| With rapid advancement of science and technology,it often involves multiple areas of expertise to solve a scientific problem in one discipline.Individual efforts that were sufficient in the past have become inadequate and are replaced with team work.In the current elite education system,college entrance examination is a main selection criterion for talents.Consequently students tend to have a more sense of competition,but lack of cooperation in this type of education system.There is still a lack of theoretical research and active practice in cooperative learning in China.The concept of cooperative group learning was introduced to teaching and learning high-school biology using the theoretical framework based on the characteristics of high-school biology and practical constrains of our school.Two classes in our school were selected for this study.The study was carefully designed based on the theories of cooperative group learning and took half a year to complete.The students in the selected class were divided into various groups based on predetermined criteria.All the students were introduced to the cooperative group learning model and also trained in cooperation and communication skills.Appropriate learning activities were assigned to the students taking into account of practice considerations.Teachers provided guidance during the learning process.Finally the cooperative groups showcased their end results for evaluation by the teachers.Hopefully this teaching strategy can help to nurture the sense of cooperation,enhance the interest in learning biology and improve the student performance in the academic proficiency test and college entrance examination.Upon study completion the level of cooperation in completing homework,survey results and test scores were analyzed to determine whether this teaching strategy is appropriate to our school.Reflection on teaching can further improve the strategy of cooperative group learning in the hope to identify the appropriate model for teaching and learning biology.The cooperative group learning model should be more applied to teaching and learning high-school biology;however,it should not replace other teaching models and strategies.Cooperative learning is only one of many teaching methods and should be adopted according to specific teaching materials.When the cooperative learning(e.g.,communication and discussion)is used the classroom,the lack of student engagement and “free riders” should be avoided to enhance the effectiveness of cooperative group learning. |
