Group Investigation Expands Cooperative Learning

The “Group Investigation Expands Cooperative Learning” model, described by Yael Sharan and Shlomo Sharan, is a type of collaborative learning that groups students for research based on their common interest in a topic. The group members work together to plan the research topic, and then they divide the teamwork among individual members for independent individual research, and finally, the group synthesizes and summarizes all members’ research, and presents the results to the class. During the whole process, the teacher works only as a guide, providing a wide range of topics for students to choose from, brainstorming and stimulating students to think and raise questions about the topic, and helping them to pick a topic. The teacher may also work with the students to prepare the final evaluation standard. It is a truly group work.

There are six stages in the process, which can last from a week to a few months:
Stage 1: Identify the topic and form the student group.
Stage 2: Plan the investigation in groups. Present subtopics. The team decides which to pick for research, and how to cooperate. Then, internally organize the subtopics.
Stage 3: Carry out the investigation (both collectively and individually).
Stage 4: Prepare a final report.
Stage 5: Present the final report.
Stage 6: Evaluation.

According to the authors’ research data, Group Investigation works much better than the traditional classroom-teaching model. It is efficient because it gives students more control over their learning. Students have the freedom to choose a topic they like, and group together based on their common interests, and to plan and carry out the research on their own. They teach and help each other in order to complete the final project. It has the advantage of both teamwork and individual work. It includes contributions from all the students in the group and is a result of the collective wisdom and effort of the entire team.

The limitation of this model is that it takes a rather long time to prepare and complete. It needs careful planning and plenty of flexible time. It will be difficult for a subject teacher who has to cope with the pressures of a rigid curriculum required by the school and prepare students for standardized exams. It also requires the students to have basic vocabulary, language and analytical skills to conduct the group discussion and research. This is especially true with a foreign language class. Therefore, it is not a good choice for very small kids, for example, K to 2nd graders, because they lack analytical and synthesizing skills to do the research. For younger children, a short collaborative learning activity in class is preferable; for example, read to each other during a reading class, or discuss in groups about what to write in an essay during a writing class.

From my own teaching experience, Group Investigation suits intermediate and advanced level language learners more than it does beginning language learners. I tried a similar method in my intermediate college level Mandarin course and it worked well. The way I did it was to have students give an oral presentation in pairs after every unit’s study. I gave topics related to the unit to students, and paired students up based on their language level. Each pair of students had to work out the draft for the oral presentation (a dialogue), and make sure the draft was grammatically correct. They then practiced outside the class; and finally presented to the class. Students who were on lower language levels in the class later on told me that it was very challenging for them. However, they got help from their partners, and learned a lot by doing it. What I did mainly was brainstorming at the beginning of the project and correcting their drafts during the process.

Looking back, it was a very fulfilling experience though I did not know much about collaborative learning then. I only wanted to give students chances to speak the target language in an authentic manner. Now I can see that it was successful largely because it involved and stimulated students to help each other and teach each other in a collaborative manner. Indeed, during and after my teaching the class, the atmosphere in the class was very relaxed and students usually were willing to talk because they interacted with one anther well in every unit presentation. They felt that they were sitting with their friends in the class, not strangers. My teaching would have been more effective if I had known more about Group Investigation projects. Because in the final survey I did with my students at the end of the semester, some of them said they wished they had had more chances to talk in the target language in class; Group Investigation would have created a perfect opportunity for them to speak to each other during both the discussions and final presentations.

However, I feel that Group Investigation, a long-term project that requires certain language skills in the target language, does not suit beginning language learners well. Beginning language learners need more chances to hear authentic language from the teacher, and practice under the teacher’s observation and corrective feedback. In some ESL beginning lessons (in both elementary and middle/high school settings) that I have observed, during the group work, the students were unable to conduct the discussions in English, instead, they discussed the topics in their native languages.

Recently, I went for a campus visit at a private boarding school in New York for an ESL teacher’s position. During my visit, nearly every faculty member or administrator that I met mentioned the urgent need to blend the international ESL students with American students in school. (Each group counts for about half of the student population.) The fact is that the international students tend to group together during and after classes, without opportunities to improve their English. Because of this, they also have difficulty with their content course, because they are not proficient enough in English to grasp the material as readily as the American students.

I thought about this situation and about how Cooperative Learning might be helpful, and wrote an email to the principal with my suggestions:

1) peer tutoring program
Pair the ESL learners with the American students one-to-one, based on the students’ mutual needs (like an exchange tutoring). For example, math/science/art for English.
If an ESL student is good at math, science or arts, he or she can be paired with an American student who is good at English but needs help with math, science or arts. Research shows that tutoring is the best way to learn. Give the ESL students opportunity to receive language help, meanwhile, give them the opportunity to use the English language by being tutors. School credits also can be given to American students who qualify and volunteer to be English tutors after one semester.

2) collaborative learning
Teachers can implement the collaborative learning model, which involve many collaborative learning activities among students. For example, short-term or long-term learning projects involving students’ collaborations in and outside class. The purpose is to blend students.

3) Have more ice-breaking activities or other fun activities in content classes, especially at the beginning of a new academic year. This way, the students will get to know each other quickly and be friends outside the classroom. This will also create a stress-free atmosphere in the class so the ESL students will be more willing to talk in class. It is also a good way of blending students.

With the tool of Group Investigation in hand, I feel I will do better with my future teaching, whether it be ESL or Mandarin teaching.