The practice of having students work in groups in educational settings keeps growing—partly driven because students have to share resources or are working on projects too large to handle individually, and also because new advanced-technology classrooms like the ones that have been built on the Case Western Reserve University campus are designed for group activities.
Another driver toward cooperative learning is the research that indicates that it provides benefits cognitively (in that students learn better), socially (in that students learn how to work productively and harmoniously with others) and emotionally (in that it can make the classroom a much more congenial place).
But all these benefits do not flow automatically by assigning students to groups and letting them loose. Successful group work requires careful thought and advance planning by the instructor. Failure to do so can produce worse cognitive, social and emotional outcomes than having students work individually.
But the steps that need to be taken for successful group work are not hard to learn and implement. At the next University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE) session, participants will be walked through the steps to success.
Join UCITE for that discussion on Thursday, April 2, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Herrick Room of the Allen Memorial Library Building.
Lunch will be provided at this session. RSVP to ucite@case.edu.