activity- based strategies

7/28/2019 Activity- Based Strategies

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Anne Princess SevillaJustine Sales


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Activity-based teaching implies active

learning on the part of the learner. All of the

strategies discussed in this chapter,

cooperative learning and self learningmodules require the learner to do more than

listen and study. Learners engaged in these

strategies are involved in creating and

storing up knowledge retention and a highlevel of performance when these types of

active learning strategies are used.


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Cooperative learning is not new. In fact it has

been present in some form for centuries. Its

durability is probably based on the fact that

even before any research was conducted,people knew that they could learn

successfully in groups. Cooperative learning

is based on the premise that learners work

together and are responsible for not onlytheir own learning but also for the learning

of other group members(Lindauer&

Petrie,1997).


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A working definition of cooperative learning

is that it involves structuring small groups of

learners (usually groups of four or five) who

work together toward achieving sharedlearning goals.

Group projects- a common feature of many

nursing courses do not necessarily constitute

cooperative learning because they oftenconsist of individuals working in tandem to

meet their own goals


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To meet the criteria for cooperative learning, the

learners must be aware that they are responsiblefor the learning of all group members.


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Cooperative learning groups can be structured

in various ways.

The basic configurations are termed:

formal groups informal groups

base groups.


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You may set up a formal cooperative learning

group in a nursing research course for

example if you assign groups of students to

develop a proposal for clinical research study(Goodfellow,1995). An assignment like this

could be done in traditional class or an

online class.


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Students will learn from each other as they

brainstorm how to approach the study.

Although the group may decide to divide up

some of the tasks to be accomplished, theyshould be held accountable for group

learning as well as individual learning

You may also want to ask questions of each

group member during the development ofthe project so you have assurance that all

group members are engaged in the process


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Purpose To complete a

specific learning

task consisting of

concepts or skills

To enhance

understanding of

a specific unit of

information; to

make

connections to

prior learning

To provide

encouragement

and to monitor

progress

throughout the

learning

experienceLength One class to many

weeks

No more than one

class and perhaps

for only a few

minutes during a

class

The length of the

learning

experience

usually long term


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Individual accountability can be established

or reinforced by giving quizzes on the

content to be learned during the group

project Formal cooperative learning is probably most

useful in academic settings rather than in in-

service or patient education situations


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Informal cooperative learning groups can be usedin any setting

An application in patient education would be asituation where you are teaching about thechildbirth experience to a group of parents- tobe. After teaching them about the stages oflabor, you could have groups of four turn toeach other and discuss what they have justlearned about the events taking place in thesestages.

Discussion of the facts just presented helps thegroup members to understand and clarifymisconceptions as well as to share concernsabout the experience to come.


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Could be applied easily to new staff

orientation or preceptorship programs

Example:if new registered nurses are being

oriented to a healthcare facility and theorientation experience lasts for six weeks,

these new employees could be asked to

form groups of four or five to meet for an

hour a week to share experiences,encourageeach other and monitor each others progress.


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Advantages of cooperative learning

First, group members learn to function as part of ateam. For nurses, this is an invaluable lesson becausethey need to be able to work cooperatively in the

workplace in order to effectively meet patient needs. Second, working in a group for any length of time can

teach or enhance social communication skills. It may benecessary to teach people new to cooperative groupssome theory about group process.


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Anyone who has been a member of a learning

group or worked with these groups knows

that there is always the potential for

conflict. The very fact that the members are

somewhat dependent on each other for their

learning and possibly for a grade, sets the

stage for difficulties.


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Third advantage is that cooperative learninggroups can help to address individuallearning needs and learning styles(Huff,1997)

Fourth advantage of cooperative learning isthe fact that critical thinking is promoted. Asgroup members discuss issues, explain theirreasoning and question each other they begin

to evaluate each others position andreasoning and to see discrepancies and flawsin hypotheses and so on. All of theseactivities are excellent practice in criticalthinking.


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There are no significant disadvantages to

cooperative learning except the belief that if

you use class time in cooperative learning,

you wont able to cover all the content

One more disadvantage is that some learners

would much prefer working individuallly

rather than in groups. This dislike of group

work may stem from perceived loss ofindividual control or from dissastisfaction

with the prospect of a group grade

( King&Behnke,2005)


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The difficulties in group grading practices are

significant enough that a number of

researchers have studied the

issue(Gupta,2004;King&Behnke,2005).

Some people believe that any form of group

grade is inherently unfair. Others feel that

any perceived unfairness is offset by the

knowledge gains from which all students inthe group appear to benefit.


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1. Provide opportunities for self and peer evaluations.Students can be given rating forms for themselves andtheir peers. Each students effort and performance can

be rated and then averaged.

2. Contract with each group as to which portions of thework will be done by each individual. An individual gradecan then be assigned to each portion of the project

3. Assign a group grade for the project. The amount ofweight given to the group grade can vary depending onother grade components.

4. Give bonus points to each group member if eachpersons individual grade surpasses their grades on

previous projects or exams.


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Research on the effectiveness of cooperative

learning has been conducted since the early

1900s. Johnson and colleagues(1998) report

that atleast 168 studies were conducted

between 1924 and 1997.


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1.Cooperative learning produces higher

achivement levels than do individualistic

or competitive learning approaches.

2. Outcome measures of achievement are

knowledge gain, retention of knowledge ,

problem solving,reading, mathematics

and procedural tasks all of which showincreases with cooperative learning.

3.Other outcomes found are increased self

esteem, improved attitude toward

learning,social competence and decreasedanxiety in learning.


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4. Cooperative learning has been found to be

a cost-effective strategy

5. Effectiveness of cooperative learning has

been found in all ages and levels ofeducation, both sexes, all nationalities

studied and all economic groups.

6. Effects have been equally good for

learners at all ability levels.


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An added bonus according to Johnson and

colleagues(1998) is that the research done on

cooperative learning has a level of validity

and generalizability beyond that seen in most

educational research.

Exactly,why is cooperative learning so

effective?


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First, we know that an effective way to learnsomething is to try to teach it to somene else.

Second, as learners listento each other, they work

to make sense of what each is saying and then theybuild on these ideas, thus adding to their cognitiveschemata.

Third, as learners within a group disagree witheach other they seek to reduce cognitive

dissonance and therefore end up synthesizingdivergent ideas.

Fourth, behavioral theory would support the factthat there is group reinforcement present whenrewards are available learning outcomes.

With so much evidence supporting the effectiveness ofcooperative learning,one wonders why this strategy is notused more often


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activity- based strategies

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