Cooperative Learning in Context: An Educational Innovation in Everyday Classrooms (Suny Series, the Social Context of Education)

Explains why powerful educational innovations like "cooperative learning" do not always reach their full potential in everyday classrooms.Cooperative Learning in Context examines the real-world implications of cooperative learning techniques used in a culturally diverse, suburban elementary school fourth grade mathematics class and sixth grade social studies class. Evelyn Jacob takes an anthropologist's eye to document not just the successes, but also the failures and missed opportunities exhibited by the participating teachers and students. Six interwoven contextual aspects that affect teaching and learning are explored: task structure, psychological and technical tools, interpersonal interactions and social relationships, individual and social meanings, local cultures and institutions, and larger cultures and institutions. In exploring the implications of the study, Jacob discusses how an understanding of contextual features can enable educators to improve the processes and outcomes of cooperative learning and other powerful educational innovations.Evelyn Jacob is Professor of Education at George Mason University. She is coeditor with Cathie Jordan of Minority Education: Anthropological Perspectives. This book examines the real-world implications of cooperative learning techniques used in a fourth-grade mathematics class and sixth-grade social studies class in a culturally diverse, suburban elementary school. The book documents not just the successes, but also the failures and missed opportunities exhibited by participating teachers and students. It explores six interwoven contextual aspects that affect teaching and learning (task structure, psychological and technical tools, interpersonal interactions and social relationships, individual and social meanings, local cultures and institutions, and larger cultures and institutions). In exploring the implications of the study, the book discusses how an understanding of contextual features can enable educators to improve the processes and outcomes of cooperative learning and other powerful educational innovations. There are 9 chapters: (1) "Studying the Contexts of Cooperative Learning," (2) "Cooperative Learning," (3) "The Larger Setting," (4) "Teams-Games-Tournaments in Fourth Grade Mathematics," (5) "Learning Together in Sixth Grade Social Studies," (6) "Acquiring English in Content Classes," (7) "Context and Cooperative Learning," (8) "Practicing Cooperative Learning in Context," and (9) "Toward Contextually-Sensitive Approaches to Educational Innovations." (SM) "Cooperative Learning in Context examines the real-world implications of cooperative learning techniques used in a culturally diverse, suburban elementary school fourth grade mathematics class and sixth grade social studies class. Evelyn Jacob takes an anthropologist's eye to document not just the successes, but also the failures and missed opportunities exhibited by the participating teachers and students. In exploring the implications of the study, Jacob discusses how an understanding of contextual features can enable educators to improve the processes and outcomes of cooperative learning and other powerful educational innovations."--Jacket