Title: Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty
Abstract: Cooperative Learning for Higher Education Faculty Barbara J. Millis and Philip G. Cottell, Jr., American Council on Education, Phoenix: Oryx Press 1998 Millis and Cottell explicitly state this book is innovation, change, and renewal(p. 3). Their primary purpose is to offer higher education faculty the rationale for change, including theory and research, and provide concrete step-by-step strategies for using cooperative learning in the classroom. Millis, an English literature professor and Cottell, a professor in accounting, share their personal stories and successes regarding their own use of cooperative learning. They are careful to provide cooperative learning examples in a wide variety of disciplines. As stated in the preface, the authors try to address the many questions, issues, and concerns about cooperative learning they have heard from faculty in workshops, E-mail messages, and airport conversations. The book is organized into five parts; (a) overview of cooperative learning, (b) classroom management, (c) structuring the cooperative classroom, (c) assessment, and (e) supporting cooperative efforts. In Chapters 1 and 2 the authors provide a good overview of why a faculty member should consider using cooperative learning. The need for change in higher education teaching and learning is related to the changing demographics of college students, societal pressures demanding accountability in higher education, and the increasing need for individuals in the workplace to have collaborative social skills. Another justification for change is the growing amount of empirical evidence that suggests cooperative learning positively influences student outcomes. More specifically, cooperative learning positively affects student achievement and affective/social development. Millis and Cottell confront several misconceptions about cooperative learning commonly held by educators. For instance, some misguided faculty believe cooperative learning involves group grades. A second misconception is that cooperative learning is meant to replace traditional lecture. Third, some critics of cooperative learning believe that cooperative learning is not a rigorous instructional method. Throughout the book the authors return to these commonly held misconceptions about cooperative learning and provide evidence and examples meant to refute these assumptions. The book builds on the critical attributes of cooperative learning, which are presented with great clarity in Chapter 1. The critical components underlying successful cooperative learning are: (a) positive interdependence among students (b) individual accountability, (c) appropriate grouping, (d) group processing and social skill development. Faculty familiar with cooperative learning may not find the in-depth discussion of the cooperative learning attributes to be beneficial. In such cases, the authors may be preaching to the choir, however, faculty new to cooperative learning will find their concerns and questions are explicitly addressed. For example, the authors summarize the literature that provides evidence that students should be placed in permanent groups of 3-4 and should be faculty selected. Also, individual accountability is a critical aspect of all activities and all students must receive individual grades. There are four major strengths of this book that make it worthy of reading. First, many resources are provided in the text. There are many forms, charts, and appendixes, which can easily be adapted for classroom use. For example, there is a peer evaluation form that could be used in any discipline. …
Publication Year: 1999
Publication Date: 1999-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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