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Reading "Cooperatively"

I have been very successful in using cooperative learning to help students understand expository reading material, particularly when the material is on a more sophisticated level than that to which they are accustomed. I will discuss and explain three cooperative learning exercises that I use with my students enrolled in CRE 101. These exercises work well in informal learning groups to enhance discussion sessions, and could be used successfully with any type of expository material, not just essays.

The purpose of Exercises 1 and 2 is to focus student attention on the main points and underlying structure of the reading material. Exercise 3 is aimed at building students' vocabulary.

Exercise 1:

Preparation: Put the students in groups of three and have them clear their desks. Each group gets an envelope. In the envelope you have two headings and a series of statements.

Activity: The group spreads the headings on the desk and starts making columns, two or three is the limit, matching the statements with the correct headings. For example, we use a section of Toqueville's Democracy in America. In the section used, Toqueville spends some time showing the differences between a democracy and a government of the aristocracy, giving the benefits and drawbacks of both. These benefits and drawbacks are by no means self-evident. Toqueville was a harsh critic of democracy in many ways and finds much good about governments run by a well-educated, elite group. The students line up the arguments under the headings "Government by Democracy" or "Government by Aristocracy."

Outcome: This exercise seems to help students see more clearly arguments and ideas on different sides. In this particular exercise, they also see how democracy was looked at by a European, and it illustrates very sharply both the drawbacks and benefits of this form of government by isolating those ideas into an exercise. It is recommended that you select statements that are not direct quotes from the reading material. Using your own words will help students learn to recognize ideas that may be phrased differently.

Exercise 2:

Preparation: Put students together in groups of two, with some attention to their relative reading capabilities, and with their reading material in front of them.

Activity: Have students decide who will be Student "A" and who will be Student "B." In this example, Student A will be asked to answer a question the instructor poses about the reading material (without looking at it), and Student B will be the listener/coach. The role of the listener/coach is to find the answer by checking the page(s) in the book you indicate and to determine whether Student A has gotten to the "meat" of the issue. The students then alternate roles, giving both Student A and Student B the opportunity to play both roles. For each response, students must agree on the idea expressed in the speaker's answer. This works best in a series of about 7 questions each.

Note to faculty: Be sure to write your script carefully. Indicate whether Student A or B is speaking and whether A or B is coaching. Include page and paragraph numbers in your script so the listener/coach can find the material quickly. Look for points, ideas, support, etc. that you want to emphasize or that you feel need clarifying, or that are particularly interesting for your questions. Phrase the question so they have to go after the "meat" of the ideas and so the listener can judge whether they have done that or not. You must impress upon them that the listener/coach has to be totally frank and honest as to whether they feel their partner understands the question and has really answered it adequately.

Outcome: This exercise requires students to put their interpretation of the reading into their own words, as they do not have the book, and the listener/coach must decide if those words adequately express what the author was saying. They help each other a lot and expressing in this way what an author is saying is a very effective way to gain comprehension and to remember what has been read.

Exercise 3

Preparation: This exercise is best done once students have discussed the words in context and have had a chance to learn them. Each student is given an envelope (as in Exercise 1), but this time, the envelope is filled with ten halves of a 3x5 card. Each card contains either a definition, some synonyms, an actual vocabulary word, or a sentence with a blank for a vocabulary word.

Activity: Students are asked to find the matching half for each card from someone else. They can do this by milling around and calling for the word, or calling for a definition or a synonym they need, or by approaching each student to see if there is a match. The first student finding all the halves that match gets a few extra credit points (a little competition mixed in with the cooperation).

Note to Faculty: You can type up the words, definitions, synonyms, and sentences, duplicate them, and then tape or paste them on 3x5 cards. You have to make sure you have a match for every half card and that students get a mixture of each type of card. This exercise is not for the fainthearted or for those instructors who are not comfortable with some noise and milling about.

Outcome: This exercise seems to help students understand the words they do know, isolate the ones they donĄt know, practice on at least recognizing a match, and go beyond just a definition. Vocabulary is often more interestingly done with someone else, or, in this case, lots of someone elses.

URL: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/labyforum/win96/win96F4.html