Cooperative Learning is Overwhelmingly Positive!!

October 2011By Jorge Luis Gavilanez

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Cooperative Learning…

“is the instructional use of small groups through which students work together to maximize their own and each others learning”

Johnson and Holubc, (1994)

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Principles of Cooperative Learning

• Active Learning• Responsibility• Development of other skills rather than

only language.• Interdependence.• Processing the interaction.• Teacher´s role

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Benefits for students

• Academic:

Use of real language according to the task given.

Opportunity to practice language in context.

Use of different structures and vocabulary.

To attain higher levels of achievement.

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• Social: Peer interaction, socializing in the foreign

language. Friendship Creativity Sharing Caring Critical thinking

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Benefits for the teacher

• Motivated students.• More interactive practice.• Shares responsability• Opportunity to asses students in a

different way.• Discover the students´different types of

intelligences.• Others…?

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Group Formation

• Duration: once, a week, a month, a term.• Size: threes, fours, fives• Members: balanced, according to

performance. According to the level of language

• Room: enough space to monitor• Rules: clear to work in the team. Use of L1• Instructions before grouping ss.

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How to manage the class when working with groups

• Clear instructions. (process)• Monitoring.• Signals to control noise.• Timing.• Language 1 or 2?• Students´ roles.• Tasks.

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How to form groups

• At random: using vocabulary studied, funny words, others.

• T´s decision.• According to the ss´needs or level of

English• According to the task• According to the space• Ss´decision

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Reading in groups

• Jigsaw

Ss. are asigned to teams to work with content material that has been divided into sections.

In each team ss. read each section asigned.

Ss. meet with their expert group who have studied the same sections and discuss questions provided by the T.

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Ss. Return to their original gruops and teach teammates about the sectiion they have studied.

The T. asseses the mastery of the overall topic.

• Work in groups and use the Question Chart (Q-Chart)

Ss. read a story and each member of the group has to complete only one or two boxes using the Q-words given by the T.

(then follow the jigsaw procedure)12

Question Chart

Q. word is do/does did will can

What

Where

When

How

Who

Why

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Assesment

• Read the text and complete the chart in each starting group

• Answer the following questions:

1. Where can you find information about studies.

2. Do you need to know the language to work in England?

3. How can you get a job in England?

4. What is an unpaid volunteer work?14

Work hard and

Enjoy your

Teaching!!

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