Multiple Intelligences: Visual-Spatial

Some have argued that visual and spatial learners should have separate categories. The argument is that the brain does not process abstract visual and spatial visual information in the same way. Furthermore, some people have a difficult time with visual but excel in spatial thinking (or vice versa). Yet, Gardner has linked the two together.

VISUAL

Visual learners need to see the information being presented. They prefer to think about information in a way that is more visual and graphic. If a teacher sits and lectures without providing graphs or images, the visual learner can feel lost. A teacher will often hear a visual learner say, "I'm trying to picture it," and an overwhelming amount of abstract information can seem like overload.

Teaching Strategies

• Graphs
• Graphic Organizers - charts, Venn Diagrams
  
• Images
• Outlines
• Concept maps
  
• Metaphors
• Collages (also kinesthetic)
  
• Spreadsheets
  
• Pictures
• Videos (to a certain extent)
• Slides
• Ranking information in a visual way - timeline, etc.
  
• Video editing

SPATIAL

Spatial thinkers can visualize information well in a way that relates to physical space. For example, they find it easy to visualize an object rotated at different angles. In think of the world, they find it easy to envision a globe with various zones of countries. Spatial thinkers can take verbal information and apply it to a physical space. Thus, they'll think of a conversation by imagining where they sat. They'll take notes and lay them out spatially into separate areas.

Teaching Strategies

• Belief Walk - where they walk from the agree to disagree side
  
• Rank from 1-10 - where students hold up an item and physically move according to their rank
  
• Divided Areas - having students divided up according to the space; for example, "this area is the house and this is the senate. Each desk represents one space."
  
• Manipulatives designed to separate space - for example, having them place note cards on a long timeline or using hula hoops for Venn Diagrams
• 3-D modelling - Google Earth, for example

Multiple Intelligences: Kinesthetic

KINESTHETIC

Kinesthetic learners can find school frustrating, because they learn best when they are actively engaged with the physical environment. Kinesthetic learners learn by doing rather than by seeing or listening. Often a kinesthetic learner can understand something through the five senses - being able to touch the cotton rather than hearing a lecture on slavery or doing a "belief walk" rather than a debate.

Teaching Strategies

• Move around - walk from table to table and analyze information
• Physical artifacts - being able to touch and feel an item
• "Mock" history - turning the class into a factory, into a slave ship, etc.
  
• Belief Walk - also a spatial method (walk from 1-10) according to beliefs
• Use of JavaScript - roll over an object and discover something
• Video Games (although there is strong debate on this one)
• Acting out
• Role playing
• Collages (also visual)

Multiple Intelligences: Kinesthetic

KINESTHETIC

Kinesthetic learners can find school frustrating, because they learn best when they are actively engaged with the physical environment. Kinesthetic learners learn by doing rather than by seeing or listening. Often a kinesthetic learner can understand something through the five senses - being able to touch the cotton rather than hearing a lecture on slavery or doing a "belief walk" rather than a debate.

Teaching Strategies

• Move around - walk from table to table and analyze information
• Physical artifacts - being able to touch and feel an item
• "Mock" history - turning the class into a factory, into a slave ship, etc.
  
• Belief Walk - also a spatial method (walk from 1-10) according to beliefs
• Use of JavaScript - roll over an object and discover something
• Video Games (although there is strong debate on this one)
• Acting out
• Role playing
• Collages (also visual)

This could be your classroom if you took kinesthetic learning to an extreme.

Multiple Intelligences: Logical-Mathematical

LOGICAL / MATHEMATICAL

The Logical / Mathematical learner has an easy time using reason to solve problems, with a penchant for discovering patterns and relationships. It is not uncommon for this type of student excel in both math and science and, within writing, to do well in grammar or syntax. This does not mean that a logical / mathematical person will excel in all math. For example, for this type of thinker, geometry can be difficult if there is too much spatial or visual thinking.

