Author Question: Ms. Baker brings you her lesson plan book and says, Remember that six-week cooperative group project ... (Read 140 times)

PhilipSeeMore · **on:** Jun 20, 2018

Ms. Baker brings you her lesson plan book and says, Remember that six-week cooperative group project I told you I was going to do? You know, the ones where the students are going to create a product and devise a way to sell it as a fundraiser for our field trip? Well I've got the whole thing planned just the way I want it. I know exactly what is going to happen every day of the project, I have determined what the students should sell and what materials they'll need, I've set behavioral parameters in place so there won't be conflict, and I have written up step-by-step directions for each group. I'm thrilled Knowing what you do about cooperative learning, you realize that

a. Ms. Baker has adhered to recommendations about planning for simple cooperative tasks, because she has been extremely clear about her expectations.
b. Ms. Baker's good intentions with regard to detailed planning may, in fact, deprive her students of the change to engage in the very kind of deep thinking and problem-solving that cooperative learning is supposed to facilitate.
c. students are likely to be unsuccessful at meeting Ms. Baker's expectations, because they are too specific.
d. students will likely create extremely creative, well-thought-out products that sell well and generate a significant amount of money for the field trip fund.

Question 2

To be truly effective, cooperative group activities must be structured to include both group goals and individual accountability. If a teacher establishes a group goal but fails to plan for individual accountability, the most pressing danger is that

a. the group will not meet its goal at all.
b. some students will be work horses and dominate the group, while others may be free riders, who contribute little.
c. students will learn the content only at a basic level.
d. conflict will break out and students will be upset and angry.