Cooperative Learning: Criticisms

CRITICISMS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING

Cooperative Learning can have some drawbacks, especially if it is not applied correctly:

1. The use of competition: Whether this is between groups or within the group, competition tends to fight against collaboration. Often teachers will add this as an additional motivational factor only to watch the motivation move from intrinsic to extrinsic and the quality drop as result.
2. Classroom Management: If groups have not learned the specific procedures of Cooperative Learning, they can easily get off-task (hence the need for accountability) or get too noisy.
3. Group Think: Groups can reinforce misonceptions and engage in groupthink when members do not have a chance to challenge others. It creates a culture of conformity, which can be dangerous to any child's education.
4. Group Dysfunction: If groups are chosen too poorly, students at the bottom do no work while the students at the top do all the work. At times, this can be an issue of perfectionism at the top or a low sense of self-efficacy at the bottom. Other group dysfunction includes bullying, gossip, slander and avoidance.
5. Too complicated: Often times, teachers make Cooperative Learning too complicated. It might be an issue of creating elaborate roles or instructions that are too detailed. Simplicity is key to Cooperative Learning success.
6. Dependency on Groups: Students who are too accustomed to cooperative learning can have a hard time adjusting to learning environments where it is entirely independent. For example, they might have a hard time in college, when a professor stands up and lectures.
7. Not enough collaboration: Some critics have suggested that students need to develop roles in an authentic process and work collaboratively on a larger project without being confined to the procedures of cooperative learning. The chief criticism is that cooperative learning is not reflective of how true collaboration occurs in the real world.

Cooperative Learning: Ideas

COOPERATIVE LEARNING IDEAS

For some teachers, it might be best to begin cooperative learning with partner work and move from there. In general, cooperative learning works best when students are placed into groups of four where they can see one another. Although tables work well, moving desks so that they can face one another is a valid option. The following are some of the most common cooperative learning activities.

1. Jigsaw - Each student from the group goes to another group to do a reading or an activity. In the process, that person becomes an expert on the subject and then reports back to the main group to explain the information. This process works best when students recieve a graphic organizer that they can share with classmates.
2. Brainstorm - Cooperative learning works well when every member has a chance to add to the discussion. For this reason, a brainstorm works well. Each student has a chance to participate. A brainstorm also works well when coupled with the Pair-Share concept. In addition, Brainstorm works well when it goes beyond the traditional idea of "how many" and into higher-order thinking. For example, students work well when they are told to brainstorm at least five pros and five cons of the United Nations.
3. Three-step Interview - In a group of four, each pair interviews the other pair. Afterward, the second person interviews the first. Finally, each member shares information from their interview to the entire group.
4. Pair-Share - The most common of cooperative learning activities, students begin by working or thinking silently. Afterward, they pair up and share information. It could be a discussion question, a brainstorm or a story. From there, the pair shares with the small group or the larger group.
5. Technology - Using shared Wikis, Google Documents or Blogs, students can engage in cooperative learning activities with the added aide of technology. Again, it is important to assign roles and offer ideas for organization (for example, a team editor, group leader, visual person, etc. ). This works especially well when students use Problem-Based Learning activities and must see the issues from multiple perspectives.

Cooperative Learning: Theorists

It is difficult to determine who "founded" cooperative learning. In collaborative, cooperative cultures, this type of learning theory existed without ever being labled as such. However, in the West, the following theorists strongly influenced the developement of Cooperative Learning theories:

1. Lev Vygotsky - His theory of scaffolding and the Zone of Proximal Development suggested that heterogeneous grouping would work best. Teachers would work as facilitators and the groups would teach themselves in a form of peer-mentoring.
2. Alfred Bandura - The Social Learning Theory set the tone for Cooperative Learning. Bandura suggested that students learn from their peer group and that they work best when placed in small groups with defined roles. Bandura's research also suggested the need to consider issues of self-concept and self-efficacy.
3. Spencer Kagan - Cooperative Learning began with many theorists doing research about best practices. Kagan, a pioneer in Cooperative Learning, developed specific classroom strategies that utilized Cooperative Learning. In many respects, he is the man most responsible for popularizing Cooperative Learning and making it accessible to the public.

Cooperative Learning: Introduction

It is a misnomer to call cooperative learning "group work." The following list describes the differences between cooperative learning and group work:

1. In group work, all people have the same job, task and role. In cooperative learning, students have a defined role with a respective task.
2. In group work, students engage in a task that they could do individually. There is a sense that they don't "need" one another. In cooperative learning, students depend upon one another for each learning activity.
3. In group work, there is rarely any sense of accountability. In cooperative learning, individuals hold one another accountability.
4. In group work, there is little training ahead of time. Groups are created and students must figure out how to get along. In cooperative learning, students have recieved instructions in how to handle conflict, divide tasks, use metacognition and set their own goals.