Teaching Strategies

• Organized outlines
• Sequential order / chronology
• Find the facts - analyze information for reason / logic
  
• Ranking ideas or arguments based upon logic
• Problem-based learning - analyzing a problem and creating a solution
• Critiques
• Using the scientific method
• Integration of math into other subjects
• Analyzing data
  

Multiple Intelligences: Logical-Mathematical

LOGICAL / MATHEMATICAL

The Logical / Mathematical learner has an easy time using reason to solve problems, with a penchant for discovering patterns and relationships. It is not uncommon for this type of student excel in both math and science and, within writing, to do well in grammar or syntax. This does not mean that a logical / mathematical person will excel in all math. For example, for this type of thinker, geometry can be difficult if there is too much spatial or visual thinking.

Teaching Strategies

• Organized outlines
• Sequential order / chronology
• Find the facts - analyze information for reason / logic
  
• Ranking ideas or arguments based upon logic
• Problem-based learning - analyzing a problem and creating a solution
• Critiques
• Using the scientific method
• Integration of math into other subjects
• Analyzing data

Multiple Intelligences: Intrapersonal

INTRAPERSONAL

It is a misnomer to label intrapersonal thinkers as loners or shy. Often, they are very intuitive and introverted, but that does not mean they are quiet. It simply means they find their motivation and passion from within and they enjoy delving into the depths of themselves to find answers and ask questions. Intrapersonal learners can have a difficult time in group work if they have to compromise too much of their own autonomy.

Teaching Strategies

• Reflections
• Journals
• Goal-setting
• Online publishing
• Reading
• Self-paced independent projects
• Introspective questioning
• Poetry
• Creative writing
• Personal collages

Multiple Intelligences: Interpersonal

INTERPERSONAL

Interpersonal learners prefer to collaborate and share ideas with a group. To them, learning should take the best parts of all group members so that they can broaden their perspectives. Rather than looking within introspectively, they prefer to spur dialogue as a group and hash out ideas through conversation. To them, learning needs to be interactive.

Teaching Strategies

• Role-playing
• Video conferencing
  
• Mock Trial
• Discussions
• Group activities
• Socratic Seminars
  
• Collaborative technology - Google Documents, Wikis, Discussion Boards
• Podcasts

Multiple Intelligences: Existential

EXISTENTIAL

Existential thinkers to tend lean toward the deeper, philosophical questions. They prefer to ask, "Why am I doing this?" and "How does this help me to live well?" An existential thinker typically has a strong sense that education must be meaningful - not simply to pass a test or earn a scholarship, but to think better about life. An existential thinker will often add a spiritual, intuitive, philosophical or abstract component to education.

Teaching Strategies

• Socratic Seminar
• Philosophy of _______
  
• Developing difficult questions to spur dialogue
• Adding a human dimension to a class
• Examining epistemology - the journey of truth
• Journaling with difficult questions
• Dialogues about ethics within politics
  
• Writing Socratic dialogues
• Analyzing writing with concepts such as world view, character development and theme
• Inquiry and guided inquiry
  
• Activities that begin with "What if . . .?"
  
• Analyzing social issues through an existentialist filter - "Why is there injustice?"

Multiple Intelligences: Auditory-Linguistic

AUDITORY-LINGUISTIC

This type of intelligence is the most commonly seen in school and the least common in the population. Those who have a high level of audio-linguistic intelligence connect well to language. Often, they write well, read well and have a fairly easy time staying on track with lectures. It is not uncommon to see an Audio-Linguistic person write quickly and nearly flawlessly with a broad range of prose and poetry.

Teaching Strategies

• Lecture
• Reading
• Writing
• Discussion
• Debates
• Web publishing
• Blogs
  
• Mock Trial
• Podcasts

Multiple Intelligences: Theorist

THEORIST: HOWARD GARDNER

As a professor of cognition (the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at theHarvard Graduate School of Education) John Howard Gardner pioneered brain research that challenged the prevailing assumptions that a paper and pencil test could measure intelligence. Within the early 1980's, his theories were already being accepted within academic circles.

In 1993, Howard Gardner wrote Framing Minds in an effort to provide a mainstream method of communicating his theory of multiple intelligences. Since then, he developed the theories to include naturalistic and existentialist intelligences.

