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During my observation hours to complete for the MAT program, I noticed one of the teachers using collaborative learning to complete a study guide for an upcoming world history exam. Students were parsed into groups and were assigned different sections of the study guide and their job was to “become experts” in whatever their assigned sections were. Students then broke their sections into smaller sections that each of them completed independently. This activity was not based on ability levels and was rather small in size—both mentioned in the Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works text.

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As I was reading about cooperative and collaborative learning, the examples that came to mind come straight from our MAT program.  Each of our professors have directed us into one or both these types of group learning already in the few weeks since courses began.  For example, once during our Perspectives in American Education course, Dr. Mendez had us split into two groups to debate specific points about the purpose of Schools in America.  Within each group, one of us was assigned a specific task (e.g. presenter, questioner, responder).  Here we were engaging in both cooperative and collaborative learning in that we had a set goal to understand the topic at hand, but we also had to contribute to meaningful learning by completing our own individual tasks.  Another example, which I am surprised no one else has mentioned here, is that our entire Technology course is designed completely around cooperative and collaborative learning!  The simply incorporation of using online forums to submit our assignments forces us to work with each other and hopefully create meaningful learning.  It is evident then that each of our MAT professors are attempting to teach us about pedagogy while demonstrating it for us at the same time.
-Gabe Thayer

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As an artist, I have worked on many collaborative projects in a variety of mediums. One that particularly stands out was done to raise money for AIDS research. I was asked, with about fifty other artists to design a memorial quilt of sorts, but ours was made of ceramic tiles. Each artist designed and created their own tile to add to the quilt. Before that, however all of the artists met with the charity to discuss the overall design and theme that we were going to present, and to make sure that our tiles would fit cohesively in the quilt. We had only one afternoon to complete our tiles, and shared a studio to do it. As we worked, and became inspired by the other artist around us, the designs of our tiles began to evolve and the themes started to mesh with each other. It was almost subconscious, but our end product was quite different and ultimately much better. than our individual ideas. Because of our collaboration, we each learned a little about each other and ourselves and created a piece of art that is infinitely more than its individual components.

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Michael Torgerson
I recently used collaborative learning while teaching my students about multiplying and dividing fractions.  I had 8 students pair up into 4 groups and had them perform a Fraction Division Scavenger Hunt.  There are 12 laminated pages with an answer on the top half of each and a fraction division problem along with a word such as Bow, Mitten, Elf (its holiday themed) on the bottom half.  The pages are taped up around the room and the teams can start anywhere they want, solve the problem on the bottom, then find the sheet with that answer on it and write the word down on there answer sheet.  If they get all of them right, they should have the same order on my answer key.  While this was going on, I had the remaining students get into 3 or 4 person groups and work on a Cookie Recipe worksheet.  There is a peanut butter cookie recipe on a sheet and the students have to write the new recipe for a double batch, a half batch, and then find out how many servings each makes.  The groups switched activities as they completed the first.  This was a lot of fun for the students because they got to get up and move around, work together, and apply math to real world situations.

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Collaborative Learning and Reciprocal Peer Teaching

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Collaborative Learning and Reciprocal Peer Teaching

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In my prior graduate work, I held a research/teaching assistant position that involved me in a collaborative learning project with elements of reciprocal peer teaching. As part of an undergraduate course in ethnographic methods (the primary research method for cultural anthropology), students assisted with a portion of a larger research project that documented the experience of families in Indianapolis that built homes through a local nonprofit. During class time, our faculty adviser guided the students in learning to conduct ethnographic interviews and analyze data. She also arranged connections with both the nonprofit organization and the families that would participate in the study. Students then broke into small groups and were assigned a family to interview. This took the form of a collaborative learning project in that students and faculty were working together to create knowledge (Major, 2015). In the manner of reciprocal peer teaching described by Major (2015), I was available to guide students through the process of recording and transcribing the interviews, as well as analyzing the data in writing. Following completion of the course, I worked with two other research assistants and our faculty adviser to complete additional interviews and to compile a written analysis for publication. Collaboration was built into the project at each level, and the insights of each person involved, including those interviewed, ultimately enhanced and authenticated the product that we produced. It was a great experience to be able to work so effectively with such a wide variety of experience and comfort levels in ethnographic fieldwork and to see students become more comfortable with the work as the course progressed. I attribute the success of the collaborative learning/reciprocal peer teaching to the effectiveness of the design by our faculty adviser - she knew exactly when and how to integrate these styles of group work in order to maximize our learning.

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Cooperative and collaborative learning are two ways in I wish to lead my classrooms. I think class discussions and group work are essentials to students' learning. Students should be given the opportunity to further their social skills while learning the curriculum. It is difficult for many students to feel confident socially and academically if they are forced to sit at a desk silently all day. It is important that I not only give my students the opportunity to work together, but that I work with them as well. If I just sit at my desks all day and allow them to teach themselves all of the material, I  fail as a teacher. This would mean I am not sharing my ideas and knowledge of the lessons. I found that throughout my education at Uindy, I work best when I feel comfortable and important in class conversations and group work. I will work to continue to try to make my students feel the same sense of comfortability. How do I address the shy students? I need to make sure I do not allow students to form their own groups each time I allow them to work together.

