- people learn by observing and imitating
- reality is constructed through humans' activity: it does not exist until people create it
- learning is a social process
- knowledge can change when new knowledge is created (connectivism)
Cooperative learning strategies support social learning theories. In cooperative learning, students are involved in a social process. They interact with each other in groups to learn. Students can pick up something from someone else in their groups and add that to their knowledge pool (observing and imitating).
In multimedia projects, students in the cooperative learning group can divide up the work and, depending on each other, come together to make a whole final product. Each student masters a task and can then teach the rest of the group about what they researched in a jigsaw fashion. Again, knowledge here is social.
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Marcella,
ReplyDeleteI quite agree with your assessment - learning is social, and by dividing tasks, students may be able to cover more information than they would on their own, as long as an efficient method is found to share said information. The use of multimedia projects, such as powerpoint presentations or voicethreads are a great way to introduce cooperative learning into the classroom. Then hopefully students can also apply their social skills to other areas of learning as well.
-Stephen St. Georges
Marcella
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of my grade in cooperative learning being partly determined by how hard my team works. Having been in the athletic arenas for many years and having served in the military as an officer I can tell you it works!
John Poitevint
Stephen: I couldn't agree with your comment about Making sure that there is an efficient method to share. What good is dividing up the work if it is never relayed to the rest of the group?
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts!
Marcella