So, is cooperative learning just another fad? Perhaps not. As it becomes clearer to everyone that our children require far more than just academic knowledge to survive in tomorrow’s world, cooperative learning has the potential to provide both the knowledge that is still needed (IQ) and also give the opportunity for students to develop the transferable interpersonal skills that are becoming increasingly essential (EQ, or emotional intelligence). If cooperative learning can effectively unite these two ‘intelligences’ then it could quite possibly revolutionise the teaching in classrooms as we know it.
Dr Moore is headteacher at Nicosia’s Highgate Secondary School
