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When I first discussed this article in class with a group I did not have a whole sense of the article, since I could only read the first page (the one I received). Based on the introduction of cooperative learning and the basic comparisons the authors made to individualistic and competitive learning, cooperative learning seemed to be a great concept. However, when I read the article in its entirety, I realized that the comments of another group in class raised some very good arguments; the article talks vaguely about studies but cites no specific studies to back up the information. Admittedly, my first impression of the article in class was, “Oh, this sounds like a good idea. This sounds like the authors know what they are talking about, I’ll trust them.” However, on second thought, I should have been more critical. I tend to take things and people at face value and I should be far more critical, especially of publications by authors I have not read before.
The lack of citations of specific studies to back up their point and the vague implementations for cooperative learning in the classroom do not seem to be as helpful as I would have hoped. For instance, if I were a teacher, I would not find this article helpful at all except to define cooperative learning and to list its positive points. However, the factor that bothered me the most about this article was that the author’s references consisted of only their own previous publications! I have never in my entire life seen a research article where the only references were the authors themselves. Perhaps this article was meant to be more of an opinionated piece, but it seemed to try for an objective, empirical tone without the facts and statistics to back it up. This article has taught me to look at the references page from now on and not just glance at it. Just because the list is long, that does not necessarily mean it is full of differing opinions.
Despite the problems with validity I saw in this article, cooperative learning does sound like a good educational investment. It is true that today more and more companies need employees who can work as a team to come up with ideas and solutions. However, the workplace is also competitive and cutthroat, just like much of our country’s current educational system. This article and the in-class discussion of educational motivation really made me think about why I get the grades that I do. I realized, with some dismay, that I have defined much of my self worth by my grades, and that the stress that comes with that type of expectation has probably caused me many problems. Perhaps I could benefit from a little cooperative learning, it seems less stressful and more positive than the mindset of “I have to be better than everyone else to prove my self worth.”
The lack of citations of specific studies to back up their point and the vague implementations for cooperative learning in the classroom do not seem to be as helpful as I would have hoped. For instance, if I were a teacher, I would not find this article helpful at all except to define cooperative learning and to list its positive points. However, the factor that bothered me the most about this article was that the author’s references consisted of only their own previous publications! I have never in my entire life seen a research article where the only references were the authors themselves. Perhaps this article was meant to be more of an opinionated piece, but it seemed to try for an objective, empirical tone without the facts and statistics to back it up. This article has taught me to look at the references page from now on and not just glance at it. Just because the list is long, that does not necessarily mean it is full of differing opinions.
Despite the problems with validity I saw in this article, cooperative learning does sound like a good educational investment. It is true that today more and more companies need employees who can work as a team to come up with ideas and solutions. However, the workplace is also competitive and cutthroat, just like much of our country’s current educational system. This article and the in-class discussion of educational motivation really made me think about why I get the grades that I do. I realized, with some dismay, that I have defined much of my self worth by my grades, and that the stress that comes with that type of expectation has probably caused me many problems. Perhaps I could benefit from a little cooperative learning, it seems less stressful and more positive than the mindset of “I have to be better than everyone else to prove my self worth.”