Lesson 13: Cooperative Learning with Computer

Ganancial, Estela L.  BSEd General Science 4

MW 3:00-5:00 PM

Educational Technology 2

Lesson 13: Cooperative Learning with Computer

Content

Cooperative learning or collaborative learning is learning by small group of students who work together in a common learning task. It is often called group learning but to be truly cooperative learning, five (5) elements are needed:

1. A common goal
2. Interdependence
3. Interaction
4. Individual responsibility
5. Social skills

Advantages

§ Encourages active learning while motivating students;
§ Increases academic performance;
§ Promotes literacy and language skills;
§ Improves teacher effectiveness; and
§ Enhances personal and social development as well as self-esteem

Cooperative learning and the computer

Current studies say that students work with computer in groups, they cluster and interact with each other for advice and mutual help. It says that students prefer to work together in computer-based and non-computer-based activities which is true nowadays. Psychologists think that computer fosters positive social behavior among students.
The teacher has several tasks in order to ensure collaborative learning:

· Assigning students to mixed-ability teams;
· Establishing positive interdependence;
· Teaching cooperative social skills;
· Ensuring individual accountability, and
· Helping groups process information.

It is important also that a teacher should limit learning group clusters so that there can be closer involvement in thinking and learning.

Experience

            I’ve experienced a lot when it comes to cooperative learning. Honestly, I like working in group because it is less burden to the task accomplishment. One example is the experience I had when I was a 4^th year high school student. In our computer subject, our lesson was all about basics of HTML and web page making. The lesson was actually very tricky and difficult to understand because we need to familiarize the HTML codes using the notepad. But then, my teacher was very eager to teach us so what she did was that she always prepared a series of hands-on activity somewhat practice and drill approach so that it will be easy for us to familiarize the HTML codes. As an evaluation, she required us to make newsletter in web-based form which really challenged me that time. I was just so happy that she let us worked for it by group and fortunately we’ve made it that good. It was also an advantage to me because I had this group mate who was really in good in art designing.

Reflection

            In this today’s generation, what we aim as future teacher is to make our students learn from us successfully. For me, cooperative learning with computer is one of the most effective teaching approach in this generation because it caters everything. Almost fit for most topics especially in science. In this kind of approach, students are engage in hands-on activity as well as they can relate to the technology because computer is there to support the learning. Students of different interests and intelligences are group together to produce a very good outcome. However, this approach could be best effective when the teacher knows pretty well how to facilitate the cooperative learning in the students. The effectiveness of this approach depend on management and facilitation skills of the teacher.

Application
I believe that learning science will be more fun if students are best engage in hands-on activity while working in group because the diversity of the group members will yield a greater chance of positive outcomes. This approach will be used only when I require projects that need careful planning. As the lesson title suggests that computer is there for support. I guess my future students will work well because the computer favors them a lot anyway. I will just inform them of the limitation while working on group and on computer. I’ll just monitor the progress while they are working on the requirement.