Four More Instructional Alternatives: Cooperative Learning, Discovery Learning, Constructivism and Direct Instruction
Four More Instructional Alternatives: Cooperative Learning, Discovery Learning, Constructivism and Direct Instruction
In a number of classrooms in which you have been a student, there has probably been a degree, perhaps a high degree, of competition among your peers. After all, nearly everyone in a class wants to get a good grade, and usually there are not enough to go around. Competition for good grades, however, may result in jealousy, even hostility, among learners. In an effort to reduce or eliminate competition and, relatedly, to build a sense of community, educators have searched for less competitive, nonconfrontational instructional alternatives. Mostly, they find some form of group work a suitable alternative. The group work of choice now is cooperative learning.
