In this weeks resources they talked about cooperative learning. They talked about the importance of cooperative learning activities where knowledge is discovered by students and transferred into concepts to which the students can relate to (Orey, 2001). In this type of learning, learning takes place through dialog among students in a social setting (Orey, 2001). To me this seems to be a very important piece of teaching in the future. When we do cooperative learning activities, we are not only teaching students new material, but we are teaching our students important real world skills that will help them in the future. Students must learn to work with others to research, analyze, and evaluate information while coming up with a final product. When we do these cooperative learning activities, especially ones where each group is to create an artifact to present to the class, the students seem to be engaged in their work, and these are the types of activities and lessons that they will retain information from.
In this weeks DVD chapter on cooperative learning, Dr. Orey talked about using a jigsaw cooperative learning activity in his classroom. I think that most of us have tried a similar activity in our classes in the past. This is a great way to get students more familiar with cooperative learning activities, and it is a great lesson because it forces each group member to teach a portion of the information to their fellow group members, and teaching someone else something is a great way to learn something.
In this weeks required reading from our course textbook on cooperative learning, they gave some examples of technology to use in the classroom that uses cooperative learning activities that correlate with the social learning principles. One that caught my eye was WebQuests. These WebQuests allow students in a class or from multiple locations work together to lean about a particular subject or to tackle a particular project or problem (Pitler, 2007, pg 145). Students can interact with students from other classes or schools in ways similar to things that they often use like facebook or email. I feel that these types of activities would keep my students engaged on the material better than a lecture or worksheet would. My students are very competitive, and I feel that this type of activity would force them to do research on a topic so they could perform well in the WebQuest. This student and peer centered learning helps the learner develop a deeper understanding of the content. These types of activities are activities that I feel would actually make my students want to come to class and do work, and this would increase the learning taking place in my classroom.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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I agree that cooperative learning activities help motivate students to learn. I have used the jigsaw approach and also peer teaching. They are very effective in helping students understand concepts. I have not used a webquest yet. Have you? Which of the instructional strategies have you had most success with? Which do you find most challenging and why?
ReplyDeleteI think your idea for a webquest activity is great. I agree that this would keep your students focused. No one likes to look like a fool or like they don't know what they are doing. Especially teenagers. When challenged to work with other groups or schools, students usually far exceed our expectations. I hope your students make a good impression. What a great way to boost morale and behavior at your school.
ReplyDeleteI really like using webquests in the classroom too. They are a great way to have the students interacting with technology and working to finish a task. When the students are on task and learning in a safe environment. You made some great points about how your students will react and respond to activities in a different way. The resources this week give great ideas to implement in the classroom.
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