Transcript Document
The Role of Instructor in
Group Or Cooperative
Learning
• More Heads are Better than One
Formal Cooperative
Learning
Structured via pre-instructional decisions
Set tasks
Monitor groups while they work
Evaluate student learning and group
function
Instructor Makes preinstructional decisions
Specify academic and social skills
objectives
Decide on group size
Decide group composition
Assign roles
Arrange the room
Plan materials
Explain Task and
Cooperative Structure
Explain the academic task
Explain the criteria for success
Structure positive interdependence
Structure intergroup cooperation
Structure individual accountability
Specify expected behavior
Monitor and intervene
Arrange face-to-face promotive
interaction
Monitor students’ behavior
Intervene 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 Groups
Divide students into groups of four
Assign each student a different portion
of the project/assignment
Have 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 groups
Focus student attention on material
Ensure students cognitively process the
material
Allows 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
Problem
solving
Reviewing of material
Building group cohesion
Increasing social skills
Reinforcing a concept
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
Five Basic elements for Groups
(formal/informal)
Positive
interdependence
Individual accountability
Face-to-face interaction
Interpersonal and small group skills
Group processing
References
Cooperative Learning Institute and
Interaction Book Company, Johnson,
Johnson & Smith http://www.cooperation.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.