PRACTICE YOUR ENGLISH

In a child's world, power and collaboration equal fun. Collaborative learning, or group learning, provides both. Although collaborative learning began early in the 1900s, it was around the middle of the century that educators began to focus more on individualized learning. Recently, however, educators have been returning to group learning and its benefits of cooperation and team building, interdependence, social skills and group processing. Instructors in a group learning environment move from the roles of teacher and lecturer to one of facilitator.



Instructions

1. Observe children to identify learning style. While the majority of humans learn best with visual techniques, auditory learners prefer listening to new information and instructions, and kinesthetic learners prefer performing a new task.

2. Form learning groups of three to four children. Learning groups should remain in place throughout a specific learning task. Ensure that each group consists of children of varying ability levels and learning styles. For an extended learning period, such as a school semester, reform groups to expose children to various learning styles and personalities.

3. Assign an initial task. Generally, choosing group names is an effective first task. This allows children to employ creativity and become familiar with fellow group members. It also provides learners with an initial sense of power.

4. Select a facilitator for each group and rotate that role daily or weekly. The facilitator responsibility ensures buy-in from children and gives each child a chance to temporarily control the environment. Facilitators are responsible for group materials and communication with the instructor. This type of group structure also fosters heightened interpersonal and problem-solving skills.

5. Create learning objectives. Encourage children to use individual learning styles and to work as a group to come up with solutions. Be available to field questions, but remain in the background, allowing learners to solve problems within the group.

6. Present solutions. Each group appoints a spokesperson who describes the group's result and the method used to arrive at the result. This creates a position of power for each group and presents each unique problem-solving technique to the class as a whole.


Tips & Warnings

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Groups formed by the instructor provide more diversity in learning styles than learner-formed groups.
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Create and distribute a list of learning rules. This should outline responsibilities of group members and the process used to solve disagreements.
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Group learning can be more chaotic and noisy than individual study. Learn to differentiate between study-related chatter and off-topic talk.