New didactic techniques such as cooperative learning are innovating the traditional educational systems of children with excellent results, since they allow to improve the understanding of a subject as a whole at a social level. Cooperative learning based on small work groups creates an atmosphere of achievement. Students work on a task until the group members have successfully completed it.
Cooperative learning is much more than a group work, it is a learning method that emphasizes the participation of students, it consists of working together to achieve common objectives, leaving the focus on the individual to give more emphasis to the collective, to help to the other, to relate to others, in this way students stop being passive subjects and become protagonists of learning.
A cooperatively structured classroom avoids discriminatory attitudes and encourages all students to participate in the activity, working together looking for beneficial results for themselves and the other members of the group, making the most of their own learning and that which occurs in the interrelation and taking responsibility for their learning.
Benefits of cooperative learning for children.
- Increase commitment with other colleagues. All students must work collaborating with each other to achieve the same goal.
2.Promotes individual and group responsibility. All the members of the group must complete their task so that the group achieves the marked objective besides encouraging, caring and helping others in their difficulties.
- It promotes equality and participation. Some learn from others, encouraging, in this way to share knowledge, resources, help, support ... in addition to generating positive feelings towards colleagues, and greater acceptance of diversity.
- Improvement of social skills. This way of working helps them to learn to express agreements and disagreements, to respect the turn of the word, to listen to their classmates, to ask and offer help, to work in teams.
- Develop a critical attitude Well, together with the teacher, they must analyze the behaviors to improve, how each partner has been involved in the work, if they have reached the objectives set and some improvement proposals.
Practical cooperative learning activities for children.
- Pencils in the center:
In the first place groups will be formed, we have remembered norms, we distribute the sheets with questions referring to the subject to be studied.
- With the pencils in the center of the group, each member of the team takes care of a question.
- Everyone goes talking and exposing, they decide what and how to answer.
- When everyone is clear, everyone takes the pen and is writing the answers. At this moment in silence.
- The activity is completed with a personal reflection that will be exhibited to others.
- The words game.
In the first place, some basic operating rules are recalled and the process to be followed is carefully explained and the students ask questions.
• The teacher distributes the words on the topic that we are working on. Each student on the team gives two or three words related to the topic. The words are different for each team.
• Each student reads the words assigned to him, thinks for one minute.
• Next, each team must build a sentence, it must include all the words of each member. When they have formed the phrase they are stuck on a sheet. Together they decide what the team spokesperson has to explain.
• Putting together all the constructed sentences, the spokesperson explains their meaning.
• They evaluate how they have worked in each group and they say improvement proposals.
• Finally, the sentences are placed on the mural and each student writes them all in their notebook.
- Rotating folio
First of all, we organize the class and form work teams (four or five members).
The following is a detailed explanation of the dynamics:
On a sheet of paper, a student of the team begins to write a noun in the corresponding column.
Pass the folio to your partner who will add another noun to the column to enrich it.
The folio will rotate from student to student (without skipping anyone).
When a student is writing, everyone else will stay tuned to help and correct him if necessary.
The folio will rotate until the time finishes (for this activity 15 minutes).
source of information:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/00346543050002315
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00220670109598761
"Cooperation is the conviction that nobody can reach the goal if we do not ALL do it." Virginia Burdes.