I love the idea of students working together on a variety of task in class and around school. School today can be such social nightmare for students: how do I dress, how do I walk, how do I talk, long hair/short hair or bald, pierced or not, tattooed or not, sports or not, and on and on with the decision; all rooted in what others will think. When teachers implement cooperative learning activities in their classrooms, I feel like it alleviates the stress of yet another decision in school. The teacher selects the groups and gives the assignment and the students are free to explore new people with alike and different thoughts and ideas. 21st Century Skills call for students who can think critically, communicate well, collaborate, and are creative. Connectivisms and social learning practices allow students to learn and grow in all of the mentioned key skills.
Technology facilitates a broader exploration into cooperative learning and other social learning practices. "Communication with students in other cities, states, and countries broadens the perspective of students and challenges them to learn about other cultures, languages, and issues throughout the world" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). There are wikis and blogs designed just for educators to use with their students that make connecting and communicating with other students easier. There are website designed to help students create their own web pages and web sites. The possibilities are really endless when technology is embedded into social learning practices.
One final thought is that technology is universal for kids; they all love it. I think technology has the power, particularly within the classroom, to make students forget about their differences and focus on learning.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Eric,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that technology is universal for kids and that they do love it. I have often thought back to my youth and not seeing any instances of what is now called ADD, I can’t help to think about how the abundance of technology may contribute to this. I know there are a lot of studies that point to one thing or another, but I think that all of this technological stimulation from an early age plays into this and it is why there are so many hyper kids. If I were used to watching a television or playing computer games then a regular classroom would be extremely boring. I think that using different technologies will help kids to focus on a task especially when they are working cooperatively.
I like your points on how it helps alleviate stress on the students. I never thought of social learning in that regard. I like to pair kids up with others with whom they would not normally choose to work with so they have to eliminate their differences.
ReplyDeleteAnthony,
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point about the amount of "technological stimulation" kids who grew up with and make use of technology daily. Students spend the majority of their outside of school time regulating and having control various forms of technology. They then come to school, where most of them feel they have no control, and the pace at which they are use to interacting with information slows way down. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Setobia,
ReplyDeleteI do agree that it is a different look at cooperative learning, but I have seen it first hand. Although classrooms need to transform to more student lead instruction, students still need the direction of teachers. Having groups pre-arranged for cooperative learning activities does reduce potentially stressful situations for students.
I posted in my blog how I like to arrange students based on personality types. For example each group can have only one leader. A group with all leaders and a fight will break out. A group with all followers and nothing will get done. A mixture is good for the group. I liked it when you said, "I feel like it alleviates the stress of yet another decision in school. The teacher selects the groups and gives the assignment and the students are free to explore new people with alike and different thoughts and ideas." Thanks for you insight.
ReplyDelete