Introduction

When one looks into the history of education, one can It is very common now to walk into a classroom and see are learning, sharing information, and questioning the is not an easy task. There is a lot of planning and monitoring that the teacher does so that such a

see that there has been a significant shift in instruction. Before the 1970s teaching was very teacher centered. giving and presenting information to the student. Yet, That is that it was predominately based on the teacher after looking into the value of having students learn for

several students talking at once about the content they teacher about the material. However, getting to this point

themselves, educators have moved to a student centered classroom. In other words, teachers must not simply be knowledge providers but also guides to the learning process. (Kock, 2004, p 142) From partner work to

welcoming learning environment exists. Two of the most

common practices teachers use in their lesson planning is one better that the other. In this, document we will explore both the pros and cons of each practice.

independent work and collaborative learning. However, is

investigations to seatwork, students are now the ones

who are doing most of the work during class. It is safe to say that education has shifted from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered classroom.

Independent Work
Pros predictions, valid inferences, generalizations o It allows time to practice skills like making Pros

Cooperative Learning
o Integrates students with disabilities into the o Students can develop relationships across o Gives students who usually do not voice gender, racial and ethnic backgrounds. participate in class discussion to have a general education classroom

o Teachers can walk around and see

o Teachers can give individual feedback o Allows students to work at their achievement level

immediately what the students are doing

o Teachers can identify students immediately if they are having a problem Cons

o Students learn to work together

o Students practice voicing their opinion; it o There is less room for error if all students are checking each others work betters their communication skills

o Assignments are sometimes busy work; they are not meaningful achievement level o Assignments do not match the students o Directions are sometimes not clear different times

o Students finish independent work at o Students can lie about being done in order to have more time to work on it at home.

Cooperative Learning
Cons o Allowing students to pick their own groups can lead to segregation among students in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity. group members

feels uncomfortable with one or more students in the group and thus doesnt want to work with the group the task is uninteresting or boring or unchallenging.

Bored studentstudent who thinks because he or she finds it too easy Intellectual snobhigh achieving

o There can be unequal participation of The freeloaderthe student who does nothing in the group work The smart onethe student who is considered the smartest gets the or automatically becomes the spokesperson. hardest part, does the whole thing,

student who thinks his peers are less competent and thus doesnt want to work with them. This student often or she gets a good grade.

ends up doing all the work so that he o Lack of accomplishment of assignment due to poor planning

Discouragedan average student

who often fails to understand a task, thus, the student either withdrawals from participation or engages in off task behavior. Unrecognizeda low achieving never listened to

o Students lack of another

cooperation with one

student whose input and ideas are Despondent studenthigh or low achieving student who dislikes or

Common Mistakes for Implementing Independent Work

Teachers give independent work as busy work; it is given to students to have them to just do something all period. Teachers use the time to lesson plans, or reading the newspaper. Thus teachers give students must have a purpose.

Common Mistakes for Implementing Cooperative Learning

complete other activities such as grading, writing giving seatwork a bad name. The seatwork that When doing group work, teachers, especially first year teachers, assume that just because they are doing group work, it will automatically be fun and that the students would be excited to work together. Also teachers assume that no extra rules/guidelines will be necessary for the students to know how to work together. Assuming all these is very dangerous. Students, if they arent use to what to do in a group activity. Thus, a discussion a teacher does assume all of this and doesnt safe to say the activity will be a failure. working with other students in class, will not know of class expectations for group work is needed. If prepare themselves and their students, then it is

Tips For Successful Independent Work

Tips for successful Cooperative Learning

Get to know your students both on a personal and academic level o Knowing your students will let you know what people they work best with

Know the purpose of the activity Know which kind of group work you want to implement o Helping permitted

Students are allowed to assist one another on individual assignments

Assign assignment/tasks that are meaningful, useful, relevant to students Know the purpose of the assignment Match assignments to students achievement levels Not only give written and oral directions but also make sure they are clear. Go over them with the class.

o Helping obligatory another o Peer tutoring

Students are expected to help one

A more skillful peer assists a less skillful peer

o Simple cooperative group

Monitor both behavior and comprehension during independent work time Plan assignment or activity for students who finish assignment early. For those who dont finish on time, decide what will be there options.