In addition, Gardner continued to write books for a semi-popular audience. For example, his book Responsibility at Work surveyed various professions with the goal of discovering what types of intelligences were used in various places of employment. Changing Minds dealt with the topic of why and how people change their minds - and why it is so rare.

Multiple Intelligences: Introduction

INTRODUCTION

For many teachers, multiple intelligences has been drilled into their minds. From the beginning of a bachelor's program, professors have emphasized the need to reach all students in the best possible modality. One student might need a hands-on lesson while another needs to listen verbally to a long description of what happens.

Sadly, many of the teachers who heard about the importance of multiple intelligences never experienced it in their schooling. A professor would stand in front of a PowerPoint and lecture students about not lecturing. "Use kinesthetic learning, because those are the students who fall the furthest behind," a teacher would explain and drop it at that.

People fail to take into account the fact that Multiple Intelligences is a theory based upon sound, solid brain research. A light, superficial knowledge of it can actually do more harm than good. In this sense, it can be dangerous when a teacher uses Multiple Intelligences as an excuse for students failing to read or write. "She's just a visual learner, so I'll show a movie instead." A better goal is to use differentiated instruction from a Multiple Intelligence framework so all students can learn; not to replace reading, but to help them to improve in reading.

The goal here is to explore the underlying theories of multiple intelligences and offer instructional strategies for teachers. Multiple Intelligences can be difficult to implement, because it often requires teachers to think differently and creatively in planning lessons.

Morever, in a subject where the written word is highly prized, a kinesthetic or spatial activity can seem like a loss in academic learning time. This is especially true when there is increased pressure to perform well on standardized tests.

Critical Pedagogy: Criticisms

CRITICISMS OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY

Criticisms
1. Ignores Virtues of Dominant Culture - Critical Pedagogy disregards the values implicit within social structures. For example, in its criticism of American Imperialism, critical pedagogy ignores the virtues of America. They miss the fact that our foreign intervention has liberated people and stopped genocide, even if it has also killed civilians and created totalitarian governments.
2. Critical Pedagogy Indoctrinates – Because they do not believe that education can be neutral, there is a subtle temptation to indoctrinate students. Critical theorists point out that the current system already indoctrinates and that critical theory at least allows students to develop their own convictions. However, critics of Critical Pedagogy feel that this undermines the work of parents, churches, family and other social institutions in instilling values among their children.
3. Limited in Scope – Critical theory makes sense in language arts and in social sciences. However, it is difficult to see how it can apply to math or science. Though there is some validity there, critical pedagogy could be applied in certain circumstances to math and science. For example, critical pedagogy encourages students to challenge assumptions, create hypothesis and test it with action. After all, Albert Einstein grew up in an oppressive learning environment and faced harsh rebukes because of his lack of conformity to rules. Yet this is precisely why he was able to discover the theory of relativity.
4. Hypocritical - Most adherants to Critical Pedagogy will be quick to attack Benjamin Franklin or Abraham Lincoln, but will be slow to criticize Malcom X or Che Guevara.

Responding to Criticisms
Perhaps the hardest barrier to overcome is critical theory’s association with Marxist dogma. With the fall of Communism, it would seem that there is not much of a place for critical pedagogy. However, many more “conservative” educators have redefined critical pedagogy. Neil Postman, for example, pioneered a new method of media studies, blending together Marshall McLuhan’s notion of the non-neutrality of technology with social sciences and literature.

I find it sad that critical pedagogy has been interpreted so narrowly by educators. In reality, it harmonizes well with other theories. For example, the use of dialogue and small group interaction fits well with cooperative learning. The notion of collective wisdom and a democratic approach meshes well with the Social Learning Theory. The idea of students thinking critically about society, about presuppositions and even about authority fit well with Bloom’s Taxonomy – especially in terms of analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Moreover, the call to action, which is part of Freire’s learning cycle, involves Bloom’s idea of application.

Critical Pedagogy: Ideas

IDEAS FOR APPLYING CRITICAL PEDAGOGY

Applying this to . . .
Classroom Management – How the group interacts
This means that management needs to be more democratic. Teachers need to do less “talking to” and engage in fewer power struggles. Instead, they ought to generate discussions and engage in a meaningful dialogue. Rather than seeing a classroom as something to be dominated and tamed, they can create a democratic feel that will allow students to express tehmsevles respectfully.
Example: A student disrupts class and a teacher pulls him or her aside for a conversation about why the student did that and what the student believes about the action.

