Cooperative Learning!!

As teachers, we are always looking for new ways to engage our students in the classroom.  Through cooperative learning, the students are not only working together but they are also learning from each other.  It is a more engaging way instead of having the teacher lecture to the students about a certain topic.  Studies have shown that students remember things better when they learn from each other which is what cooperative learning is all about.  Cooperative learning consists of five elements Positive Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Group Processing, Face- to- Face Promotion, and Social Skills.  These are skills that will be essential to students throughout their whole lives so why not learn them while they are young!

Cooperative learning is different from direct instruction in the fact that it is student-centered whereas direct instruction is teacher-centered.  The only role that the teacher plays in cooperative learning is passing out the materials and giving the students instructions at the beginning.  The students do all of the work together and some on their own.  Cooperative learning teaches individual accountability meaning that each student is responsible for a certain part of the task or a certain job.  This is also a way for the teacher to evaluate the students.  The students also give feedback to each other when they are finished working on their project.  This is a good way for them to assess how they work together in a group and also what they need to work on for next time.  There are tons of ways to incorporate cooperative learning into the classroom like the jigsaw method or stand up, hand up, pair up and so many others!

I think cooperative learning is a great thing to incorporate into any lesson!  The students are really getting a better understanding by doing it themselves.  I know when I was in elementary school most of what I remember is from activities that I did with my classmates.  I feel this is a great way to get students excited about learning and I can't wait to use it in the classroom one day!