Students having to work in groups has been a trend among teachers everywhere. When my mother was getting her teaching credential 15 years ago she learned these techniques, and they've grown into a controversial mess.
I, as I'm sure most students do, feel as though it's unfair that those who naturally work hard are doing all the work, and those who tend to slack, are just along for the ride. However, some may also say it gives a new challenge: pitching ideas to peers and working in an environment similar to the "real world"
Nevertheless, it definitely shows a lot about how our society thinks. We seem to have this obsession with what I like to call the "Robin Hood Technique", taking from those who are better off and spreading the wealth with everyone. It shows up in other issues too, such as Barack Obama's taxation plans saying that those with more money's taxes would cover those who aren't as well off. The collaborative learning process is very similar: students who work hard end up covering for the people who aren't as hard of workers.
The other thing it reveals is our fascination with preparing children for the "real world", where it's essential to communicate and work with others. Even though we probably are never going to be assigned four other people to give a presentation, the process of preparing that presentation is still useful to understand. It's comforting to think that future generations already know how to work efficiently together. Even if collaborative learning doesn't necessarily guarantee that, it still offers the possibility of succeeding generations improving the world.
Collaborative learning definitely has potential to help our society, it just has some bugs to work out. Our society wants everything to be equal and better quality, but perhaps it'd be better for us to focus on making assignments more fair and realistic.
I, as I'm sure most students do, feel as though it's unfair that those who naturally work hard are doing all the work, and those who tend to slack, are just along for the ride. However, some may also say it gives a new challenge: pitching ideas to peers and working in an environment similar to the "real world"
Nevertheless, it definitely shows a lot about how our society thinks. We seem to have this obsession with what I like to call the "Robin Hood Technique", taking from those who are better off and spreading the wealth with everyone. It shows up in other issues too, such as Barack Obama's taxation plans saying that those with more money's taxes would cover those who aren't as well off. The collaborative learning process is very similar: students who work hard end up covering for the people who aren't as hard of workers.
The other thing it reveals is our fascination with preparing children for the "real world", where it's essential to communicate and work with others. Even though we probably are never going to be assigned four other people to give a presentation, the process of preparing that presentation is still useful to understand. It's comforting to think that future generations already know how to work efficiently together. Even if collaborative learning doesn't necessarily guarantee that, it still offers the possibility of succeeding generations improving the world.
Collaborative learning definitely has potential to help our society, it just has some bugs to work out. Our society wants everything to be equal and better quality, but perhaps it'd be better for us to focus on making assignments more fair and realistic.
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