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Jake Clark
During my Undergraduate studies at UIndy, I was required to the majority of my practical hand on learn by way of collaboration. Theater is all about working with others to collaborate and create a successful production. Each production I worked on had a design team, and we had weekly meeting where we would meet to discus and share ideas with other designers and the director of the show. We had to create an overall design that worked cohesively. the costumes could not be over attention grabbing in comparison to the set or lighting designs. For me, the whole process of collaboration from the theatrical design process has shown to me just how important that collaboration can be in every aspect of teaching.

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Nick Garcia
During my final year of undergraduate studies, we were require to complete a senior art exhibition. Throughout that year, we worked as a class on a common goal and to create a great end product and event. Some of us had strengths like layout design while others were more skilled in framing pieces or advertising. We were able to collaborate and troubleshoot problems together throughout the year, as our exhibition grew closer. It was a great way to learn new, more in depth skills from your peers, while you used your own skillsets as a help for others. This idea quickly came to mind during the reading today.

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When reading about collaborative learning a specific project came to mind instantly. It was during my undergraduate in an English composition class. We had to work in a group to write a paper. We all divided up a work and chose sections of the paper to do based on our previous knowledge and strengths. Then we got together as a group and went over the finally paper adding flow and blending the sections. The project always stands out in my mind because it was a positive example of collaboration. I normally dislike group projects but this one is a good experience. We all learned from each other and worked hard on it.

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What I learned, from the Chapter 7 Collaborative Learning, from the Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Work, is that collaborative learning focuses on having students interact with each other in groups in ways that enhance their learning. When students work in cooperative groups, they make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others (Johnson, Johnson, & Stanne, 2000.) Chapter 7 stated that Organizing groups based on ability levels should be done sparingly. Cooperative learning groups should be rather small in size. Cooperative learning should be used consistently and systematically but should not be overused.  My problem is that too many times collaborative learning has racist overtones and undertones meaning. Too often the bully kid steals ideas, penmanship, personal space and peace of thinking from the shy kid. Too often this applies to male and females students put in collaborative groups, where unfortunately the female is beaten down by the male testosterone and his racism for her collaboration because the boy student “just didn’t know that” and “doesn’t care” “this is what I do” and “this is what I want to do”. Sometimes, collaborative learning is racist, where the more common viewed mind for being Caucasian but having less public attention, or less of everything than public expected, disrespects and steals more than just original thought, intellectual property, privileged property, personal addresses, agency and more just so the boy student can feel less lacking especially in penmanship.

Sometimes collaborative learning does not work in groups because it is racist. A student (immigrant groups too) internalizes what is this other group, and, or, race trying to take from me?” or “why can’t the other group make known for themselves who they are” “or prove who they are in thought and education”, “instead of testing me who grew up with several generations of educators who do not want anything or anyone collaborating near me”.  Even in Chapter 7 Collaborative Learning of  Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, the author suggests using collaborative learning sparingly, meaning, more than showing that there is too much of a factor of sink or swim to groups who don’t deserve it, and, didn’t ask for it; but it can have negative side effects in that the student who did not want to be in a group is losing more from it like personal space, creative ideas, resolutions, problem-solving mechanisms, educational thought and independence, agency and more.

References

Using technology with classroom instruction that works. (2007). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Choosing the Best Approach for Small Group Work. (2015, September 21). Retrieved October 09, 2017, from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/choosing-the-best-approach-for-small-group-work/.

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In my spanish 3 class in high school our teacher asked us to be in groups of 3 or 4 and create a play based on the vocabulary words and grammar structure we were learning in that lesson. Each of us had to help create a script that made sense and that used as many Spanish Vocal words as possible, along with using spanish grammar that we learned in that chapter. Then we had to memorize and help each other get the lines in sync so that the transitions felt natural and the conversation of the play was fluid. This was also a great way to build comarodere because we were able to laugh and get to know our classmates on a creative level.

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Latrina Wagner
Working with Behavioral students at the 5th and 6th grade level has allowed me to see the implications these children in a General Ed setting could have on the overall classroom atmosphere. In my district it was recently decided that these children would be better suited reentering back into a general ed setting verses the decision last year to put them in an inclusive class. I have been allowed to sit in on many meetings on how to effectively work with these children, providing the support they need while being supportive to the class and teacher needs as well. Being able to Push-in and Pull-out with theses students helping to meet there behavioral goals has allowed us to see where children with the most help can be pulled out of their classroom This collaborative learning experience for the child has been proven to be very beneficial.

