Educational Insights | Volume 8, Number 3, 2003 | Clarke, Darrin ...

Educational Insights | Volume 8, Number 3, 2003 | Clarke, Darrin, Sibli Gil...art | Cooperative Learning: For (4) Teachers Working Towards Social Justice
• we, as teachers, need to model the expected behaviours related to
cooperative learning in the context of cooperative learning activities and
beyond them.
To better facilitate an inclusive community in our classrooms we would start
using cooperative learning activities at the beginning of the school year, and
carry them on throughout the year. Cooperative learning activities helped us
create that inclusive environment we were seeking.
We are working toward social justice in our classrooms and schools by
constantly asking questions, looking at our practice, giving students varied
learning experiences, and by teaching cooperative learning.
As inquiring practitioners we are left with some of the following questions:
• How do we go about teaching the interpersonal skills and individual
behaviors needed for successful cooperative learning?
• Is it realistic to expect that students with cognitive and social
challenges can be taught to work effectively within a cooperative group
setting?
• What resources are available to help us develop and strengthen
students’ interpersonal skills and individual behaviors needed for
successful group cooperation?
It is with these questions and a strong desire to be reflective practitioners that
we are hoping to make positive strides in our teaching development.
Looking back, we never imagined the power of cooperative learning that we
discovered over the course of this investigation. In our classrooms it has, and
will continue to, influence our personal pedagogy.
References
Anderson, Marybeth, Nelson, Linda R., Fox, Richard G., & Gruber, Susan E.
(1988). Integrating cooperative learning and structured learning: Effective
approaches to teaching social skills. Focus on Exceptional Children. 20, (9), 1-
8.
Cohen, E. (1986). Designing group work: Strategies for the heterogeneous
classroom. : London. Teachers College Press.
Gibbs, Jeanne (1995). Tribes: A new way of learning and being together.
Boston, Massachusetts: Center Source Systems.
Gillies, R., Ashman, A. (2000). The effects of cooperative learning on students
with learning difficulties in the lower elementary school. The Journal of Special
Education. 34, 19-27.
Halliday, John. (1988). Back to good teaching: Diversity within tradition.
London: Cassell Education.
Holubec, J. Edyth & Johnson, W. David & Johnson, T. Roger and Roy, Patricia
(1984). Circles of learning: Cooperation in the classroom. USA: Edwards
Brothers.
Johnson, David W. (1984). Circles of learning. Minnesota: Association for
Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Kagan, Spencer (1990). The structural approach to cooperative learning.
Educational leadership. 47, 12-15.
Logan, F. Thomas. (1986) Cooperative learning: A view from the inside. The
Social Studies. 77(1), 123-126.
Natasi, K. Bonnie & Clements, H. Douglas. (1991) Research on cooperative
learning: Implications for practice. School psychology review. 20(1), 110-130.
Reynolds, Michael (1994). Group work in education and training: Ideas in
practice, London, England: Kogan Page.
Rhoades, Jacqueline & McCabe, Margaret E. (1985). Simple cooperation in the
classroom: A beginner’s guide to establishing cooperative groups. Willits,
California: ITA Publications.
Sharan, Yael, & Sharan, Shlomo (1990). Group investigation expands
http://ccfi.educ.ubc.ca/publication/insights/v08n03/articles/cooplearning.html (12 of 13) [4/29/2004 8:53:40 PM]