Introduction, week 2
2. Connecting After getting some of the apprehensions and general scepticism off my chest, I feel ready to approach this course with a more open mind. And it is encouraging that the question I asked in my first post is (somewhat) addressed in the reading material for this week. Davidson and Howell Major's (2014) article on group learning seems like a good starting-point. The two authors distinguish among three types of group learning. As the title of their article suggests, these are coöperative learning, collaborative learning, team-based learning and problem-based learning. All four approaches are constructivist in nature, but to different degrees, it seems. The coöoperative approach is the one I am best familiar with from before and have used in my own classrooms. What I like about this kind of group work is that I still have some control over what my students learn (p. 14). When students work together in groups, typically with study questions, they sometimes move superfi...