Learning in Interaction

Learning Together and Alone: Cooperation by Learning in Interaction on NotaLearning Together and Alone: Cooperation, Competition, and Individualization...David W. Johnson and Roger T. JohnsonThe role of the teacher is the make a “goal structure” that will allow student learning to occur.A goal structure is the type of interdependence among students.There are three kinds of goal structures:a) cooperative – can only attain goal by working in coordination with other studentsb) competitive – can only attain goal if other students failc) individualistic – there is no interaction; whether one student achieves the goal has not effect on other studentsAmerican children are taught to be very competitive when they actually prefer cooperation.Cooperation is the best and most underutilized goal structure.Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (1975). Learning Together and Alone Cooperation, Competition, and Individualization. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.Discussion of the Manchester Cooperative Learning Example:This example shows the use of cooperative learning in a classroom. The groups are cooperative in that the students have to work together in order to solve the problems. There is some individualistic work within the group work as the teacher has the students solve the problems on their own first. However, the overall goal is for the group to find the correct answer together. In the example, the story is told of one student asking for the teacher's help, and the teacher asking if the student had used the group to find the answer. Thus, the group was forced to work together and answer each other's questions; the students truly had to work with the other students in attaining the goal of obtaining the correct answer. This learning is cooperative in that the students have to work together to achieve the goal. This example is a good example of cooperative learning in that:-the goal is for the group-the group is rewarded by praise for doing well-the students are taught to use each other as resources-the teacher is not the main resource but rather the supplier of suggestionsHowever, there is some individualistic learning occuring, as the students initially complete the problems by themselves. This may slightly confuse the actual goal of the activity, as the initial goal is for individuals and the later goal is for the group.Also, the example would better fit with Johnson and Johnson's ideas (pp. 78-84) if:-the teacher did more to encourage the students exchanging ideas and resources and to encourage students to divide the work if necessary-a variety of materials were available and students had to share these in order to accomplish the task© David and Roger Johnsonhttp://www.co-operation.org/pages/dwj.html ©2008 Regents of the University of Minnesotahttp://cehd.umn.edu/CI/Faculty/Johnson.htmlnickolasSEEDSexual PredatorLETS GO FUCKING MENTALYOU ARE BEING WATCHED ROZIE SMITH IS TUSTYFlagging your missus offside because she stepped out of the kitchen Sean Boff in disgusie, The irrepressable Boff(Enable JavaScript in your browser, please.)