According to Dr. Christine Hecox, who has a Ph.D. in education, after asking a student if they prefer working alone or working with a group, chances are the child will most likely say he or she would rather work with others. But is taking part in this type of learning style diminishing the development of the individual student? Competitive teaching, also known as individualistic learning is also explained in a video clip on the Teaching Channel by David Olio, a member of the National Education Association; this type of instruction involves students studying alone and completing their own assignments while tests and quizzes measure their progress. On the other hand, some teachers choose to divide their classes up into groups and encourage the …show more content…
A positive dynamic within the team results in higher efficiency to proficiently complete the given assignments and to stay on task. If a group functions well, work gets completed and constructive group processes occur, which creates a positive morale. Individuals properly respect their fellow classmates and allow others to share their thoughts. Cooperation and regard for others becomes key in successful teamwork. A study conducted by Harvard University revealed that sometimes the optimistic atmosphere comes naturally, while other times the students have to work hard to maintain the enthusiastic ambiance (Sarkisian). Unfortunately, when being paired with multiple students, there can be different personalities brought to the table, which can become a struggle for accomplishing work. Conflict between individuals within the team can diminish or stall a group’s ability to work together. This especially becomes a major issue in younger grades when children have not learned appropriate conflict resolution skills to solve disagreements. Even when no conflict is present, mismatched personalities can still lead to an unsatisfactory work ethic. Those with dominant personalities might take over as the leader, overruling the potential of other students. On the contrary, some students allow others to take over and outshine their abilities to succeed, also resulting in an off balance of …show more content…
Robert and David Johnson, two publish authors and faculty members at the College of Education for the University of Minnesota, stated that when working in groups, there are three ways students will interact with the rest of their team; they can compete to see who is “best” in the group, they can not pay attention to other students and work individually, or they can cooperatively work with the rest of the team while having an interest in the other’s learning styles. Some children become dependent on the work ethic of the other students, causing a decline in the student’s motivation and responsibility to do his or her own work. When grouping multiple students together to perform a shared assignment, more advanced students can take over the majority of the project for the sake of ease and speed. However, this action does not help those struggling to learn and can lead to students relying on others to complete their own work. This outcome can overall diminish their effort in the classroom. Resulting back to the inaccurate individual assessments, sometimes all members receive the same credit despite their unequal efforts, which can cause students to be behind because of the false evaluations. This act clearly can have a negative impact for the students relying on others to do his or her work. Advancing in a class after being credited for work he did
At Delta High school, a student may choose to either work alone or to collaborate with a group in order to finish a project. Both choices offer pros and cons when it comes to efficiency and the quality of work. In a group setting, students may get sidetracked, or the group itself may not be able to function properly. On the other hand, group projects allow broader opinions and valuable peer reviews. Choosing to do independent work will benefit the student’s work ethic, but will also increase the work load. So which is the better choice? The answer is found in the history of the world’s progress in science and technology. Technology does not excel solely from independent work, nor does
As previously mentioned, the students would typically finish their work promptly after the lesson and then hand it to their teacher for quick revision. The students who completed the assignment in a satisfactory manner would get to help aid their classmates who might have been having trouble with their own worksheet. This was fascinating to see, and it is a good example of the use of cooperative learning in the classroom, “cooperative learning arrangements among groups of learners with differing levels of ability,” (Slavin 115). In a classroom that is integrated, like this one, I think it is important to utilize cooperative learning when there is such a wide range of ability and only one
This has helped my writing in english class on my senior paper, making my paper flow better. In this specific class, we have a problem with grouping with our friends and who we are comfortable with. Although this makes us more comfortable, I feel as if we stayed scattered in random groups it would allow others to make connections and experience a new type of environment. This is a somewhat divided class into four sections which should not be the case and will harm us when going to college.
Classroom management plays an important role in effective teaching by providing a desirable environment which promotes better learning and student growth. The most important effect that classroom management has on student behavior is that it promotes better learning because students can better focus when their environment is free from distraction and conflict. When a teacher provides a well-organized and controlled environment, student’s academics interest and performance increase while behavioral issues decreased (Pope, 2010). One classroom management technique I plan to use in my future classroom setting will include the use of cooperative learning. According to Maher (2010), cooperation learning leads to higher group and individual achievement, higher-quality reasoning strategies, more frequent transfer of these from the group to individual members, greater metacognitive skills, and more new ideas and problem-solving. Students will be assigned heterogeneous groups with a mixture of high achievers with low achievers. Groups will also be created to ensure diversity between gender and ethnicity.
