#AEE412 Weekly Investment 4

Objectives at higher cognitive levels requires teaching at higher cognitive levels.

The cognitive level of your objectives must align with what you teach and must align with assessment. This was a focus of the weekly readings and it's something I want to always work on and continue to improve on throughout my #TeachAg Journey. The idea makes sense. Why would you expect high levels of learning from your students, teach them at a low cognitive level, and then assess them based on your objectives? It is a recipe for frustration and giving up. Thinking back to the article we read by Fink (2003), one way to ensure this doesn't happen is to "analyze the situational factors, formulate the learning goals, design the feedback and assessment procedures, and select the teaching/learning activities." Remember, begin with the end in mind.

Cooperative Learning, when purposefully planned, provides multiple developmental benefits.

This week's readings also discussed group teaching techniques and seemed to focus on cooperative learning in particular. We participated in cooperative learning in many of my high school classes, and I have experienced both the good and the bad. One particular point that was made about how to make cooperative learning effective is how you group the students. Size definitely matters; for example, if a group is too large, students can hide and get by without having to contribute. Reading about cooperative learning made me remember my Educational Psychology class I had a few semesters back. Our professor taught us an effective way to split students up into groups that promotes learning for every student. It was all about making groups with heterogeneous skill levels so that each student benefits from the cooperative learning. But with that being said, as a teacher I think you really need to ensure that each student is participating and there isn't just one student in each group doing all of the work. There is a reason I'm not a fan of group projects in college myself, so I'm determined not to have any of my students feel the same way. According to Groseta et al., the solution to that is staying engaged throughout the entire learning process by using the three steps of monitoring: observation, intervention, and evaluation.

Do you have any strategies you use to promote effective cooperative learning? I'd love to learn more!


References:

Fink, L.D. (2003) A self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Retrieved from http://www.deefinkandassociates.com/GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf

Groseta, K.J. & Myers, B.E. (2006). Using cooperative learning in formal and conformal education. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC06200.pdf

Newcomb, L.H., McCracken, J.D., Warmbrod, J.R., & Whittington, M.S. (1993). Methods of teaching agriculture. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Whittington, M.S. (2005). Writing objectives in secondary agriculture courses that challenge students to think. Agriculture Education Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.naae.org/profdevelopment/magazine/archive_issues/Volume77/v77i5.pdf