SDRA Cooperative Learning Philosophy

Cooperative Learning Philosophy

At the South Dakota Robotics Association, we view cooperative learning as integral in students' education. Just like any other skill, learning to work in partners or as a group takes time and energy to perfect. Students who can work well with others often have a better self-esteem, an easier school and work experience, and find activities more fun. Content mastery also jumps with cooperative learning. Engineering is about creativity and unique ideas - bouncing those ideas off a partner provides invaluable insight and reflection for students.

We incorporate cooperative learning into each curriculum level based on our refined stepped partnership model. Although the levels build on one another, they also fit with students' developmental readiness; learning good partnership techniques can begin at any age.

For the youngest students, our classes are designed for partnering with a parent or other trusted adult. This setup allows the students to adjust to the idea of partnering and sharing by working with a grownup instead of another child who would vie for time with the building elements. The students get most of the play and build time, able to have control of their own space and pieces. Parents help them build, but the students are the main engineers. The parents are a guide and partner through the process; the students practice being a partner by listening to parental suggestions.

Our elementary level increases the partnership. Each student works with a peer to build the model following the building guide. The model is separated into two sections; each student builds one piece, and then they put them together. They work as a team in assisting each other with the build, incorporating the two pieces into one, and then testing their models. These young students are still able to feel they have an integral role because they are independently building for the first section of the class, but then work with their partner to achieve the final result.

By the time a student reaches the NXT Robotics level, they are ready for a full partnership model. In the robotics classes, the pairs work as a unit, designing, engineering, and testing their robots. Each student is integrally involved in all the aspects of the challenge, and as a team, the two decide what the best solution will be. Although it is often difficult to sustain a perfect partnership, students do discover that two heads are better than one, and learn to value the contributions of their partner.