This week we read and discussed cooperative learning. In the text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works, they explain, when students work in cooperative groups, they make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others. Our students will experience a different work force when they enter and will be expected to be prepared for a fast-paced workplace where technology is used and where the clientele may be global.
I love the idea of using Keypals to communicate and collaborate with students and teachers in other parts of the country or world. Many of my students have a much-skewed view of the world because they have never left the South and I feel responsible in broadening their outlooks. Most of the books we read as a class are about other cultures or countries or have a minority lead character.
My students spend 25 minutes in small group instruction daily and I really liked the idea from our text about using different criteria for deciding groups. I notice that my groups often start feeling that it will be easy to let someone else do the work and then they become competitive and really, fight to see has the right answer, it becomes fun and the students remember answers better, maybe because they listen to see if their answer was correct.
I think cooperative learning is a fantastic way to design curriculum, however I think a mix of a more traditional one on one with this style is the best way. I also think Cooperative teaching might also benefit teachers and students for many of the same reason.
Reference
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
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I love your commitment to broadening your student's horizons. I used to teach in a school with primarily one race, one religion. I found their narrow ideas of the world astonishing. I believe we need to expand our ideas of the world around us.
ReplyDeleteI also love the idea of using Keypals. I find that the students are not used to seeing how different people from different cultures are similar to and different than themselves. They often times make very closed-minded statements and it scares me to think that racism is still possible despite all the bad things that have resulted from it. They've seen it on TV, they've learned about it in their history classes, they even experience it on a daily basis, but I find that they say and think things that just keeps the cycle going. I feel that Keypals and the integration of VoiceThreads can be a valuable tool for my students. They can share pictures of how they do things, why they do things, etc. They can ask each other questions and can even correct misunderstandings or misrepresentations about other cultures. Stereotypes can be addressed and a deeper understanding of others can result in increased tolerance and acceptance.
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