EME2040-Reflection#5

Collaborative learning is when students get together as a group and discuss a question, or work on a project. Cooperative learning on the other hand is a type of collaborative learning. It is when the group is given an activity to work on. It helps students work together as a team, each having an important role. The students are assessed on the group work given and also individually, they each have a role in the group activity not one person is doing more than another. When students are put in these small groups they can help other students with their strengths and weaknesses. It puts the student in a more relaxed environment with no pressure. In cooperative learning within small groups questions are asked, teachers learn from the students and students learn from each other, everyone is given the respect they deserve, goals are challenged; strengths and weaknesses are identified, etc. These two approaches are completely different than the usual traditional form of teaching because it is done in groups versus the others that are mostly individual. Traditional approaches and collaborative and cooperative learning include very different traits when it comes to learning. Depending on the lecture and objective, sometimes these two work best. It is said that cooperative learning helps the students have a deeper understanding of the material being taught, and they become more confident about the material. I believe this is true, because sometimes you learn better with others, maybe they have different tricks or methods of doing things that may help you learn how to do the content better or faster. For some lessons, it is the best thing to do, putting the students into groups. It is better than having them sit at their desk doing work, because some activities require interaction, and open discussion. It depends on the situation. Some people believe small group discussion isn’t accurate with teaching because it gives the teacher a break from not teaching, it avoids great critical thinking with the students, and sometimes gives some students more responsibility than others. For cooperative and collaborative learning it is advised to be a rubric and watching the student’s progress throughout the lesson. Cooperative learning and collaborative learning are successful for some teaching methods, depending on what it is. It is a great way to build team building skills that will become useful in the future in any job or career .