Promoting Learning Through Student-Student Interaction

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Promoting Learning Through Student-Student
Interaction
Karl A. Smith Engineering Education Purdue
University Civil Engineering - University of
Minnesota ksmith_at_umn.edu http//www.ce.umn.edu/sm
ith Middle Tennessee State University March 2007
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Promoting Learning Through Student-Student
Interaction

• Please reflect on when and how to promote
  learning through student-student interaction
• Jot down some of your ideas
• Turn to the person next to you
• Introduce yourself
• Share thoughts on promoting learning through
  student-student interaction

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Collaboration

• Collaboration is a purposive relationship. At
  the heart of collaboration is a desire or need
  to
• solve a problem,
• create, or
• discover somethingWithin a set of constraints,
  including expertise, time, money, competition,
  and conventional wisdom (p. 36)Michael
  Schrage. 1991. Shared minds The new
  technologies of collaboration.

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Pedagogies of Engagement
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Lila M. Smith
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Pedago-pathologies Amnesia Fantasia Inertia Lee
Shulman MSU Med School PBL Approach (late
60s early 70s), Currently President of the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
College Teaching Shulman, Lee S. 1999. Taking
learning seriously. Change, 31 (4), 11-17.
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What do we do about these pathologies? Lee
Shulman Activity Reflection Collaboration
Passion Combined with generative content and the
creation of powerful learning communities
Shulman, Lee S. 1999. Taking learning
seriously. Change, 31 (4), 11-17.
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Lila M. Smith
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Foundations forPedagogies of Engagement

1. Learning is a social activity (John Dewey)
2. Innovative learning requires ambiguity (Stuart
   Pugh)
3. All learning requires un-learning (John Seely
   Brown)
4. Learning is situated (Jean Lave)

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Foundations - John Dewey

• John Deweys ideal school
• a thinking curriculum aimed at deep
  understanding
• cooperative learning within communities of
  learners
• interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary
  curricula
• projects, portfolios, and other alternative
  assessments that challenged students to
  integrate ideas and demonstrate their
  capabilities.
• Dewey, John. 1915. The school and society, 2nd
  ed. Chicago University of Chicago Press.

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• Cooperative Learning
• Kurt Lewin - Social Interdependence Theory
  (1935)
• The essence of a group is the interdependence
  among members (created by common goals) which
  results in the group being a "dynamic whole" so
  that a change in the state of any member of
  subgroup changes the state of any other member or
  subgroup
• An intrinsic state of tension within group
  members motivates movement toward the
  accomplishment of the desired common goals.

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Student Student InteractionLewins
Contributions

• Founded field of social psychology
• Action Research
• Force-Field analysis
• B f(P,E)
• Social Interdependence Theory
• There is nothing so practical as a good theory

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Cooperative Learning

• Theory Social Interdependence Lewin Deutsch
  Johnson Johnson
• Research Randomized Design Field Experiments
• Practice Formal Teams/Professors Role

Theory
Research
Practice
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Cooperative Learning Positive Interdependence In
dividual and Group Accountability Face-to-Face
Promotive Interaction Teamwork Skills Group
Processing
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Cooperative Learning Key Concepts Positive
Interdependence Individual and Group
Accountability Face-to-Face Promotive
Interaction Teamwork Skills Group Processing
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Cooperative Learning Research Support Johnson,
D.W., Johnson, R.T., Smith, K.A. 1998.
Cooperative learning returns to college What
evidence is there that it works? Change, 30 (4),
26-35. Over 300 Experimental Studies First
study conducted in 1924 High Generalizability
Multiple Outcomes
Outcomes 1. Achievement and retention 2.
Critical thinking and higher-level reasoning 3.
Differentiated views of others 4. Accurate
understanding of others' perspectives 5. Liking
for classmates and teacher 6. Liking for subject
areas 7. Teamwork skills
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Small-Group Learning Meta-analysis
Springer, L., Stanne, M. E., Donovan, S. 1999.
Effects of small-group learning on
undergraduates in science, mathematics,
engineering, and technology A meta-analysis.
Review of Educational Research, 69(1), 21-52.
Small-group (predominantly cooperative) learning
in postsecondary science, mathematics,
engineering, and technology (SMET). 383 reports
from 1980 or later, 39 of which met the rigorous
inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The main
effect of small-group learning on achievement,
persistence, and attitudes among undergraduates
in SMET was significant and positive. Mean
effect sizes for achievement, persistence, and
attitudes were 0.51, 0.46, and 0.55,
respectively.
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Strategies for Energizing Large Classes From
Small Groups to Learning Communities Jean
MacGregor, James Cooper, Karl Smith, Pamela
Robinson New Directions for Teaching and
Learning, No. 81, 2000. Jossey- Bass
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The Harvard Assessment Seminars B Richard J.
Light All the specific findings point to, and
illustrate, one main idea. It is that students
who get the most out of college, who grow the
most academically, and who are the happiest,
organize their time to include interpersonal
activities with faculty members, or with fellow
students, built around substantive, academic
work. Environmental Factors That Enhance
Students Academic and Personal Development and
Satisfaction Alexander Astin in What matters in
college Four critical years revisited.
Jossey-Bass, 1993. Student-student
interaction Student-faculty interaction A faculty
that is very student-oriented Discussing
racial/ethnic issues with other students Hours
devoted to studying B Time on task Tutoring other
students Socializing with students of different
race/ethnicity A student body that has high
socioeconomic status An institutional emphasis on
diversity A faculty that is positive about the
general education program A student body that
values altruism and social activism
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Active Learning Cooperation in the College
Classroom