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Kevin Dietel
I coach football at a local high school. Each Saturday we meet as a group to plan out the week and collaborate on learning everything we can about the upcoming opponent. Once the week is planned and an overview of the opponent is discussed we each are assigned tasks to help develop a game plan. Some of us are assigned the task of creating plays for the scout team. Others work on breaking down personnel of the opponent. Each person plays a critical role is developing a plan for success. Once each person has had sufficient time to develop their respective piece we all gather and report back about what we have done. This divide and conquer strategy of learning about the opponent is repeated every week and helps develop a successful plan for the upcoming game.

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Viewing the media provided, and reading everyone's responses here it is easy to see just how prevalent collaborative/cooperative learning is. I can recall examples that I participated in in almost every class I have ever taken. For example in our class with Dr. Harewood on Monday the class divided into pairs and each lectured on a different article about race/dominance/identity. What I found helpful is that my partner (Victor) and I had to read individually and then discuss what we found important. I learned from him his take on the text, and vice versa. Furthermore, while we listened to others presnetations about different topics its helpful to hear information from our peers. They are tasked with the same challenge, so in a sense everyone is thinking the same. Groups are providing the highlights, what they found important, why it matters to you etc.
Overall,  I think we can all agree that collaborative work is highly successful for all learners. Later in our Bergin and Bergin text, the authors describe how both struggling and advanced students actually benefit from this type of work.
(Bergin and Bergin p. 464-465)

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Kevin Mason
In high school, my Spanish 5 class seemed to always implement collaborative group learning the most effectively for myself. In class, we would get into groups and read passages from Spanish novels. Now, if I was reading these novels on my own, I would have had difficulty with many of the words and, in turn, not fully understand the text. However, each group member was able to provide insight on separate passages that they knew and we got through the novels with mutual understandings that we could not have constructed on our own. Also, we were asked to create a video on one of the conjugation rules in Spanish. Our group collaborated with a script and filmed the video while receiving insight and tips from other members of our group.

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Victor Schleich
After the reading, I couldn't help but think back towards when I worked at Purdue University for Supplemental Instruction. Supplemental Instruction, in a nutshell, used collaborative learning to provide extra material and help with concept. When I was running these sesssions, I would always say that I knew I was doing my job when the students did not need me. They would be working on what ever I had provided in their groups and I was only there to make sure they were still collaborating with others and to maybe clarify something. You could see the lightbulbs go off when they were forced to explain how they got an answer to someone else, and working with a well designed group allowed me to pair strong students with those who struggled to make sure that everyone was getting what they needed out of the sessions.

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Daryl Gibbs
In my CCR course that I teach I did a group exercise dealing with ethics. The learning goal was to have the student see that they all have similar notions on the kind of ethics/values they would want someone to have if they were to hire an individual to work them to filled an fill an open position at their company. The students in each groups of 4 came up with 6 traits they wanted the potential hire to have. They then IPAD AIRDROPPED their groups 4 traits to me. I then had each group talk about the 4 they had chosen and then wrote them on a Dry Erase. They then could see that they all had similar notions and ideas about what successful hire would look like.

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Jordan Nelson
In my Spanish 4 class in high school we were asked to form small groups and create a movie in Spanish. We had to create a script and work collectively in class and outside of class. We were prompted to use vocabulary from the entire year as well as all of the verb tenses we had learned. This was a great project because it allowed us to see our learning as valuable in our daily lives. It was also fun to watch our peers express themselves in different ways.

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K. Terry
Collaborative Learning is great when a large amount of information must be covered in a short period of time. Students can work together and divide the work. After sharing and presenting the work to each other all have meaningful experiences. We are participating in this learning process in our Educ 524 class and I look forward to hearing about other groups literature books. Also, other perceptions and insights other than your own can be very beneficial.
(Matthews, 1996, p. 101)

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As an AVID tutor, I use cooperative learning daily. As apart of their tutorial process, they are broken up into groups and have to collaboratively talk about their problem that they are having trouble with. As the book stated, "Cooperative learning should be used consistently and systematically but should not be overused" (Pitler, Hubbell, Huhn, and Malenoski, 2004, p.139). This AVID tutorial process is a nation-wide system and is done weekly by the students who are broken up into groups of 6 students.

The other students will ask the one student questions in order to help them solve their problem. They do not tell them the answers, but help them work toward understanding and learning how to do their problem of confusion.
Rachel Hasewinkel

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AFTER THE READING, I REALIZE THAT I USE COOPERATIVE LEARNING ON A DAILY BASIS IN MY ORCHESTRA CLASS. I HAVE STUDENTS BREAK INTO SECTIONALS, OR SMALL GROUPS ACCORDING TO THEIR INSTRUMENT AND HAVE THEM WORK TOGETHER AND HELP EACH OTHER WITH DIFFICULT SPOTS.  THIS IS A FORM OF GROUP PROCESSING (PITLER, HUBBELL KUHN AND MALENOSKI, 2007, p. 140).