The rapidity of change in education has intensified in recent years. With the emergence of ‘co-operative schools’ and a new framework focusing heavily on co-operation, a direct challenge to ways of thinking about education, at both school and university level, has developed. Co-operation, Learning and Co-operative Values addresses the urgent need to describe, analyse and assess the growth of co-operative education. The relationship between co-operation and education is a complex process and this book critically reflects on the tensions and obstacles facing this movement. It brings together the contributions of academics and practitioners from a range of backgrounds, and explores topics including: Theories and histories of co-operative values and principles Critical views of the practice of co-operative education Case studies of processes in action from both schools and higher education Co-operative education in a wider context This book provides an essential introduction to a new and expanding area of research with chapters by many leading commentators in education. It will be of interest to researchers and educators interested in education and social policy.

A comprehensive guide for teachers of all experience levels Engaging and effective Easy to use in your own classroom Have you ever wondered how to make cooperative learning work in your classroom? Are you still learning what cooperative learning is? If so, then this book is for you! This teaching guide will coach the reader through using cooperative learning techniques in their classroom. Useful for administrations and teachers alike, The Teacher’s Sourcebook for Cooperative Learning provides tools for instruction, creating positive habits, and having effective classroom management. This manual belongs on each teacher’s bookshelf.

Active learning is now a form of learning that accompanies the knowledge evolution that challenges the learner to promote it, but also encourages him to investigate and become emotionally involved in the task. The great key to obtaining this behavior successfully depends, therefore, on the subject's involvement and ability to undertake, so that active learning becomes emotional entrepreneurial learning that generates new ideas and new forms of knowledge. From memorization, we move on to inquiry, from questioning to constructive participation, from hypostasis to problem-solving, from generalization to critical thinking. When we look at this book, we see real examples, concrete, and senses, from the most important act of human nature: learning!

Winner of the 2004 Critics' Choice Award presented by the American Educational Studies Association Teacher educators from ten institutions and programs in the United States, Canada, and Germany describe the ways in which they have changed teacher preparation to more fully incorporate cooperative learning concepts. Analytical commentaries on the programs highlight the learning experience of these programs as well as underlying issues of needed reforms in teacher education. Included among best practices in education, cooperative learning may require a shift in program philosophy and disciplinary areas to meet the challenge of complex organizations and diverse student populations. As the essays in the volume demonstrate, a new alignment of field experiences to provide support for novices to implement cooperative strategies, and to receive timely and effective supervision for these attempts, may also be required.

The Big Picture in a MiniBook! Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures have revolutionized the way tens of thousands of teachers teach. Students achieve remarkable academic gains and acquire a range of social skills. Discipline problems disappear. And teaching and learning are fun! To good to be true? No. The data is in! This MiniBook reveals the secret to success. With no change in your curriculum, and with no specials materials, you will transform your class and your career. It is easy! Read this MiniBook and join the instructional revolution.

Practice-based learning—the kind of education that comes from experiencing real work in real situations—has always been a prerequisite to qualification in professions such as medicine. However, there is growing interest in how practice-based models of learning can assist the initial preparation for and further development of skills for a wider range of occupations. Rather than being seen as a tool of first-time training, it is now viewed as a potentially important facet of professional development and life-long learning. This book provides perspectives on practice-based learning from a range of disciplines and fields of work. The collection here draws on a wide spectrum of perspectives to illustrate as well as to critically appraise approaches to practice-based learning. The book’s two sections first explore the conceptual foundations of learning through practice, and then provide detailed examples of its implementation. Long-standing practice-based approaches to learning have been used in many professions and trades. Indeed, admission to the trades and major professions (e.g. medicine, law, accountancy) can only be realised after completing extended periods of practice in authentic practice settings. However, the growing contemporary interest in using practice-based learning in more extensive contexts has arisen from concerns about the direct employability of graduates and the increasing focus on occupation-specific courses in both vocations and higher education. It is an especially urgent issue in an era of critical skill shortages, rapidly transforming work requirements and an aging workforce combined with a looming shortage of new workforce entrants. We must better understand how existing models of practice-based learning are enacted in order to identify how they can be applied to different kinds of employment and workplaces. The contributions to this volume explore ways in which learning through practice can be conceptualised, enacted, and appraised through an analysis of the traditions, purposes, and processes that support this learning—including curriculum models and pedagogic practices.

This book helps teachers understand the links between cooperative learning (also known as collaborative learning and peer learning) and other student-centered approaches. It discusses cooperative learning and communities of practice; cooperative learning and neuroscience; cooperative learning and critical thinking; cooperative learning and alternative assessment; cooperative learning and multiple intelligence; cooperative learning and positive education; cooperative learning and meeting the needs of introverts; and cooperative learning and justice issues, with each chapter exploring a different aspect of how education can be student centered. If you are looking for a fresh perspective on cooperative learning, this book is for you. It helps you explore how cooperative learning is so much more than just asking students to arrange themselves in a group, and considers how cooperative learning can fit with other areas of education that you care about. Although the two authors both completed their PhDs in the West, they have taught in Asia for the past 25+ years, working with students and teachers from a wide variety of Asian and other countries, and with teachers from a very wide variety of content areas who teach students of many different ages.