The instructional strategy of cooperative learning correlates with the social learning theories because it focuses on having students work together in order to improve their learning (Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Students working together to create artifacts and discussing ideas is a major tenet of social constructivism (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). Part of working together through cooperative learning has students talking and debating, which allows students to learn from others who are more knowledgable than themselves on different topics, whether they be academic or socially. This is the concept of the more knowledgable other in social learning theory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). When students work in groups cooperatively, they construct and new knowledge through these interactions (Pittler, et al., 2007) Having students work together and take ownership of their own learning allows them to deeper their understanding because they are using higher level thinking skills. I agree with this because I believe we learn from our experiences with other people. Even people who are self-motivated and driven to learn and succeed mostly by themselves have learned or observed that behavior from others in my opinion. Using the cooperative learning strategy keeps students interested and motivated, especially if they are working on problems that are meaningful and worthwhile. Having students interested allows them to delve deeper into the concepts they are learning to construct new meanings because they will have more lively discussions.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program eight. social learning theories. [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Bryan:
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I also agree that cooperative learning is great for students to take ownership of their learning and deeper their understanding because they are using their higher thinking skills. As teachers, we want our students to use those higher thinking skills so they can be successful. In addition, I believe that incoporating technology is a great way for cooperative learning and the students are developing the skills for technology while learning in a whole new way. Nice job!
Lori
Bryan,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with many of the points you made. I feel that having students work together and take responsibility for their learning does deepen their understanding, and allows for a great way for students to share the knowledge they have. I also find that working together allows for more creative and critical thinking. One student could think of a question that the other would never have thought of, and both benefit from learning the answer to the question. In this case, two (or more) brains are certainly better than one!
Athraa
Lori,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response. Going through this program has given me confidence to use different methods for cooperative learning.
Athraa,
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree. I really like doing collaborative pairs more than group work, because it gives students responsibility to each other, but also is less threatening than having to speak in front of more students.
Thanks,
Bryan
I agree with your statement. I find that having students working together in a meaningful way, without me leading the class, lets me differentiate instruction so that everyone succeeds.
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