Teaching Philosophy – Why you teach
Why do students learn? The traditional answer is to prepare students for the workforce. Yet, critical theory rejects that notion as a byproduct of an industrialized, factory-based model. Instead, they see education as something that “humanizes” and helps build “concientousness” (to use Freire’s term.) In low-income settings, teaching should be a means of empowerment and should connect to the community as a whole.
Example: A teacher would encourage students to create their own philosophies of education. A class might work collaboratively on a class purpose statement.

Assessment – How you know student’s learn
The only way to assess knowledge is to see life change. Rather than using standardized tests, or even letter grades, critical pedagogy advocates alternative modes of assessment. Even the rubric is seen as an artificial construct. Therefore, the only way to see if students have learned is to evaluate how a student has applied that knowledge to life as a whole. Often, this leads to a certain social activism that is absent in traditional education. Criticis point out how subjective this can be. It can seem to miss the rigour of an academic assessment. Yet, proponents of these alternative methods point out that it is more authentic to life. Many proponents of critical pedagogy also believe in the notion of differentiated instruction so that students are more active in the learning process.
Example: A class goes on a service learning project and has a reflective dialogue when the project ends. This would then lead into a letter writing campaign and a protest.

Instruction – How you teach
In terms of instruction, critical pedagogy offers very few practical applications. For the most part, they advocate a constructivist style of education. Students are encouraged to challenge theories and ideas that are dominant in society. In a math or science class, this means that students engage in dialogue and test hypotheses. In social sciences and language arts, they study the relationship between power, culture and beliefs. There is a blending of subjects in critical pedagogy which also has a constructivist bent. Students are encouraged to connect knowledge from one subject area to another.
Example: A class has a debate about the role of the media in politics. They might read various textbooks or state standards and analyze them for bias, then contact those in power to share their findings.

Critical Pedagogy: Theorists

HEORISTS OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY

He may look like Santa Clause and he has been accused of being "red" but Paulo Freire rejected Communism despite his neo-Marxist methodology.

The major theorist behind critical pedagogy has been the Brazilian educator Paulo Freire. However, the history of critical theory begins earlier. The earliest theorists were part of the Frankfurt School in Germany. Heavily influenced by the diagnostic methods of Marx, they believed that the traditional German approach (modeled after a factory) had to be replaced by a more humane, democratic and critical system.

It is not suprising that this theory began in the early 1920’s. The entire world was questioning theories and skeptical of powerful social instutions, after facing the bloodiest war in global history. After all, in science, Einstein’s theory of relativity and the early notions of quantum mechanics were both challenging the Newtonian system. In art and music, modernism, with its avante garde approach had overthrown the harsh confinement of a Victorian system. Throughout the world, intellectuals began to advocate socialism and Marxism. It is understandable that, with this new modern worldview, critical pedagogy would change educational theory.

With the rise of Hitler, the Frankfurt School fled throughout the world. Although this first appeared to destroy the theory, the diaspora of academics meant that the seeds of critical theory were planted in unusual places. In the 1960s, another period of questioning and change, Jergen Habermas emerged as the leading voice of critical theory.

However, it would be in the unexpected nation of Brazil that the greatest critical theorist would emerge. Paulo Freire lived in the impoverished town of Recife, where his family went from solidly middle class to scraping by in poverty. Though he later donned the same scruffy beard, Freire differed from Marx in that he actually experienced poverty first hand and developed his theories from his work with labor unions. His major focus was adult education and empowering the poor through literacy skills. Freire was the first to develop the “base groups” which would become a permanent fixture for years to come in Latin America. Freire’s work inspired people in a fields, from the development of Liberation Theology in the Catholic Church to grass roots political parties to alternative adult education programs.

Currently, the most famous critical theorist is Henry Giroux, who serves as professor at Penn State University. Giroux uses some of the neo-Marxist approach, but has been heavily influenced by post-colonialism (Especially Edward Said and Noam Chomsky) in their criticisms of hierarchical structures. Many postmodernists have borrowed from and transformed some of the key tenets of critical pedagogy in order to create a new system of education.

