A Case Study Of Group Cooperative Learning In Primary Schools

Group cooperative learning can promote students' growth and development and improve the effect of class teaching, so it becomes one of the learning styles of the New Curriculum Reform and it is being widely applied in the class of primary schools. In the heterogeneous cooperative learning group, students have the same group-aim and their own roles and jobs. The group members have to interact actively and dependent on each other in order to attain the group-aim and finish the group-task and develop together.How is group cooperative learning carrying out in the class teaching? This research is a case study of group cooperative learning at Y Primary School in Pudong New District, Shanghai. It studies how group cooperative learning is carrying out in the class teaching currently. Through the way of observation, interview and conversation, we find that group cooperative learning is carrying out widely at Y Primary School. It is the first teaching style for teachers and students also accept it positively. But there are some problems that we can't neglect in the process of applying including these problems, such as the unreasonable design of the group-task, the improper time of the group-activity, the irrational composing of the group, the teachers' inappropriate instruction, the imbalance of the participation and not well cooperation, the non-cooperation in using language, and the useless evaluation of the group cooperative learning.We use action research to study how to carry out group cooperative learning effectively in the class teaching in Y Primary School on the base of analyzing the reason of the problems and using the theory of group cooperative learning. We put forward some advancing measures of group cooperative learning, for example making group cooperative learning to teachers' belief, improving teachers' ability to design group cooperative learning completely, organizing cooperative group rationally, enhancing teachers' appropriate instruction, clearing group members' job and encourage their dependence, promoting students' quality of cooperation, evaluating group-activities effectively, and reflecting after class timely.Our research is successful partly. Group cooperative learning is carrying out better in Y Primary School now. But there still some problems should be study, such as how to promote introverted students to participate in group activities positively and how to reduce competition between groups.