My reflection on Lecture 4: "Cooperative Learning"

 My reflection on Lecture 4: "Cooperative Learning"

Hey guys💗

I'm back yet again, and today, I'm reflecting on our latest lecture, which was about cooperative learning.

Cooperative learning is an educational approach which involves organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences, where students work together in small, structured groups.(Merriam-Webster). It is a way of learning by sharing thoughts, ideas and working with other people. A process in which students get to know more about one another and their perspectives. In such a strategy, the students gain from each other's effort, and they recognize that all group members share a common fate. In other words, cooperative learning is group work, and we have all been there and done that.

As a principle, working in groups should be a beneficial and fun activity to do, especially when you get to work with friends you associate with (teehee). You share your tasks and, with mutual understanding, you get the job done 99% of the time. However, personally speaking, that doesn’t always happen😐.

Most of the time, only one or two students take the task seriously, while the rest of the group benefits from their efforts without actively engaging in the work. When the task is completed, these students also take credit, which feels unfair to those who contributed more. For that to not happen, there are several things a teacher can do, in my opinion.

First, the teacher should define and specify each of the students' roles. This way, every student feels the responsibility of the task they have to complete.                                                                              Second, set group goals. By setting goals students understand the importance of their contribution to the overall success of the project.                                                                                                              Third, the teacher should structure the activity or choose those kind of activities which require input from all members.

What's also very important, the teacher should monitor each of the students throughout the process. She/He should provide support, and encourage quieter students to share their ideas💥.                            Furthermore, the teacher should provide positive feedback and acknowledge each of the students' work. It is important that every student feels seen and heard. Using peer assessment would also work in such cases, because in this way students assess each other's contributions, promoting a sense of responsibility and accountability.

I believe that cooperative learning is very helpful in the learning process when done the right way. It is important because it puts constructivist ideas into practice. As someone who strongly supports constructivism, I see that both approaches focus on teamwork, being involved, and the role of social interaction in learning. This allows them to work well together to create a meaningful educational experience.

Here’s a video on how I believe successful cooperative work is done https://youtu.be/zR6rTKPkjgQ?si=3nMRMJykHpRqIUDU

Until the next one,

Toodles✌