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The Benefits of Cooperative Learning
The Benefits of Cooperative Learning
One of the best things about teaching middle schoolers is "their competitive nature and curiosity for learning," says Mr. Gast. And when you enter Mr. Gast's classroom, these two traits are easy to spot in every student. If you know him at all, you know he loves learning as much as his students. His own competitive nature and curiosity for learning rubs off on everyone he meets. He has great wisdom and experience from his eighteen years of being in the classroom, but is always seeking new methods and tools for teaching that will make learning more powerful and authentic for his students. "I think it is important to be innovative," he says. This led him to Power Teaching Math, a program that is all about using the benefits of cooperative learning to make learning more meaningful and fun.
When I had the opportunity to observe one of Mr. Gast's lessons, students were constantly busy. They clearly knew the routine and transitioned from one activity to the next every five to ten minutes smoothly. There was no wasted time. Power Teaching Math follows The Cycle of Effective Instruction: active instruction, teamwork, assessment, celebration, repeat. I was able to witness each of these moments in one short class period.
It's All About the Team.MOVThis was impressive, but even more impressive was the outstanding things I heard at each table when I got to listen in. Students were problem solving, encouraging each other, and listening to one another. Students were not afraid to ask each other questions about their work.
"I missed this one. How did you get the answer?"
They were encouraging and not afraid to share results from their tests.
"What'd you get? That's ok. Which one did you miss? Do you want help?"
Each person was actively engaged in the conversation and listening to their peers. This was more than working in groups; these students were working in teams. It was like walking into a huddle on the basketball court or football field.
Clearly, Mr. Gast had to spend a bit of time to get his students to work like a team. At the beginning of the year, students figured out quickly that they couldn't become a successful team unless every person at their table was held accountable. Despite working in groups, students have to show their understanding of the subject through individual assessment. They show what they know through random drawings for opportunities to share answers to homework questions, homework assignments, quizzes, and tests. All of these assessments (formative and summative) are combined to earn points for their team. If they earn enough points, they could earn the title of "super team". This incentive helps students advocate for themselves and help their peers better understand new math concepts. Over the course of the year, students become more comfortable with their peers. The classroom culture is a safe place to learn from mistakes, share strategies, and ask for help.
"It’s enjoyable to see how the students evolve throughout the year working with their peers. I do believe they leave 6th grade with the ability to work in groups in a cordial way." - Matt Gast
"It’s enjoyable to see how the students evolve throughout the year working with their peers. I do believe they leave 6th grade with the ability to work in groups in a cordial way." - Matt Gast
When looking for some research on cooperative learning, I discovered that there is a distinct difference between the definitions of collaborative and cooperative. Collaborative learning is an educational approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of students working together to solve a problem, complete a task, or create a product, BUT cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. TEAMS...DIFFERENT ABILITIES...IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING. The goal is to improve your understanding, no matter what level the student is at, by working as a TEAM.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject.
There are so many benefits to students working together in groups, but the key is how they work together. What I witnessed in Mr. Gast's room was true cooperative learning, learning that benefited all students and helped improve the level of understanding for each learner. Mr. Gast's lesson left me thinking about my choices for teaming up students. How could I set up my groups and my classroom culture so that true cooperative learning could take place? Luckily for me, some of these traits that the 6th graders have learned in his classroom have carried over into their other classes. Check out the links below for some research behind the benefits of cooperative learning.
Thanks again, Mr. Gast, for letting me visit!
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