Cooperative Learning Observation

Background Over the years it has been observed that the majority of persons in the world portray a negative attitude towards uniting or working together in any sort. Jamaicans on a hold always quarrel and segregate themselves from others typically because they fail to display a positive attitude towards working together. I have observed that many students that I have previously taught had a phobia when working in pairs or groups. At times they would rather quarrel because they wanted to work alone. This behavior is then transferred to adulthood as they and they will be the ones representing clubs and other communities in activities such as sports and other games that will require them to work cooperatively. According to Spencer (1994)

The school where I did my observation has a strong philosophy regarding how best students learn; it states that the teachers will encourage students to develop a critical thinking skill towards learning, so they can acquire knowledge that will help them perform at their best. The school also believed that teachers should allow students to become responsible in the learning process and this is done by allowing students to work Cooperatively. Students learn in different ways and therefore teachers should use creative methods when imparting knowledge using cooperative learning strategies (Hammond, 1996). Students were placed in groups at all times to accomplish the tasks that are given in class, this has helped the students to participate and do well in group presentations. In that it has promote a positive interdependence where each group member depends on each other to accomplish a shared goal or task. Without the help of one member the group is not able to reach the desired goal. This solution will help to promote good face-to-face interaction, promoting success of group members by praising, encouraging, supporting, or assisting each other. The purpose of cooperative learning is to enhance individual accountability where each group member is held accountable for his or her work. Individual accountability helps to prevent members from "hitchhiking" on other group members '

This is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping teammates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it.
Social Skills . ACTIVE participation by all members of a group. They are able to communicate and interact with each other cooperatively to complete a task peacefully.
Positive attitude. This helps to cope more easily with the daily affairs of life. It brings optimism into your life, and makes it easier to avoid worry and negative thinking. If you adopt it as a way of life, it will bring constructive changes into your life, and makes them happier, brighter and more successful. With a positive attitude you see the bright side of life, become optimistic and expect the best to happen. It is certainly a state of mind that is well worth developing and