A practical manual for faculty who use a collaborative approach to education at the post-secondary level. Overviews the cooperative learning process with discussions of its rationale, research base, value, and practical implementation. Also describes a variety of approaches and complementary movements such as classroom research, writing across the curriculum and critical thinking. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Research has identified cooperative learning as one of the ten High Impact Practices that improve student learning. If you’ve been interested in cooperative learning, but wondered how it would work in your discipline, this book provides the necessary theory, and a wide range of concrete examples.Experienced users of cooperative learning demonstrate how they use it in settings as varied as a developmental mathematics course at a community college, and graduate courses in history and the sciences, and how it works in small and large classes, as well as in hybrid and online environments. The authors describe the application of cooperative learning in biology, economics, educational psychology, financial accounting, general chemistry, and literature at remedial, introductory, and graduate levels.The chapters showcase cooperative learning in action, at the same time introducing the reader to major principles such as individual accountability, positive interdependence, heterogeneous teams, group processing, and social or leadership skills.The authors build upon, and cross-reference, each others’ chapters, describing particular methods and activities in detail. They explain how and why they may differ about specific practices while exemplifying reflective approaches to teaching that never fail to address important assessment issues.
A guide to thirty-five creative assignments for pairs and groups Collaborative Learning Techniques is the bestseller that college and university faculty around the world have used to help them make the most of small group learning. A mountain of evidence shows that students who learn in small groups together exhibit higher academic achievement, motivation, and satisfaction than those who don't. Collaborative learning puts into practice the major conclusion from learning theory: that students must be actively engaged in building their own minds. In this book, the authors synthesize the relevant research and theory to support thirty-five collaborative learning activities for use in both traditional and online classrooms. This second edition reflects the changed world of higher education. New technologies have opened up endless possibilities for college teaching, but it's not always easy to use these technologies effectively. Updated to address the challenges of today's new teaching environments, including online, "flipped," and large lectures, Collaborative Learning Techniques is a wonderful reference for educators who want to make the most of any course environment. This revised and expanded edition includes: Additional techniques, with an all-new chapter on using games to provide exciting, current, technologically-sophisticated curricula A section on effective online implementation for each of the thirty-five techniques Significantly expanded pedagogical rationale and updates on the latest research showing how and why collaborative learning works Examples for implementing collaborative learning techniques in a variety of learning environments, including large lecture classes and "flipped" classes Expanded guidance on how to solve common problems associated with group work The authors guide instructors through all aspects of group work, providing a solid grounding in what to do, how to do it, and why it is important for student learning. The detailed procedures in Collaborative Learning Techniques will help teachers make sure group activities go smoothly, no matter the size or delivery method of their classes. With practical advice on how to form student groups, assign roles, build team spirit, address unexpected problems, and evaluate and grade student participation, this new edition of the international classic makes incorporating effective group work easy.
This monograph explores the current use in higher education of cooperative learning, the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning. The opening section sets out to define cooperative learning, and to look at the history of the technique, its basic elements, types of cooperative learning groups, and implications for faculty functioning and the educational institution overall. The next section discusses the five basic elements of cooperative learning: (1) positive interdependence; (2) face-to-face promotive interaction; (3) individual accountability and personal responsibility; (4) frequent use of interpersonal and small group social skills; and (5) frequent, regular group processing of current functioning. The following section reviews the research validating the effectiveness of cooperative learning in college classrooms including research on social interdependence, patterns of interaction, and learning outcomes. The next three sections focus on the instructor's role in using formal cooperative learning groups, informal cooperative learning groups, and cooperative base groups under the titles "The Instructor's Role in Cooperative Learning, ""The Cooperative Lecture," and "Base Groups." The next section examines cooperation among faculty. A concluding section describes two typical cooperative learning class sessions and speculates on the impact this method will have in the future. (177 references) (JB).
The focus of this book is on exploring effective strategies in higher education that promote meaningful learning and go beyond discipline boundaries, with a special emphasis on Subjectivity Learning, Refreshing Lecturing, Learning through Construction, Learning through Transaction, Transformative Learning, Using Technology, and Assessment for Learning and Teaching in particular. The research collected in this book is all based on empirical studies and includes research methods and findings that will be of great interest to teachers and researchers in the area of higher education. The main benefit readers will derive from this book is a meaningful insight into what other teachers around the world are doing in higher education and what lessons they have learned, which will support them in their own teaching.
Cooperative/collaborative learning procedures increasingly attract great attention in school and higher education settings. This book has two main purposes: first, to enable educators to make informed decisions and choices about selecting, implementing, and evaluating cooperative learning models with respect for the differences and diversity of goals among professionals in school communities, and second, to consider the goals of teachers' professional development in the context of organizational reforms that foster systemic school change, such as the development of learning communities. The authors encourage professional development that goes beyond inservice workshops to include multi-year development and support for teachers. They advocate that schools be administered under collaborative principles so teachers can "live the experience" that they are trying to create in their own classrooms. Professional Development for Cooperative Learning describes what works for professional development in cooperative learning and how difficult it is to bring about lasting change in school settings. Brody and Davidson focus the dialogue on the nature of professional development linked to systemic changes and the successes, failures, and challenges encountered in the process.
This publication¿the latest report from AAC&U¿s Liberal Education and America¿s Promise (LEAP) initiative¿defines a set of educational practices that research has demonstrated have a significant impact on student success. Author George Kuh presents data from the National Survey of Student Engagement about these practices and explains why they benefit all students, but also seem to benefit underserved students even more than their more advantaged peers. The report also presents data that show definitively that underserved students are the least likely students, on average, to have access to these practices.
Keeping students involved, motivated, and actively learning is challenging educators across the country,yet good advice on how to accomplish this has not been readily available. Student Engagement Techniques is a comprehensive resource that offers college teachers a dynamic model for engaging students and includes over one hundred tips, strategies, and techniques that have been proven to help teachers from a wide variety of disciplines and institutions motivate and connect with their students. The ready-to-use format shows how to apply each of the book's techniques in the classroom and includes purpose, preparation, procedures, examples, online implementation, variations and extensions, observations and advice, and key resources. "Given the current and welcome surge of interest in improving student learning and success, this guide is a timely and important tool, sharply focused on practical strategies that can really matter." ?Kay McClenney, director, Center for Community College Student Engagement, Community College Leadership Program, the University of Texas at Austin "This book is a 'must' for every new faculty orientation program; it not only emphasizes the importance of concentrating on what students learn but provides clear steps to prepare and execute an engagement technique. Faculty looking for ideas to heighten student engagement in their courses will find usefultechniques that can be adopted, adapted, extended, or modified." ?Bob Smallwood, cocreator of CLASSE (Classroom Survey of Student Engagement) and assistant to the provost for assessment, Office of Institutional Effectiveness, University of Alabama "Elizabeth Barkley's encyclopedia of active learning techniques (here called SETs) combines both a solid discussion of the research on learning that supports the concept of engagement and real-life examples of these approaches to teaching in action." ?James Rhem, executive editor, The National Teaching & Learning Forum