Students share a common goal or may occur

end; some division of responsibilities o Completely cooperating group

Students share a common goal and all members work together.

there is little or no division of labor; Decide the group size o 4-5 people per group are recommended Decide on group composition o When making groups think about the gender, cultural background, race, composition. Be patient Start with small group work at the beginning of the year. This is especially useful for first year teachers. Assign specific tasks for each activity, this way all students are held accountable for their participation and work. training ethnicity, achievement level, and social skill

How To Evaluate Independent Work

Depending on the assignment the value of it will vary. However, one needs to think about how kinds f independent work. much value is going to be put into the different

For instance, there is independent work done in

class and at home. Will one be worth more than the other? Also the independent work that is done in class varies in time and difficulty. For instance, there is independent work done in class during a the independent work done at the end of class

lesson, is that going to be valued less or more than that counts as homework? Regardless of the type whether or not if we are going to grade and if so, how are we going to grade.

Teach students to cooperate by providing skills Monitor groups and intervene only when necessary.

of independent work, as teachers we need to know

How to Evaluate Cooperative Learning

Evaluating group work is not one of the easiest tasks, however, it is very doable. One of the factors that affect grading is the assignment itself. Some assignments will be a daylong and will be simple enough for the teacher to grade the work and the students participation. However, some cooperative learning activities will be days or weeks long. Thus, the students will work in and

A popular method for grading cooperative

learning has been to use all three assessments:

self, peer, and teacher. This way the students are work but instead for their participation.

aware that they are not just being graded for their

Examples of Rubrics
http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/profdev/rubri cs/secondaryteamworkrubric.html cs/primaryteamworkrubric.pdf byrne/website/Resources/Rubric/Peer%20and% 20Self-Evaluation%20Rubric.htm http://mountain.sd41.bc.ca/dept/social_studies/ http://www2.uwstout.edu/content/profdev/rubri

outside of class. Grading students participation

and work will not be as simple. Teachers will need to create a method for grading and holding all the students accountable for their work. One way is to have a self-assessment rubric. This work they have done. In addition, this will give the teacher an opportunity to see what each student did in the assignment. It is important to note that what goes on the rubric is all up to the teacher Another way to grade is to have a peerassessment rubric. This is where the students grade each of the members of their work and state what they did in the project. Once again, this rubric is up to the teachers discretion.

is where the students will grade themselves for the

Final Thoughts For Independent Work

Overall, teachers have come to a conclusion that independent work is sometimes needed to assign with or without close teacher supervision.

Final Thoughts For Cooperative Learning

When creating cooperative learning activities, one must remember that just because we find them interesting and fun it does not mean our students will too. Remember students spend eight or more hours in school per day and for them fun is a video game. Thus, if we set ourselves to have a fun activity we are setting ourselves up for

work for students to do on their work but in class, (Weinstein, Novodvorsky, 2011, 254) In addition, when implementing seatwork into a lesson one needs to realize that seatwork is not synonymous with silence. Depending on the task and teacher, students should be allowed to help one another teachers need to understand that independent lessons one should ask themselves, is this home? What is its purpose? out during independent work. Most importantly, work is not meant to be busy work. When creating something the students can do on their own at

failure. However, cooperative learning offers a unique environment to learn because it brings together. The most important thing about students from all backgrounds and academic levels cooperative learning is the planning process. One needs to carefully consider the students needs, everything can go as smoothly as possible. the academic content, and time constrains so that

Conclusion
In conclusion, is independent work or cooperative learning better than the other? The answer is no, neither teaching method is better than the other. Both teaching methods can be successful as long as the assignment has a purpose, is well thought out, and is properly executed. However, it is them. important to understand the challenges they both have and not to assume anything when planning

References
Weinstein, C.S. , & Novodvorsky, I. (2011). Middle and secondary classroom management: Lessons from research and practice. New York: McGraw Hill. Urban, Hal. (2008). Lessons from the Classroom: 20 Things Good Teachers Do. [Redwood City, Calif.]: Great Lessons Press. http://gsi.berkeley.edu/teachingguide/sections/groupwor k.html http://www.brighthubeducation.com/teaching-methodstips/19619-advantages-of-group-work-in-theclassroom/ http://www.hrea.org/pubs/smallgroups.html