Chapter 11: Student Cooperation

by April

I felt this chapter brought out positive and negative aspects of group work. It's important for us to be aware of both sides so that we can be careful in terms of the negative possibilities. On page 417 the author told a story about a partner project where one partner got an A on his part and the other partner got an F because he didn't do anything but combined they got a C. I don't know how else to say it except that, that really sucks. Teachers need to be careful not to make students resent group work or collaboration. Teacher's need to carefully monitor groups and not punish students for the inattentiveness of other group members.

Growing up, I absolutely hated group work. The issue of grading, I think, in relation to group work is something to think about. My biggest frustration growing up was that I was concerned about my grades and was worried that unconcerned group members would pull my grade down. Perhaps collaboration should be promoted for the goals of, for example, reasoning and critical thinking, without a focus on grades.

Teachers need to watch for groups where one student is dominating and need to ask if this is happening because the other group members are not engaging or if it is because that one student isn't giving room for everyone's voices. I also think that teachers need to walk around and interact with groups at work to watch for groups who are falling away from the purpose and into socializing. I've seen teachers sit back and work on other things while student collaboration is happening. Student group work should not be used as an excuse for teachers to sit back and not be involved.

Lastly, we shouldn't assume that students know how to work as groups. Skills such as asking good questions have to be taught and modeled to make the best use of student cooperation.