I think choosing who goes in what group is very tactical. You pick the people who can most help, and be helped, by the ones they are partnered with. Often in my own high school classes we'd fight so desperately to work with our friends. Not because we thought we'd get the most out of the lesson but because we wanted to goof off. I think understanding that the groups are rigged can sometimes have the same effect as a bad heart transplant. The students will reject the system and use what ever power they have to undermine the project. That being said I think that might only happen if the structure is not sewn into the fabric of the class. In one of the English classes at CF I saw that the teacher had a big board specifically designated to cooperative learning stuff. It listed all the roles and who would perform which role for that particular weeks project. What I liked about that is that it builds the concept into the students mind right away. It moves the student away from group work (which I feel is the term that best describes the idea wanting to work with your friends and goof off) and moves towards cooperative learning. The idea of roles and performance and become a part of the culture of that classroom community. It's not something that the teacher springs on them and has to spend 15 minutes explaining ever aspect of it. It's something that has been introduced to them along with the opening of the class at the beginning of the semester. It is understood that that is a normal and common aspect of that classroom.
I liked what you mentioned about the distinct roles and structures put into place by the District C teacher. To me, it is absolutely essential that students know the expectations placed on them, and that the teacher is consistent with those expectations. For example, if one week groups are allowed to form themselves, and students get to work with their friends; but then the next week the teacher assigns groups based on skill level, the second assignment won't be nearly as successful, because students will be disappointed and less likely to work with strangers as they would be had they had that structure in the first place. Also, assigning clear roles for each student every single time you introduce cooperative work is just as important. If students are given the opportunity to goof off on one or two assignments, they won't have as good a work ethic when the teacher actually assigns roles. It really is on the teacher to emphasize consistency in their structure to achieve the best results.
ReplyDeleteYeah and I think it's also a lot of that structure mindset like you mentioned. As much as I wrote about students goofing off I think the worst part is the time killing job of explaining everything. I think by getting the structure established as part of that culture the students naturally just assume those roles themselves after sometime.
ReplyDeleteI heard this great quote and I'm gonna try to shoe horn it into this discussion. It went something like this: "It's like when you realize you're breathing and the hardest thing to do is try and go back to doing it involuntarily. The more you think about it the more you struggle just to get back into that rhythm."
In my head the roles are a lot like that. If you create a rhythm to how things are run (i.e making that structure of roles and then sticking to it) then it'll run smoother in the long run. Students will naturally assume that role. However if you switch things up it can set students off track needlessly and it might be harder to get back to that rhythm.
I like your quote about involuntary breathing, because it can be applied to learning and teaching. If the students have to think about the assignment, it can become slightly confusing, for instance, at this point, MLA format is natural for me, but back when I was learning it and I had to think about each and every thing that went into MLA format, I would become confused, but now I don't have to think about it. Try to think about HOW we breathe.....like, how do we inhale air? It's hard to think about because we kind of just.....do. We should try to get students to this level of mastery in our subjects, this can be done at least with the box exercise where they become so comfortable using that format that they can use it with any kind of exercise, whether it be sentence forming, or building boxes.
ReplyDeleteThat’s the great thing about incorporating skill building into your everyday curriculum… establishing certain routines early in the school year as part of the culture of your classroom, saves hours of instructional time that can be allotted to skill building practice. In the same sense, when skill building is sewn into classroom routine, more time and detail can then be allocated to content and concept building. Cooperative learning in the classroom is really a fundamental component used in giving students the supports they need to master skills and become life-long learners.
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