Draft version Implementing Cooperative Learning: A Dutch Staff Development Program

this paper is to describe the characteristics of this school improvement program on CL, but first we will discuss the features and effects of CL and some research findings regarding the use of CL in Dutch primary schools. Features and Effects of CL Simply placing pupils in groups and telling them to work together does not in and of itself produce a cooperative effort. There are many ways in which such an unstructured group effort can go wrong. Seating pupils together can produce competition or still result in individualistic learning. According to Johnson and Johnson (1994), teachers must understand the nature of cooperation and the essential components of a well-structured cooperative lesson in order to effectively use CL. Teachers with real expertise in the use of CL include five essential components in their instructional activities: (1) positive interdependence, (2) individual accountability, (3) promotive, face-to-face, interaction, (4) social skills and (5) group processing (Johnson & Johnson, 1994; 1999

EFFECTS OF GROUP COMPOSITION ON COOPERATIVE LEARNING PROCESSES

Over the past decades, research has demonstrated the potential of cooperative learning (CL) to enhance students ’ academic achievement and social relations (Cohen, 1994, Johnson & Johnson, 1999; Slavin, 1995). However, much of what is learned appears to depend on just how the students interact during cooperative work (Fuchs, Fuchs, Hamlett, & Karns, 1998

Introduction Cooperative Learning as a Form of Active Learning in Dutch Primary Schools 1

Introduction The development of the capacity for autonomous life-long learning calls for a special kind of learning, which is often called "active learning." The importance of active learning has recently been affirmed in a publication from the Dutch governmental committee responsible for the formulation of the guidelines for the restructuring of secondary education in The ########################################################### ############################################################################################### Netherlands (Stuurgroep Profiel Tweede Fase Voortgezet Onderwijs, 1994). The pedagogical and organizational changes that this committee proposes are summarised by the concept of "the school as a study house." This includes the notions of self-regulated learning, interactive teaching and learning, and the active participation of students in the achievement of learning outcomes. Improvement of the quality of student study and active student learning will be the ce

Student

elaborations in face-to-face versus computer-mediated-communication learning situation

Coöperatief leren in het voortgezet onderwijs: evaluatie van een scholingsprogramma

In this study, the implementation effects of a course on cooperative learning for secondary school teachers are described. Based on pre- and post-course observations, a significant treatment effect was found for a number of basic elements regarded as essential for a lesson activity to be cooperative, such as positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, social skills and monitoring group work. The pupils taught by the treatment teachers showed positive attitudes towards working in groups and rated the benefits of working in groups relative to working alone quite positively

The training of coaching skills: An implementation study

Contains fulltext : 28715.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)In this study, the implementation effects of a programme for the training of coaching skills with Dutch school counsellors are described. These school counsellors are expected to provide help and support to primary school teachers. Coaching is a form of in-class support intended to provide teachers with feedback on their own functioning and thereby stimulate self-reflection and self-analysis in order to improve instructional effectiveness. To assist school counsellors in their attempts to coach teachers, a training programme was designed: 'The school counsellor as coach'. A quasi-experimental, treatment-control group investigation was then set up to test the effects of this programme. Based on the pre- and post-training ratings of coaching conferences, a significant treatment effect was found for the coaching skills concerned with the development of autonomy (empowerment), feedback, and purposefulness. The pre- and posttraining ratings from coached teachers showed no significant treatment effects. This was because the teachers were not accustomed to in-class assistance and thus rated the coaching skills of the school counsellors quite favourably even at pre-test