THE IMPACT OF INTEGRATING COOPERATIVE-LEARNING STRATEGIES IN A GRADE 11-12 GEOLOGY COURSE AT A DIVERSE SUBURBAN HIGH SCHOOL

A series of content based cooperative-learning lessons utilizing methodologies from Johnson & Johnson and Kagan were created and integrated into the curriculum of a grade 11-12 Physical Geology course in a very diverse suburban high school over a period of two years. The primary objectives were to increase the depth of student understanding of geoscience concepts by increasing students' connections and interactions with the curriculum, and to increase student scores in science on local and standardized assessments, including the ACT.

Base groups were established at the start of the school year to foster the development of students' social skills and goal setting. Informal and formal cooperative work teams were established to facilitate greater connections to the curriculum and to provide a daily structure for working on classroom activities. This poster will detail examples of several lessons using a variety of methodologies such as (Kagan structures) Give-one, Get-one, Showdown, Picking Stickies and Quiz-Quiz-Trade, and (Johnson & Johnson strategies) Jigsaw and Academic Controversy.

To test the effectiveness of the integration of cooperative-learning lessons student performance was measured on local and standardized assessments. Students were also surveyed regarding their attitudes and experiences with the lessons. Students report benefiting from increased opportunities to interact with the content through dialogue with their teacher and peers, the use of technology, and opportunities to view and create visuals. Students recognize increased instances when cooperative lessons require them to think critically, extrapolate, and critically analyze information presented to them to complete their task, instead of following a set of perfunctory directions or filling in worksheets which hinder the development of concepts and higher order thinking skills beyond a mechanistic understanding.