Cooperative Learning

I used cooperative and project-based learning approaches in Flushing International High School. This was the part of project that I taught remotely in grade 9 and 10 Algebra I class, Spring 2021.

You will find the activity slides, cooperative learning strategies, learning goals, what I did in the class to promote collaborative learning, what students did in their breakout rooms, what area went well, and what area need to improve.

1. Describe the strategy and activity that I tried with my students and my goals for student learning.

Activity and Lesson

I tried cooperative learning (CL) strategies in my fully remote STEM class for two days/lessons. Artzt and Newman stated that “A developmental lesson designed for guided discovery leading to a mathematical generalization is well suited to the cooperative learning mode” (Artzt & Newman, 1990, p. 451). Artzt and Newman explained group members can be assigned a different assignment and then share their results to the group once they have finished their own tasks. After that, the group needs to come up with a general statement based on their results. I used the developmental lesson idea and created an activity, how COVID-19 affected our community, for my students. Day 1, group activity was to read table data from the United States Census and NYC Health to find how many population, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in each borough for different age groups. Day 2, after students recorded all required information on a collaborative Google Slides from day 1, they made a grouped column chart and wrote down conclusions that described their chart. Finally all groups shared their findings to the whole class.

Group Formation and Rewards

I grouped students in five heterogeneous groups by their ethnic background, ability levels, gender, and personal characteristics. According to Artzt, I asked each group to create a name for themselves (Artzt, 1979, p.505). The five names were The Simpsons, F.Y.Z.F.S.A.M.M, The Square Roots, The Birds, and Students Working Hard. Creating a group name was a good start point for collaborative learning because a group name enhanced a sense of identity for the group. Each group consisted of 8 students which was larger than groups of three to five. Although Artzt and Newman stated “a cooperative-learning group is too large, individual students find it difficult to stay actively involved” (Artzt & Newman, 1990, p. 449), I believed a larger group was suitable for my class. Because there were 40 ENL students who have either some or little ability to understand English, I had to make sure each group had at least two strong English proficiency students, one speaks Spanish and another speaks Mandarin. In addition, five groups were manageable for two teachers (a science teacher and myself) in a remote setting. In terms of reinforcing individual accountability, I provided group rewards and the rewards were based on individual performance in the breakout rooms. At the end of each lesson, students can get class participation grades if they completed their individual task or communicated to other members. If a whole group members participated, then all members can get an extra point for class participation grades.

Goals

In terms of STEM content outcomes, students should be able to (1) construct data tables, (2) make a grouped column chart using Google Sheet, and (3) interpret information from their grouped column chart. In terms of language outcomes, students should be able to communicate ideas and information that show understanding through speaking and writing in English. In terms of work habits outcomes, students should be able to (1) collaborate with groupmates, and (2) positively influence our classroom community.

2. Explain exactly what I did.

Day 1/lesson 1, we had a do now activity to review locations of five boroughs in a map and how to calculate population in each age group by multiplying a percent and total population. Then I introduced group activity and explained each group had a collaborative Google Slides which meant all group members were able to edit the Google Slides and can make a contribution to their groups. After that I introduced the United States Census and the NYC Health websites and modeling how to use the two websites for the group activity. I explained the group activity was to find population, cases, hospitalizations, and deaths for each of five boroughs; therefore, each member of the group was assigned to a particular borough and all group members recorded their results on a group Google Slides. If two students were assigned to the same borough, then they needed to share workload so there were no “free riders”. Day 2/lesson 2, students spent a moment in their breakout rooms to finalize their individual task and came to an agreement on their results at the beginning of the class. After they came back to the main session, I introduced the goals for today’s lesson were to make a grouped column chart based on their group results and interpret information from their grouped column chart. I modeled how to make the chart using Google Sheets and I also provided a YouTube tutorial in case they needed it in the breakout rooms. Each member of the group wrote what they noticed from their grouped column chart on a group Google Slides. At the end, reporters from each group shared their results to the whole class.

For both day 1 and day 2, I reiterated the importance of collaborative work, group roles, participation and contribution before students moved to breakout rooms. I said the purpose of the group activity were to (1) develop student skills in oral and written communication (i.e. open mic and write in Zoom chat box or in Google Slides), (2) help each other understand the content if needed, and (3) hold individual and group accountability for group success because they needed the data from five boroughs to make a grouped column chart. In order to support collaborative learning, I provided a script with group managers for facilitating group discussion. During the group activity, I circulated all five groups and checked their progress and answered any clarifying questions.

3. Explain what my students did.

Day 1, all members of the group picked at least one group role such as manager, leader, reporter, translator, or timekeeper. Group managers shared the screen and facilitated discussion; group leaders read questions and ensured everyone to stay on task; reporters presented group results to the whole class at the end; translators translated instructions if needed; timekeeper kept time and read broadcast to the group. Group roles provided opportunities for all students with different abilities to participate in class and encouraged individual accountability. Most students worked on their individual tasks when they were in breakout rooms. Using the United States Census website, they found the total population in each of five boroughs and percent of population in age 0-4, age 5-17, and age 65 and over. Then they calculated the population in each age group by multiplying a percent and total population in that borough. Using the NYC Health website, they read data for boroughs and recorded the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths for each age group in each borough. When two students worked in the same borough, they wrote down their name next to their work in order to show contribution. However, a few students had no response at all no matter how teachers and group members called on their names and sent messages to the chat box. Consequently, those students left their individual tasks blank.

Day 2, since some students either didn’t do or didn’t finish their slides completely, I asked group members to encourage and support those students to complete their slides. I also said it was group activity and if a student didn’t do his or her part, the rest of members still needed to do it, because they needed all the data to make a graph and turned it in as a group work. Therefore, when students were in breakout rooms, some groups were double checking their results and some groups were helping members with their slides. After they finished their tables for five boroughs, they started making a grouped column chart based on their tables. They divided work within a group, two students filled in a table, one student made the graph, and the rest of students offered support and gave feedback. Then they pasted their group graph to the Google Slides and wrote what they noticed from the graph. At the end, reporters shared their graphs and observations to the whole class.

4. Critique my experience. What went well? What did not go so well? Did I accomplish my goals?

Group roles offered an opportunity for focused interactions between group members. I was proud all group managers shared their screens and facilitated group discussion. Time keeper kept time and most members were working on the slides. By using the group roles, students were more accountable and took ownership of their learning. Breakout rooms are a nonthreatening space for students to collaborate with each other. They felt comfortable talking to each other, asking questions, and helping each other in English and in their primary language. By working together, they realized and respected culture differences. Hispanic students used periods with large numbers to help read and a comma for the decimal point; in contrast, Chinese students used the reverse formatting. If they weren't assigned to a heterogeneous group by ethnic background, they won’t have the opportunity to see the difference. Although I emphasized the importance of collaborative learning and “the success of the group in achieving its goals then depends on the success of each group member” (Walmsley & Muniz, 2003, p. 112), there were still some students who did not fully participate and did nothing. A couple of group managers complained some members didn’t respond and they felt unfair to cover their tasks. In terms of goals, all the groups completed their tables, made a grouped column chart, and interpreted information from their graphs in the Google Slides. In order to complete their group activity, they talked to each other and shared their thoughts and results with one another. Therefore, I accomplished all my goals according to the students' work and reporters presentation at the end.