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Show Westminster College of Salt Lake City 2 Editorial The Forum by Carrie A. McCraw Forum staff writer Thursday, Oct. 19, 1995 Round Two : Cooperative Learning Give me a break already! Dont hang me at high noon for voicing an opinion shared by many other students on this campus! I have gathered my thoughts and I would like to make some clarifying statements about my editorial on cooperative learning. First of all, I do not condemn group interaction completely and without exception. That would be foolish. I have taken, and am currently taking, classes that effectively use group discussion because of the subject matter and the positive synergy of the class. At the same time, there are classes in which group interaction is not beneficial because the material leaves nothing to discussion. When certain matters of theory are being studied, theories that have been tested, challenged. endorsed and used time and again, I dont sec any need for students to sit and contemplate their validity. Second, I do uphold the importance of learning to communicate with others. It is probably the most vital lesson to be learned in college. I still contend, however, that, that lesson is one I should learn for myself. Third, I do not leam everything strictly by rote memorization. I do not think that learning style is healthy or beneficial to anyones education. I have been aided by verbalization of concepts I had trouble understanding, but verbalization doesnt have to be in a classroom with 20 other people. Because we are adults, we should know that thinking about concepts, and putting them in our own words, is one of the best ways to learn. If students dont use verbalization for help when they need it, then maybe they should take a success in college course. Finally, I will reiterate that groups of three or four are ineffective and actually have adverse effects on the flow of ideas. Humans are social animals, we want someone to agree with us. Even one person. In a group of three, two people will gang up or dominate the third in most cases. How many psychologists encourage parents to send children off to play in groups of three? I know we arent children, but the basics of human interaction still apply. I could cite a multitude of studies of small group communication. But, I am only going to cite a couple which support my thinking. Robert F. Bales reported in the early fifties that, as group size increases, the index of inhibition decreases. That means, in a larger group, people feel more comfortable talking. Bales also found that as members become more familiar with each other, inhibition drops even more in groups than in small groups, Robert T. Golembiewski said in his book, The Small Group, that peculiar problems of organi- zation occur somewhere between groups of three and seven members. He also offers findings from other studies which have proven groups of four to six members are the most satisfying. So again, I will say I feel more comfortable discussing material in classes as a whole, rather than in small groups. In a though everyone is listening to them because individual eye contact cannot be maintained between the speaker and 20 or so others. Also in a large group, peo-larpie feel less pressure to agree with others because they are not as close, physically, to the speaker, In a large group people may chose not to participate with less nega- tive feedback than in a smaller group, thus making them feel more comfortable in a discussion. Now that I have offered some deeper insight against the barrage of comments I have received, I hope everyone will think about this issue and how it applies to them. That is all I wanted people to do in the first place. Im not challenging the administration, nor am I calling for an end to interactive learning. I just want people to be cautious before fully embracing new methods for learning. ge . large group setting many people will express their opinions and thoughts more readily because a large group offers several escape options. By escape options I mean, in a large group people do not feel as Parson Poll Why is the Sky Blue? 4, Because if it was green, you wouldnt know where to stop mowing. - Daisy Lee, arts and A 4 wi "" A; To match Dennis 7 ? i ' C Rodmans hair. - Glen Spielmans, social science senator particles the air. - Jed Arveseth, ASWC president L A - V light ' v v humanities senator 'wvwftfe mV Because of the refraction of off dust in ' I. I Westminster College of Salt Lake City Christopher Thomas The Forum Production Manager Sports Editor Eric Daines Editor David Neisler BusinessAd Manager J. Dewev Brown Copy Editor Carol Nudell Photo Editor Paul Jones w Faculty Advisor Fred Fogo Writing Staff: James Baxter Marie Donovan Jackie Farnsworth Britt Fekete Karen Gage Diana Goodsell Tim Haran Shelley Heed Ann Jones Heather King Matthew Kitterer Carrie McCraw Marcella Mouskondis Arvilla Outsen Krista Pauli Carrie Price Photo Staff James Baxter Jamie Cannon Kim Herrmann The Forum is published every Tuesday. The editorial Staff encourages letters from students (please include your major), faculty and all other readers. Address all letters tot The Forum, Westminster College, 1840 So. 1300 E Salt Lake City, UT 84105, Submissions must be received one week prior to publication. Due to limited space, The Forum editors reserve the right to edit all submissions. Opinions expressed on the editorial or commentary pages are those of the writters and are not to be construed as those of the Forum, Associated, students of Westminster College, the College administration, faculty or staff. 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