• Informal Cooperative Learning Groups
• Formal Cooperative Learning Groups
• Cooperative Base Groups

See Cooperative Learning Handout (CL
College-804.doc)
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Book Ends on a Class Session
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Formal Cooperative Learning Task Groups
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Design team failure is usually due to failed team
dynamics (Leifer, Koseff Lenshow, 1995). Its
the soft stuff thats hard, the hard stuff is
easy (Doug Wilde, quoted in Leifer, 1997)
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Top Three Main Engineering Work Activities

• Engineering Total
• Design 36
• Computer applications 31
• Management 29

• Civil/Architectural
• Management 45
• Design 39
• Computer applications 20

Burton, L., Parker, L, LeBold, W. 1998. U.S.
engineering career trends. ASEE Prism, 7(9),
18-21.
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Teamwork
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• Characteristics of Effective Teams
• ?
• ?

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A team is a small number of people with
complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose, performance goals, and approach
for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable SMALL NUMBER COMPLEMENTARY
SKILLS COMMON PURPOSE PERFORMANCE GOALS
COMMON APPROACH MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY --Katzen
bach Smith (1993) The Wisdom of Teams
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Cooperative Learning is instruction that involves
people working in teams to accomplish a common
goal, under conditions that involve both positive
interdependence (all members must cooperate to
complete the task) and individual and group
accountability (each member is accountable for
the complete final outcome). Key
Concepts Positive Interdependence Individual
and Group Accountability Face-to-Face Promotive
Interaction Teamwork Skills Group Processing
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• Teamwork Skills
• Communication
• Listening and Persuading
• Decision Making
• Conflict Management
• Leadership

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Group Processing Plus/Delta Format
Delta (?) Things Group Could Improve
Plus () Things That Group Did Well
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• Professor's Role in
• Formal Cooperative Learning
• Specifying Objectives
• Making Decisions
• Explaining Task, Positive Interdependence, and
  Individual Accountability
• Monitoring and Intervening to Teach Skills
• Evaluating Students' Achievement and Group
  Effectiveness

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Decisions,Decisions Group size? Group
selection? Group member roles? How long to leave
groups together? Arranging the room? Providing
materials? Time allocation?
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Formal Cooperative Learning Task Groups
Perkins, David. 2003. King Arthur's Round Table
How collaborative conversations create smart
organizations. NY Wiley.
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• Formal Cooperative Learning Types of Tasks
• Jigsaw Learning new conceptual/procedural
  material
• 2. Peer Composition or Editing
• 3. Reading Comprehension/Interpretation
• 4. Problem Solving, Project, or Presentation
• 5. Review/Correct Homework
• 6. Constructive Academic Controversy
• 7. Group Tests

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Challenged-Based Learning

• Problem-based learning
• Case-based learning
• Project-based learning
• Learning by design
• Inquiry learning
• Anchored instruction

John Bransford, Nancy Vye and Helen Bateman.
Creating High-Quality Learning Environments
Guidelines from Research on How People Learn
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Problem Based Cooperative Learning Format TASK
Solve the problem(s) or Complete the
project. INDIVIDUAL Estimate answer. Note
strategy. COOPERATIVE One set of answers from
the group, strive for agreement, make sure
everyone is able to explain the strategies used
to solve each problem. EXPECTED CRITERIA FOR
SUCCESS Everyone must be able to explain the
strategies used to solve each problem. EVALUATION
Best answer within available resources or
constraints. INDIVIDUAL ACCOUNTABILITY One
member from your group may be randomly chosen to
explain (a) the answer and (b) how to solve each
problem. EXPECTED BEHAVIORS Active
participating, checking, encouraging, and
elaborating by all members. INTERGROUP
COOPERATION Whenever it is helpful, check
procedures, answers, and strategies with another
group.
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It could well be that faculty members of the
twenty-first century college or university will
find it necessary to set aside their roles as
teachers and instead become designers of learning
experiences, processes, and environments. James
Duderstadt, 1999 We never educate directly, but
indirectly by means of the environment. Whether
we permit chance environments to do the work, or
whether we design environments for the purpose
makes a great difference. John Dewey, 1906
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• Team Charter
• Team name, membership, and roles
• Team Mission Statement
• Anticipated results (goals)
• Specific tactical objectives
• Ground rules/Guiding principles for team
  participation
• Shared expectations/aspirations

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Code of Cooperation EVERY member is responsible
for the teams progress and success. Attend all
team meetings and be on time. Come
prepared. Carry out assignments on
schedule. Listen to and show respect for the
contributions of other members be an active
listener. CONSTRUCTIVELY criticize ideas, not
persons. Resolve conflicts constructively, Pay
attention, avoid disruptive behavior. Avoid
disruptive side conversations. Only one person
speaks at a time. Everyone participates, no one
dominates. Be succinct, avoid long anecdotes and
examples. No rank in the room. Respect those
not present. Ask questions when you do not
understand. Attend to your personal comfort
needs at any time but minimize team
disruption. HAVE FUN!! ? Adapted from Boeing
Aircraft Group Team Member Training Manual
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Ten Commandments An Affective Code of
Cooperation Help each other be right, not
wrong. Look for ways to make new ideas work,
not for reasons they won't. If in doubt, check
it out! Don't make negative assumptions about
each other. Help each other win, and take pride
in each other's victories. Speak positively
about each other and about your organization at
every opportunity. Maintain a positive mental
attitude no matter what the circumstances. Act
with initiative and courage, as if it all depends
on you. Do everything with enthusiasm it's
contagious. Whatever you want give it away.
Don't lose faith. Have fun Ford Motor
Company