OVERCOMING LIMITATIONS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

Two limitations are commonly associated with cooperative learning. First, community college faculty often express uncertainty about how to evaluate the teamwork skills that their students demonstrate during group work. Faculty would like to be effective judges of what happens during a group project but they are seldom close enough to witness the interaction process and, even when present, cannot tell how the initiatives of some team members affect others. The Interpersonal Intelligence Inventory (III) can be used to assess the interpersonal skills among community college students. The III provides information to faculty about what occurs during team interaction from the students point of view and gives anonymous feedback to students from peers detailing their personal strengths and limitations. A second limitation of cooperative learning involves the provision of tasks that enable students to practice the teamwork skills they are expected to learn. A new model of learning and instruction, Collaboration-Integration Theory (CIT) broadens the base for curriculum by incorporating the cultural, ethnic, and generational resources students rely on outside of school. The method of instruction for implementing CIT is known as Cooperative Learning Exercises and Roles (CLEAR). This approach ensures that students move from a passive to an active role, makes the collaborative process a focus for group work, allows everyone a chance to offer a unique contribution to the thinking of peers, reduces student boredom by differentiating roles, and allows sufficient observation of individual behavior to support fair peer evaluation.

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