I think that collaborative learning is a great strategy for teachers to use throughout the school year. It supports literacy in many different, yet engaging ways. Students work together and feed off each other's learning experiences and this can give them the opportunity to feel confident about what they're learning as well as themselves as a learner.
At first I was a little uncertain on what collaborative learning was but I came across this website that I found very resourceful: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-collaborative-learning. I think collaborative learning supports literacy because when used in small reading groups it can give kids the chance to share their thoughts and ideas about the book. Students are more likely to listen to their friends over a teacher, especially at a younger age when it comes to schoolwork and reading. The behavior that is desired from the students can be demonstrated by reciprocal teaching. The teacher can model what kinds of questions and the types of conversations he or she wants their students to be having. These are great techniques to use in the classroom but I don't think it would be great to do them in the beginning of the year. I would wait to get a better idea of the kinds of learners and the interests of my students before I began implementing this in my class.
Clarisa,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that collaborative learning supports literacy. Good job of stating a source that you found helpful. I would just work on trying to make your blog posts a little bit longer. I really like your idea that collaborative learning should not be used at the start of the year. The teacher needs to establish student expectations for the mode of learning before it can be implemented into the curriculum. Without that, chaos would ensue. Overall, good job!