Oddly enough, some of the leading practices in this style of education come from the postmodern evangelical Emergent Church movement. Here the pastor engages in a dialogue with a small group as they grapple with how challenge social structures. Using Freire’s Axis-Praxis cycle, they attempt to connect their theology with the realities of life.

Picture of Girox (left) and Chomsky (right)

Critical Pedagogy: Description of the Theory

DESCRIPTION OF CRITICAL PEDAGOGY

Approach
Most adherents to Critical Pedagogy define their philosophy by what they are not rather than by what they believe. For example, a proponent of the theory might say, “We’re not traditional. We’re not oppressive. We’re not intrusive.” Yet, they have a difficult time setting down distinct ideas about what they do believe.

Part of this is understandable. Due to the dialectical nature of Critical Pedagogy, they are careful about setting up rigid theories that might become dogma. Also, because they are so global and span such a long time period, each theorist has a different set of ideas of how to define the theory. Finally, out of fear of Critical Pedagogy becoming too institutionalized, most people who practice it are slow to make it universal.

Historically, Critical Pedagogy has had a Marxist bent. Some of the theorists have been more outspokenly Marxist, such as Paulo Freire or Howard Zinn. Others, like Edward Said or Noam Chomsky have simply advocated for a more democratic educational system. Although he wrote very little about education, critical theorists often find inspiration from Michel Foucault and his analysis of hierarchichal systems of control. The most popular critical theorist for a popular market in the United States has been Jonathan Kozol, whose first work, Savage Inequalities, which evalted the racial and socioeconomic gap, raised eyebrows throughout the educational community.

Facets of the Theory
These Facets of the Theory are more like rough guidelines than rigid ideas:

• A Critique of Power – Critical Theorists are slow to accept the current political and educational structures. Indeed, they question whether the current system actually indoctrinates children rather than teaching them to think independently.
  
• Democratic – They believe that the group as a whole should decide the course of education. The teacher is simply a guide or a facilitator who leads discussions toward the greater goal. Eventually, every teacher should be able to leave a group of students alone to fend for themselves.
• Dialogue – Even in a math class, there needs to be dialogue. Students need to generate questions and give answers. Conflict is encouraged, because it is part of how students create their own belief system. However, eventually students should be able to come to some sort of conclusion.
• Education Cannot be Neutral – This is the idea that there are times when teachers cannot present information as simply objective facts. Indeed, students must figure out who is “right” and who is “wrong,” although many of them would use terms such as who has freedom and who is marginalized or who has power and who needs to be empowered. According to Critical Pedagogy, there is always a distinct connection between philosophy, culture, institutions and power.
  
  Major Goal
  Education must be active! Every student must be able to use what they learn in the real-world so that they can benefit society. The following diagram was formulated by Paulo Freire.
  
  According to this idea, a student who learns, but doesn’t apply the knowledge becomes a dry intellectual. However, someone who acts without reflecting (both ahead of time and afterward) becomes a social activist without much thought.
  
  Revisionists have attempted to add aspects to this cycle. Some have used "prior experiences,"others "dialogue" and even "direct instruction." Yet, there is something clear and realistic in this simple cycle. True, it might not be perfect, but the attempts to alter it often cause it to lose its effectiveness.

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.

Cooperative Learning: Introduction

Cooperative learning is a theory that students work best when they are in groups, working together to solve a problem, accompish a task or create an artifact. All cooperative learning activties include a measure of accountability, divided but interdependent roles, face-to-face interaction and a common goal of what is to be accomplished.

Cooperative learning has been linked to increases in student engagement (rather than the teacher speaking the entire time), in student achievement, in language development and in self-efficacy.

Despite these findings, many teachers do not structure lesson plans to include cooperative learning activities. For some, any type of group activity is a classroom managment nightmare. For others, it is a control issue. How can they guarantee the students learn the information if no teacher seems present? For others, it is simply too much of a jump from the traditional class of students in rows and the teacher speaking up front.

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.