Cooperation as an Act of Working Together to Accomplish Shared Goals - Essay Example

and Section # of COOPERATIVE LEARNING (GRADE TO GRADE 12) Cooperative Learning To understand cooperative learning, it is firstly important to understand the underlying meaning of cooperation. Cooperation is termed as an act of working together to accomplish shared goals. By the help of cooperative activities, individuals learn to work for themselves and for others as well as the outcomes for these activities are beneficial for them as well as for everyone else in the group. Cooperative learning therefore is the 'instructional' use of small groups to propagate the idea of students working together for shared tasks and goals. The idea is relatively simple. The class is first assembled into groups and then assigned tasks. The groups are expected to accomplish those tasks till all the members of the group understand to task and complete it. Cooperative efforts this way result in participants striving for mutual benefits so that all the members are gaining by the work of every individual. It also helps to inculcate a sense of responsibility among individuals because they know their work and contribution will affect the outcome that is important for all the members. The group members also know that all of them will share the same fate no matter how they work, therefore they work intently and encourage others in the group to work in the same way. Last but not the least, celebration after the successful completion of the task is also mutual and everyone soul from the group is happy and proud of themselves. Group activities also help in the refining of the outcomes of the tasks because there is shared knowledge, expertise and hard work that everyone is putting in. Obviously not everyone has all the knowledge in the world. In cooperative learning situations there is a positive interdependence among students' goal attainments; students perceive that they can reach their learning goals if and only if the other students in the learning group also reach their goals (Deutsch, 1962; Johnson & Johnson, 1989). Learning goals may be structured to promote cooperative, competitive or individualistic efforts. The use of cooperative learning has gained considerable importance over the past decades. The reason being that in today's world, individuals are expected to work together in teams for the accomplishment of tasks which is a tedious job if one doesn't possess the qualities required to work in groups with each other. However, competitive situations are present in which individuals work against each other to achieve one particular goal that only one or few of them can attain. In competition there is a negative interdependence among goal achievements; students perceive that they can obtain their goals if and only if the other students in the class fail to obtain their goals (Deutsch, 1962; Johnson & Johnson, 1989). The presence of competitive situation is equally important in this world. However, the disadvantage is that either they work too hard to beat their class mates or they don't work at all thinking that they don't stand a chance. Elements of Cooperative Learning The essential components of cooperation are positive interdependence, face to face promotive interaction, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small group skills and group processing (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1993). It is under certain conditions that should be present for cooperative learning to be more effective than individualistic and competitive learning. Positive interdependence is when every individual possesses some unique ability or knowledge that contributes in the outcome of the task and the efforts are required and indispensible for the group success. Face to face interaction involves orally presenting and promoting ones ideas to everyone in the group, teaching current knowledge to everyone and discussing the concepts that are being learned so that they can be effectively applied by every individual present in the group. Group accountability should be present as it hinders the process of social loafing. Interpersonal skills should be taught to the students if they already are not present as it is extremely important to be able to properly communicate in order to carry out the task. Last but not the least, group processing involves appraisal of the performance of the group. The group members should have a clear idea about the way they should carry out a certain task or should the method be changed or not. There are many group activities that help in propagating cooperative learning in students. Jigsaw, think-pair-share, three step interview, round robin brainstorming and team pair solo are few of them. All these exercise are effective in introducing a sense of cooperation among young children which is very important for today's age. To cooperate, work within teams and become an integral part in performing for themselves and their colleagues; cooperative learning in the earlier stages helps in the development of all these skills in the long run. Therefore very importantly they should be introduced in the earlier stages of development in children so that they master it and apply these skills efficiently in the later stages of their lives. Teaching Environment In Thailand In most of the developed countries, education policies have been re-designed in a say so as to cater to the needs of cooperative learning. In countries like USA, Canada, Britain, people have realized the importance of this learning technique and its outcomes on the personalities of their growing children that they have incorporated cooperative learning activities and standards in every single grade level of education, be it the pre-school or graduates. They make sure that their growing generation is fully equipped with the tools of modern day management of which cooperation is an important