Collaborative Learning
This is a topic I am very passionate about. I have witnessed the engagement that occurs when students can work together using technology to communicate and discuss ideas. I like the passage from the book that states, "When students work in cooperative groups, they make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others." This emphasizes relevance - I believe only students know how to make material relevant to them, and when you let them discover how, it really is amazing what they learn individually and as a group. I like to think of things in terms of road maps - if you supply the starting point and the destination, you can let the kids pick the route, and they will discover things that not even you anticipated. Add feedback along the way (to make sure no-one is "lost"), and the results are awesome.
A note about organizing groups. I understand that organizing groups based on ability should be limited, but there are also merits to this practice. If you work on the theory that you are only as good as the best person in the group - then students who are at the top should sometimes be allowed to work with each other so they, too, can experience growth rather than providing the measuring stick for those in class that are not at the same level.
"By nature, both multimedia projects and cooperative learning groups require attention to detail in the planning process. When these types of activities go astray in the classroom, it is often due to inadequate up-front preparation." This is so true! In my experience projects that incorporate cooperative learning require up-front work. You then can sit back and watch the kids work, give feedback along the way, and get a good idea of what your students are learning. Many teachers are more accustomed to back loading lessons (deliver what the book says, quiz, correct, review, correct, test, correct). When you change to this other model, up-front work means less load at the end. And students got prompted when necessary and useful to them.
I enjoyed the section on websites because I have been looking for other solutions that are more professional looking than a wiki. A wiki is great, for sure, but it is difficult to make it look as appealing as some other programs out there. I will definitely be looking in to some of the options listed.
I was refreshed to see a section about communication software. The next level of collaborative learning I will be introducing is www.tokbox.com. Kids can use this for video chat (up to 20 people at a time), so they can be working on their Google docs while actually seeing each other and discussing at the same time.
Reinforcing Effort
When I read the first generalization about not all students realizing the importance of believing in effort, I smiled because it is so true - I see it quite a bit in my 7th grade students. Sometimes, I think so much educational time is spent on learning content that we forget to teach or introduce the meaning of effort. I find myself using more rubrics that define effort and using examples relative to subject/age group that help them understand what effort looks like. I'm not sure the charts in the book would work for my subject areas, but I can see their merits.
I find that my students who are less likely to engage in classroom discussions, are more likely to engage themselves if technology is involved. It seems like my students go above and beyond my expectations when using technology. Their interested and enjoying the learning process. When their in control of their learning tools and doing things themselves, I think they learn more. I also love what you said about effort! If only ALL students could give me 100%----I'd be a very happy teacher. Great post Tam!
ReplyDeleteTam, I loved your road map metaphor! That's awesome, and so true! What you said about ability grouping was very interesting. I teach third grade and have always worked very hard to create heterogeneous groups that contain students of all different abilities, but maybe that is why one student (my highest student) ends up doing all the work! I had never thought of that before! Now you've given me something to think about this week.
ReplyDeleteTam,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your analogy to the map in cooperative learning. I have found that students have surprised me by going past the destination that I intended. You also brought me to experience some guilt in the fact that I am almost an exclusive "back loading teacher". In my experience, when I try to do more cooperative learning projects, the chronic truancy of some students sabotages the efforts of others.