However some people like Robert E. Slavin did some research on grouping and found benefits this is one reason he said so “ In-class grouping---a common approach in which teachers break out two or three ability-based groups within a class for instruction---can benefit student achievement.” This maybe true but most teachers only reevaluate every so often so then the students don’t have the chance to excelle into a better group, or a higher level. This all ends in anger and frustration because they either are bored or don’t understand anything, because they aren’t in the right
Working along with others and completing all task given are forms of experience. Although teamwork in English class is not mandatory I feel that is beneficial to the students. The reason being because when you work with other you express different ideas and knowledge which not only helps yourself but the people around you like a circle. This enables work to be done more efficiently and correctly. On the same note some students may find it easier to communicate with peers their age then to have to awkwardly ask a teacher for help. On the other hand completing all of my homework and assignments in English class have made me more prepared. A student who completes all task given with correctness is better prepared to handle more vigorous task ahead them in an advanced college class. This is because an experienced student has taken the time to figure out solutions and problems and used their teachings to answer questions correctly. A student who disregards homework and class work puts themselves at risk for failure, because they are not prepared, they have gained any experience in the
With the long term system most of the time it is done with partners of groups. In the studies earlier shown, some of the students said that their grade was affected by other classmates participating in their group. Have you ever done bad on a project because of classmates? It is common for students of all ages to get distracted while working with partners or working in a large group. This can create a problem because unlike many other project, this project counts as your entire course grade.
Crockett G. and Peter V. (2002) Peer assessment and team work as a professional skill available from (http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf2002/crockett.html) accessed on 26th July 2010.
It is easier to create a bond with a group of people and get to know them well when there aren’t a lot of them. Being in a small classroom does create a family, but does it give your child the best opportunity for success? “While small classes generally provide greater attention to students, there can be unintended consequences” (Class Size:Issues to Consider). “Many districts had to add portable classrooms or build new schools to accommodate the small classes – a cost they were not prepared for” (Class Size: Issues to Consider). In high school, they give you a whole bunch of extra courses that you can take if it is something that you would like to have a career in or if you just want to take it to fill your schedule.
Educators must have the understanding of the single student and his or her behaviors, so that when they are in pairs for assignments a positive, active learning environment will be created.
Building self-esteem, enhancing student satisfaction with the learning experience, and promoting a positive attitude toward the subject matter are all benefits of collaborative learning. A higher degree of accomplishment takes place as a group because you essentially are a team. An example of this is a sports team. In a collaborative situation it takes every member to do his or her part in order for a situation to have a greater resolution; as where a sports team needs everybody’s individual talent to win a game. In retrospect, as a group; the contributions of our own talents can make the difference between a “win or Lose situation” it gives you a sense of competition, and knowing that you can win as a group; self esteem in one’s self is accentuated. Johnson and Johnson (1989), Slavin (1967). Another benefit to collaborative learning is based on the members of your group. Every individual in the group demonstrates their own input based on where they were born, what nationality they are so on and so on. The benefit of this is that you get a different perspective on things rather than always knowing what you know. You can take information from other cultures and add or apply it to what you already know.
Individualized learning was developed and found a footing in the academic systems in the 1970s (Joyce, Weil and Calhoun, 2000). This rose as an alternative approach to the previously used traditional group instructional approaches. The individualized learning model was framed in such a way that it allowed students to have more time as well as receive appropriate instruction where they so needed it. Further, the model’s curriculum content as well as the work that was undertaken by the said students was determined and evaluated by their classroom teacher. There was however recognition by Joyce et al. that due to the modern advancements in the fields of instructional technology, there has been a greater possibility of individualization being a general possibility at date.
Since almost everything is constantly grouped our knowledge has been that of group learning. Group learning has created the foundation for this very essay. However whether it be out of the classroom or not we tend to change our perception of not only our thoughts but our perception to others in that of whatever group we want to be accepted in. That is why the saying finding a diamond in the rough is truly remarkable. Because it defines a diamond as an individual and the rough as groups. If someone is truly a diamond they have been able to keep themselves clear of all critical grouping and have truly been able to experience things and act on their own.
My goal as a teacher is to improve my student’s education and help them grow knowledgably. I like to see students at different levels develop with each other and learn. I want to challenge the students and watch them grow to their highest level of education. Therefore, having the students in groups is the best educational strategy I like to use a lot. I want my students to have freedom with whatever creativity they want, and to allow them to express themselves at any time. With this freedom students will be able to experiment with likes and dislikes and be able to figure their weaknesses and strengths. Education is for everyone and it’s a right by low for all; teachers, on the other hand, should do their jobs very honestly and effectively.
I attended Pinewood, a small private school, from Kindergarten through eighth grade, which is largely responsible for my success in college. With such small class sizes, 40 kids per grade, each student had the opportunity for more individualized help, assessment, and general “bonding” time with their teachers. Teachers could then more thoroughly assess each individual student’s understanding and strategically enable students to monitor their own weaknesses and strengths. Classes usually had a small amount of traditional didactic lecture, and then teachers would walk around as students did their assignment, visiting with each student to monitor their progress and offer them advice. Since the class was so small, this enabled the teacher to actually evaluate and converse with the student and offer them personalized help; and not just “pass by” to see if they were accomplishing their work. Additionally, there was a lot of collective discussion, small group discussion, and reciprocal teaching, where students could formulate opinions, and share their knowledge and strategies among peers.