part. However, in Thailand, it has been noted that cooperative learning is definitely a new venture to enter into. There is not much awareness about this concept and traditional ways of teaching are still being followed. There is not a big problem with the traditional teaching methods. It's just that they are not in compliance with the growing standards that are being expected by individuals. The teaching ways in Thailand are more teacher-centered. Teachers are the moderators of the class. They delegate individual tasks to individuals and ask them to complete the tasks in a given amount of time resulting in a competitive air in the class room. More emphasis is paid on learning the concepts rather than understanding them. Therefore it creates a gap between the learning of a concept and actually applying in real life. This way, children will be not as efficient as other children from the better part of the world where children are equipped with all the interpersonal and cooperative skills that are needed to excel and prosper in this world. In my opinion, it is essential that the cooperative teaching methods should be followed to enhance the capabilities of the blooming generation of Thailand. As this is going to be a great step in helping our children in competing with the standards that are being set by the world. Here I would like to propose certain ideas and skills that can be used to implement the changes that are required in the traditional teaching methods to adopt them to the contemporary methods of contemporary teaching. There are various methods that can be implemented to introduce the concept of cooperation in young children. They have been named above; however, their proper description is now being stated. 1. Jigsaw Classroom The jigsaw classroom is one of the most famous cooperative classroom technique that has been successfully implemented and used to reduce racial discrimination and conflict among students. It also helps in increasing positive educational outcomes. The basic strategy that this technique uses and that makes this technique so successful that there is high importance given to the contribution of each group member just like each jigsaw piece has for the completion of the whole puzzle. Each individual is given the task from the whole assignment that forms an integral part of the whole assignment. These individuals from the different groups then interact with members of other group with similar tasks and master their own topic and rehearse their presentation or whatever the task is. Then these individuals come together with their respective groups or jigsaw puzzles and present their knowledge and skills in a effective and efficient manner in front of the whole class as they know their presentation matters to others as much as it matters to them. This technique makes sure that everyone in the group works in harmony because they know that if they try to dominate or make fun of other group members they will not be able to do well on the presentation or the task without the contribution of every single person present in the group. The biggest benefit of using the jigsaw puzzle technique is that it helps in efficiently learning the material. This technique also catalyzes and encourages listening, engagement and empathy by giving equally important part to every individual present in the group. Team members need to work together like a team to accomplish a task. This "cooperation by design" facilitates interaction among all students in the class, leading them to value each other as contributors to their common task. 2. The Learning Circle Concept. Learning circles are circles of democratic diverse groups of people who meet over a period of time to discuss and focus on their different perspectives into a common understanding of an issue or problem. This discussion takes place in an environment of mutual understanding and trust. The basic goal for this kind of activity is to ensure the deeper understanding of people and their ideas and to come up with a recommendation for the problem or the issue. Learning circles can be used with any age group. For example, primary teachers use the modified form of learning circles by gathering the students on the rug for 'circle time'. This is a type of cooperative learning technique that can be used effectively from grade 1 to grade 12 in the schools of Thailand. There are many types of learning circles which can be formed according to the needs and requirements of the situation and problem. Wisdom circles, study circles, and quality circles; all these techniques cater to the face to face technique of learning circles. Learning circles have to capability to gel in people from different backgrounds and geographically isolated rural areas. Students from various educational, social, intellectual backgrounds come together to work on a certain problem and issue and help to resolve it by providing with valuable thoughts and ideas. This interaction between people of diverse backgrounds helps in the appraisal of the solution that is being presented as all the people from diverse backgrounds will put in their ideas and thoughts in it and refine it accordingly until a conclusion has taken place. No one can fully predict the direction the interaction will take. It will be a team effort resultant from the cooperation between teachers and students who might otherwise never have had the chance to cooperate. The benefits of using learning circle techniques are tremendous. Classrooms work together for a purpose for a very short period of time. However, learning circles have a long lasting effect on teachers and students if discussion takes place longer then the learning circle. As a consequence of this collaboration, both the teachers and the students feel a connection with each other and both these parties find their interest in learning renewed and fresh. It has been reported numerous times that teachers have had long lasting benefits in using and working with the learning circle environment. It helps to enhance student learning, encourages ownership of ideas, develops reading and writing skills, helps in stimulating teacher creativity, expands teaching horizons and sometimes integrates computer and telecommunications technology. 3. Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) STAD forms one of the three strategies that have been developed about the student learning teams at the John Hopkins University. This strategy was developed after years of research and work on cooperative learning. In this technique, students present in a group prepare for a quiz following a teacher's presentation. Students take quizzes individually to estimate their learning about the topic. The individual scores are summed to form a team score and teams are then rewarded for their performance. The entire circle of activities, from the instructor's presentation to the reward for performance usually takes 3 to 5 classes. It has been found efficient for teaching well-defined objectives with single right answers such a specific geographical locations, the names and dates of important people and events. Measures that would be taken by me: After the description of various activities that can be used to incorporate the cooperative learning in various classrooms and settings, it is evident that this idea has been extensively effective in many parts of the world and help in the development on cooperating skills. Therefore, it is mandatory to introduce these techniques in this part of the world because it is at the school children learn their basic interpersonal skills and use them in their lives. Measures that I would take to ensure these theories and principles are effectively implemented are: 1. Introduce a teacher's training for Cooperative Learning for about Four months. This is the most important step for the introduction of this technique in schools because the teachers need to be well-equipped with the ideas, knowledge and techniques related to this field of learning. As they have been following traditional ways of teaching it is mandatory that they get the required training in cooperating teaching methods so that they can apply them in their classes. 2. Application of cooperative learning in four classes for a semester. The teachers who would be trained would then be expected to demonstrate their newly learned skills and techniques and apply them in the classrooms to check the effectiveness of the training. The teachers would be asked to be the pilot of cooperative learning sessions so that they become familiar with the topic and the techniques. 3. Evaluation and feedback would be done about the effectiveness and efficiency of these techniques. Teachers who would be the part of the training session and implementations sessions would be interviewed to access the success of the techniques in their own classrooms. 4. The teaching methods that have been discussed are very general and can be applied to any level or grade of classroom. However, certain areas and sectors need modifications in the techniques to suit their culture, requirements and needs. Therefore, after the evaluation and feedback would be completed, the feedback of the teachers would be used to modify the techniques that were be used to suit the needs of the classrooms in Thailand. 5. After the development of the customized cooperative learning techniques that cater to the needs of classrooms, the teachers will be asked to implement these techniques in order to foster cooperative learning in the classrooms from grade1 to grade 12. The reason for this wide-scale implementation is that no child should suffer by the inadequacy of cooperative skills and these skills are so easy to develop by the help of these techniques that any age group and all the gender groups can learn these techniques and concepts and apply them in real life situations. Moreover, it will be made sure that the implementation is done regarding each subject and does not pertain to certain teachers or a particular kind of subject because cooperation is equally important in all kinds of literature, subjects, courses and fields. Conclusion Cooperation is a quality that is not possessed by everybody; however its need has increased three folds over the past years. In order to excel in your field and job and in order to be popular and efficient in your work and to maximize your outcomes it has become important to use cooperation skills. Cooperative skills are important when it comes to conflict management as well. Therefore it is compulsory for every individual in contemporary world to possess these qualities so that they find success in whatever they do. The Government of Thailand should take effective measures to ensure the implementation of these techniques so that they help in the sound development in the skills of their young generation that will later help in the development of their own country. To remove racism and to promote peace and equality among individuals, cooperative learning techniques should be used everywhere in the world to make this world a better place to live and excel in. Works Cited 1. Deutsch, M. Cooperation and trust: Some theoretical notes. In M. R. Jones (Ed.), Nebraska symposium on motivation, 275-319. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. (1962). 2. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., & Holubec, E. J. Cooperation in the Classroom (6th ed.). Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company. (1993). 3. Slavin, Robert E. Cooperative Learning: Theory, Research, and Practice. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1990 4. David and Roger Johnson. "An Overview of Cooperative Learning."2007 . 5. Kagan, Spencer. "Kagan Structures for Emotional Intelligence." 2006 < "http://www.kagancooplearn.com/Newsletter/1001/index.html> 6. Overview of the Jigsaw Technique. 2007. Read More