Week+7

Cooperative learning is a subject for which I have some apprehension because I have not have the best success with in my classroom. I found the cooperative learning website to be a helpful guide through the lesson designing process. Some issues I have had with cooperative learning projects is that not all students participate in the projects to the same degree and, without a good model of the project, the students don't seem to "stretch" themselves as much as I had anticipated. After reading through Concept for Classroom page on cooperative learning I find that I am a little less apprehensive, but remain skeptical. I would really benefit from watching an actual project administered by an expert teacher where I could learn what mistakes I may be making in the process. Surely students need to learn to resolve conflicts when they emerge, but I have not proven to myself that these skills can be taught without making mistakes in the lesson planning and implementation. It is a big commitment to reshaping the classroom environment and I think I am not alone in feeling trepidation at steering a classroom into an authentic cooperative learning project without actual experience at the wheel. I expect some other teachers feel similarly, but I am going to remain open to the experience in the future. Ultimately, I am looking for more guidance than reading about cooperative learning.