Chapter 12: Effectively Managing th

Chapter 12: Effectively Managing the Cooperative Classroom

From Transformative Classroom Management. By John Shindler. ©2009

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In this Chapter

Designing an Effective Cooperative Learning Activity
Assessment Options for Cooperative Activities
Managing Cooperative Learning Effectively
What to Do when Groups Cannot Function Successfully
Transformative Ideas Related to Cooperative Learning



“I try cooperative learning and it just turns into free-for-all social time.”



“I want to do more cooperative learning, but I have too much to cover.”



While a cooperative learning context does introduce unique management challenges, it can be managed as effectively as independent activities and offers a series of benefits that are impossible to achieve by other means--including higher levels of academic achievement (Gettinger & Kohler, 2006; Slavin, 1994; Slavin, Hurley, & Chamberlain 2003). Moreover, the reasons teachers are resistant to the idea of incorporating cooperative learning in their classrooms are typically founded in misconceptions. Most of the causes of failure when implementing cooperative learning are explicable and largely avoidable. It is important to note that to successfully implement cooperative learning we must decide that it is worth making a commitment to doing it well, and we must set about learning the skills to manage it effectively (Gettinger & Kohler, 2006).



INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS



What is Cooperative Learning and Why Should I Use It in My Class?

Technically, cooperative learning includes any form of instruction in which students are working together for a purpose. As we will examine in this chapter, the effects will be more powerful to the extent that certain ingredients are present. The more any activity requires mutual interdependence, collective problem solving, and striving for a common goal, the better chance it will have at achieving the potential that cooperative learning offers (Johnson, et al, 1998; Webb et al, 1995).



There are many reasons to decide that cooperative learning is worth the effort. First, it has been shown to have a positive effect on student learning when compared to individual or competitive conditions (Johnson & Johnson, 1999; Slavin, Hurley, & Chamberlain 2003). Second, cooperative learning has the potential to meet more learning style needs more of the time than individualized direct instruction (Shindler, 2004). Third, the interpersonal and collaboration skills that can be learned in a cooperative learning activity teach skills that are critical for later personal and professional success. Fourth, it has the potential to produce a level of engagement that other forms of learning cannot (Slavin, Hurley, & Chamberlain 2003). Fifth, it can be a powerful tool toward several transformative goals including building communal bonds, learning conflict resolution skills, learning to consider others’ needs, and learning to be an effective team member (Watson & Battistich, 2006).



What Makes a Cooperative Learning Activity Effective?

As we seek to create the most valuable, engaging and productive cooperative learning experiences for our students, consider how learning within a social context is different from learning independently. Recall our discussion of the social learning theory in the previous chapters. The key to a successful collaborative effort will be to use the social aspect of the activity to the class’ collective advantage. This will be true for both instructional and managerial goals.



If you are incorporating cooperative learning because you think your students need a break from the routine and you want to try something a bit more social, you may be missing the purpose and the potential of this teaching strategy. Having students simply work in groups may be a nice change of pace and can be inherently more engaging for some students, but group work only scratches the surface of what is possible when students learn within a cooperative context. While this chapter will address how to manage any form of group learning, it is suggested that one consider tapping as much of the potential as possible that cooperative learning has to offer.





Chapter Reflection 12.a: Recall situations in which you were asked to work with others. Brainstorm a quick list of elements that were present in situations in which you felt motivated and ultimately successful.





As we explore the practical aspects of effectively managing the cooperative learning activity throughout the chapter, you will undoubtedly develop a set of your own principles for an effective cooperative learning activity. The goals of effective management will be inherently relative to what each reader wants to achieve. Teachers using both the 1-Style and 2-Style approaches reading the chapter will likely differ in their management and instructional goals related to effective classroom management. Figure 12.1 offers a comparison of elements that will either lead to a greater opportunity for achieving what could be considered transformative results, and those that will limit our ability to obtain such results.



Figure 12.1 Comparison of Elements in More Effective vs. Less Effective Cooperative Learning Activities

More Effective


Less Effective

Activity has a psychological movement toward a goal and meets many basic needs in the process. Students feel that they are “going somewhere.”




Students feel that the activity is a formality and/or may recognize that the task could be done more effectively as an independent exercise.

Emphasis on the quality of the process.




Emphasis on the quality of the final product.

Structure supports the cohesion and social development of group members.


Structure is either accidental or flawed and results in the perpetuation of the current social structure and/or reward the advantaged students.



Expectations are clear on both the implicit and explicit levels -- leading to focused effort, and low student anxiety.




Expectations are untaught or left vague and result in confusion of frustration.

Teacher interventions lead to the development of clarity and learning with the goal of tomorrow being better than today.




Teacher interventions are reactive and only act to solve problems in the short-term, if at all.



Leadership is defined by either:

1-Style teacher -- promotes an ever-increasing level of self-directed effort

or

2-Style teacher -- promotes an ever increasing level of efficiency.




Leadership is defined by either:

3-Style teacher -- maintains an accidental climate defined by Social Darwinism

or

4-Style teacher -- maintains a level of threat in the room that provides the occasional illusion of order.



Students are able to share their outcomes with others -- resulting in pride in their accomplishments and reinforcing the ethic that learning is a constructive process rather than merely a process of fact retention.


Students work to please the teacher, and the learning process is defined mainly by each students’ being required to guess what the teacher wants and will think is “good.”