Teaching Agriculture In Secondary Schools
AEE 535


Class 7:
Cooperative Learning
Learning Objectives:
Objectives: After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
    Explain the difference between cooperative learning and simply working in groups.
    Explain the rationale behind cooperative learning as a teaching methodology.
    Describe potential benefits of cooperative learning.
    Describe 3 different forms of cooperative learning.
    Design a lesson that utilizes cooperative learning techniques.
Instructional
Activities:

Complete the Cooperative Learning Pretest.
Read the outline on Cooperative Learning Models. This summarizes information on characteristics of Cooperative Learning and different forms of Cooperative Learning.
Read the article by David Johnson and Roger Johnson in Theory Into Practice titled, "Making Cooperative Learning Work." This article is available on-line using the NCSU Library electronic journal search. Directions for locating the article are:
1. Go to the NCSU home page: www.ncsu.edu. Click on Libraries.
2. At the Libraries page, click on E-journal Finder. This should bring up a search prompt.
3. In the Journal Title box, type Theory Into Practice. Click Search.
4. Use Business Search Elite or Academic Search Elite. This will connect you to EBSCO.
5. The journal article you are looking for was in an issue that was published in 1999. In the View Issue list below, click on the link +1999.
6. The article is in Volume 38, Issue 2 - Spring99. You should find the article listed. Click on Full Text to read the article or print it.
An article in Science Teacher describes how Paul Paino, a classroom teacher, has implemented cooperative learning in his classroom. Read this article, Games Students Play, for some ideas on using cooperative learning.
Assignments:

Develop a learning activity on an agricultural topic that utilizes a form of cooperative learning as the basic approach to teaching. The activity may be limited to a single day of instruction, but should show all of the activities involved in cooperative learning for that topic. Note: Be sure to include, as a part of your lesson plan, the role of specific members of the cooperative learning group. For example, if you decide you will have groups of 6 students, there should be 6 roles group members. This is not to be considered a full lesson plan, but you should include the intended outcome (what they should have learned) along with the procedure followed. The intent is to show that you know how to organize a cooperative learning activity.

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