As with any instructional
strategy, planning for active/cooperative learning classroom
activities begins with looking at the knowledge and the
skills that students should develop as a result of the
lesson. If A/CL is appropriate to that development, then the
task of creating effective team activities begins.
Well-designed team assignments give students a specific
task, such as solving a problem, creating a model, or
comparing and contrasting. To a certain extent, they also
provide a set of instructions or guidelines that describe
how students should work together. Finally, the lesson
should include some sort of class-wide debriefing or closure
activity in which students are randomly called upon the
present the team’s work. This helps to both build in
individual accountability for participation and to ensure
that all students understood the material and are ready to
work with it independently.
Deciding to Use
Active/Cooperative Learning (A/CL)
Preparing for
Active/Cooperative Learning (A/CL)
Deciding to
Use Active/Cooperative Learning (A/CL)
Cooperative learning is one
of many effective instructional strategies that faculty may
choose to employ. Here, Darwyn Linder and Karl Smith offer
suggestions about the types of tasks that are best suited to
teamwork.
 Darwyn
Linder
Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology
Arizona State University
 Karl
Smith
Professor of Civil Engineering
Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota
Hear Richard Felder discuss
how cooperative learning relates to other instructional
strategies:
Richard Felder
Hoechst Celanese Professor Emeritus, Department
of Chemical Engineering
North Carolina State University
Our faculty also talked about
how A/CL activities can be used in conjunction with other
instructional strategies, especially lecture:
Ron Roedel
Professor of Electrical Engineering
Arizona State University
Russ
Pimmel
Professor of Electrical Engineering
University of Alabama
Don
Richards
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Jim
Richardson
Associate Professor in the Civil Engineering
Department
University of Alabama
We asked faculty to talk
about how often they use A/CL strategies. As we drew upon an
experienced group of practitioners, all expressed that they
try to use some form of active engagement in every class:
Greg Raupp
Associate Dean for Research, Engineering
College
Arizona State University
Jim Morgan
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University
Teri Rhoads
Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering
University of Oklahoma
Veronica Burrows
Associate Professor of Chemical and Materials
Engineering
Arizona State University
Some also acknowledged,
however, that old habits are hard to break.
P.K.
Imbrie
Assistant Professor of Engineering, Department
of Freshman Engineering
Purdue University
Preparing for
Active/Cooperative Learning (A/CL)
Faculty perceptions of
preparing for active/cooperative learning differed
enormously. Some said it was extremely different from
preparing for a lecture; some said it was the same process.
Some said it took longer; others said it was much easier.
Veronica
Burrows
Associate Professor of Chemical and Materials
Engineering
Arizona State University
P.K. Imbrie
Assistant Professor of Engineering, Department
of Freshman Engineering
Purdue University
Jim Morgan
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
Texas A&M University
Eric Guilbeau/Vince Pizziconi
Eric Guilbeau: Chair, Bioengineering Department
Arizona State University
Vince Pizziconi: Associate Professor of
Bioengineering
Arizona State University
Richard Layton
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Cesar Malave
Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering
Texas A&M University
Russ Pimmel
Professor of Electrical Engineering
University of Alabama
Greg Raupp
Associate Dean for Research, Engineering
College
Arizona State University |
