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Promoting excellence in teaching at the University of Virginia

Teaching Concerns

Newsletter of the Teaching Resource Center for Faculty and Teaching AssistantsHotel D, 24 East Range (434) 982-2815 trc-uva@virginia.edu http://www.virginia.edu/~trc/ November 1

Cooperative / Collaborative Learningfor Active Student Involvement

Common sense, as well as educational researchand students' testimonials, tell us that studentswho get involved with what they study learn

more than those who receive information onlypassively. One of the most successful methodsof helping students learn actively is cooperative(or collaborative) learning. During the AIMS ofUndergraduate Education Conferencepresented by the Commonwealth Center forLiterary and Cultural Change last April,participating UVa undergraduatesenthusiastically promoted cooperative learning.Increasingly, students are coming to recognize

that the skills and perspectives engendered bycooperative learning groups are highlybeneficial in many professional environmentssuch as business, engineering, and industry.

Karl A. Smith, Associate Professor of Civiland Mineral Engineering at the U. of Minnesota,a vigorous proponent of cooperative learning atthe college level, recently offered twoworkshops at UVa. Presented under theauspices of the Lilly Teaching Fellows Programand the University Assessment Program, theseworkshops introduced interested faculty andTAs to the benefits and the essential elements ofcooperative learning.

Cooperative learning embodies much morethan simply having students work in groups;the teacher structures the groups and theactivities to include five essentials:ESSENTIALS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Positive InterdependenceStudents realize that what each of them doesindividually affects the work and success of theothers. They "sink or swim together." Theteacher structures the work so that students

must share information. The instructor may alsogive group grades to further develop acooperative ethic.

Face-to-Face Promotive InteractionStudents help, encourage, and support eachother's efforts to learn because they depend oneach other. The teacher also openly encouragesstudents to help each other.

Individual AccountabilityThe teacher assesses each individual'sperformance; thus although students learntogether, they often perform alone.

Social SkillsTo work effectively together, students learn anduse necessary social skills, e.g., leadership,decision-making, trust-buildingcommunication, conflict-management.

Group ProcessTo improve the group process, students analyzehow well they are achieving their goals andmaintaining effective working relationships. Forexample, the teacher may say, "Tell the groupmember to your right what s/he did today tohelp the group work well."

(From David W. Johnson, Roger T. Johnson

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Karl A. Smith.Active Learning: Cooperation in theCollege Classroom. Edina, MN: Interaction BookCo., 1991, p. 1:19-20.)

When faculty and TAs first hear aboutcooperative learning, two queries are most

frequently voiced: 1) What about students whodon't pull their own weight or students whodon't work well in groups? 2) What about thehonor pledge, with which students normallyconfirm that they have worked alone? The issueof problematic students typically resolves itselfas part of the group process. Sometimes studentpeer pressure, which can be extreme, makesstudents responsible to each other.

In any case, the teacher usually assigns newgroups throughout the semester, moving thedifficult student around; because the teacher ishighly involved with the students, s/he knowswhere the problems are. The apparent problemwith the honor pledge can also be resolvedwithin the system: the teacher simply revises thepledge to match the desired effect. For instance,students who peer-edit each others' papersmight write, "On this paper, I have neither givennor received aid outside my editing group."

Now experimenting with cooperativelearning are UVa faculty and TAs in suchdepartments as Anthropology, Chemistry,Commerce, Educational Leadership and PolicyStudies, English, Environmental Sciences,French, German, and History. At thecooperative problem-solving session we held onOctober 30, about 15 teachers shared theirsuccesses and questions and agreed that theirideas and caveats form part of a Tips on

Cooperative Learning column that we hope tocontinue in Teaching Concerns.

TIPS ON COOPERATIVE LEARNING

_ It takes several semesters or even yearsbefore cooperative learning works assmoothly as you hope it will the first timeyou try it.

_ Small groups (3-4 students) work best. _ The teacher must do a lot of advance

planning._ A crash-and-burn-and-rise-from-the-flames-

story: If your cooperative learning planinvolves having students discuss issues or

texts outside of class, you may find that theyhave trouble starting and/or sustaining aviable discussion. To help them, create adirection sheet for discussions in which youinclude rules and hints about effectivediscussion. Depending on your disciplineand the task, your direction sheet might notethat students must meet for discussion, thenat the end of the meeting signing that theyagree with the majority opinion or signing

their dissent. Either assign a discussionleader, or tell the students how to chooseone. Appoint someone to develop an agendafor each meeting.

_ Give each student in all groups specific rolesuseful roles include "reader," "reporter,""checker," "encourager." Once students knowtheir roles, you can assign tasks, such asdiscussion leading, to a particular role.

_ Make sure that students know that all are toparticipate equally. Once that guideline isclear, students usually work out conflictsthemselves. In extreme cases, you may haveto intervene.

_ One example of cooperative learnininvolves having students in each groupstudy different aspects of a literary orhistorical text they have all read. In this caseyou can prepare study guides for theindividual groups, suggesting profitabledirections for the students to take.

If you would like to share your successes and problems with cooperative

learning--or if you would like to learn more about it--please join us for our

next problem-solving session on Friday, December 4, 12:00-1:30 p.m., in the

Colonnade Hotel Room E-1. You may bring your lunch or purchase it there

The TRC library also contains many articles and books abou

cooperative/collaborative learning. Please call or come by if you would like to

see these.

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