Educational assessment of cooperative learning in the CL/LC Program: cooperating to learn, learning to cooperate
Author(s):
Mila Naranjo (presenting / submitting) Verónica Jiménez (presenting)
Conference:
ECER 2014
Network:
09. Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement
Format:
Paper

Session Information

09 SES 10 B, Impact and Perceptions of Assessment

Paper Session

Time:
2014-09-04
15:30-17:00
Room:
B012 Anfiteatro
Chair:
Sirkku Kupiainen

Contribution

This paper presents some of the conclusions we arrived when we developed a research about the assessment made by teacher using cooperative learning in their class[1]. The main aim of the research was known the current state about assessment made by the teachers who have been participating in a counselling process on CL/LC Program (cooperating to learn/learning to cooperate)[2] developed by the Research Group on Care Diversity (GRAD) at the University of Vic.

The research is rooted in inclusion concept as the real students diversity in the classroom wherewith the educational inclusion has to respect and value individual differences (Ainscow, 2001). In this concept of diversity is based the interactionist conception of the individual differences and the teaching methods adapting as the most appropriate educational response (Coll and Miras, 2001).

Learning is defined as a personal knowledge construction and the instruction as a help process in this personal construction (Coll, 2001; Colomina and Onrubia, 2001), so the students are potential agents of educational assistance.

Cooperative learning is based in constructivism conception that under certain conditions can influence in the students socialization and their academic performance (Colomina and Onrubia, 2001; Colomina, Onrubia and Rochera, 2001). Ainscow (2001) proposed peer interaction with different characteristics like one of the main drivers of learning, and cooperative learning contributes to the progress of all students and the development of more inclusive classrooms. In that way, the CL/LC Program (Pujolàs et al., 2011) proposes three intervention ambits: A. group cohesion, B. cooperative learning: a resource to learn curriculum and C. cooperative learning: teaching and learning content. This program is taken to schools through a counselling process based in three stages during three school courses (Lago and Pujolàs, 2011).

Educational assessment has to be considered as a inherent part of the teaching and learning process and, considering that the program propose a cooperative learning by heterogen teamwork, it is necessary to develop an inclusive assessment with pedagogical function  (Coll, Rochera, Mayordomo and Naranjo, 2008) that allows adjust educational assistance to students and improve the teaching task (Álvarez Méndez, 2001; Coll, Barberà and Onrubia, 2000). Educational assessment is not an easy task because teachers have to make a judgment of value and it contents two different function that cause pressure - social function and pedagogical function-  (Coll, Barberà and Onrubia, 2000) moreover, changing the activity structure in classrooms, makes the assessment becomes more difficult.

The main assumption is that teachers who are involved in the counselling process and implement the CL/LC Program in their classrooms percieve the assessment as a difficulty.

[1] This study is the results of a research unpublished: Jiménez, V. (2012) The assessment of cooperative learning in Program CL/LC: cooperating to learn, learning to cooperate. Original title: L’avaluació de l’aprenentatge cooperatiu al Programa CA/AC: cooperar per aprender, aprendre a cooperar. University of Vic, Vic, Spain.

[2] The CL/LC Program: cooperating to learn, learning to cooperate is the result of a research project title “PAC Project: inclusive didactic program to attend students individual needs in classroom”. Main researcher: Dr. Pere Pujolàs.  It was financed by General Direction Research and Management National Plan I+D+I of Ministry of Science and Education of the Government of Spain. (Ref: SEJ2006-01495/EDUC).

Method

Research approach is a psychoeducational perspective about the research process using case study to analyze and perceive educational practices to promotes improvements, without focus on quantitative or qualitative methodology but to obtain a contextual comprehension about study aims (Coll and Solé, 2001; Diaz Barriga, 2007; Flick, 2011). The case study was of 19 school centres of childhood education, elementary education and secondary education that participate in counselling process about the CL/LC Program in their first stage. Teachers participating in the process, use research tools developed by members of GRAD, to think over their own educational practice as they implement three program ambits. Every tool has similar features and asks for different issues in order to obtain information on educational decisions made about program implementation. Data collection in this research was the answers given by teachers only about the assessment in using cooperative structures to organize the educational activities during a didactic unit. Using this standard, data collection of 708 tools analized was: - Initial questionnaire: we use the answers that contain assessment related aspects and we formed a category system grouped in difficulties or improvements to assess the student’s progress in their learning process or in self-assessment. - Self-reports (2 and 3): this tool allows identify 13 finalities using a cooperative structure in different parts of a didactic unit. We link the finality with the structure used and the educational stage for each didactic unit moment. - Self-report (4): we use the answer that contains related aspects about difficulties or improvements about self-assessment or peer assessment made by students and the connecting link with the final assessment made by teachers.

Expected Outcomes

Data collection suggests some initial conclusions about teacher assessment implementing CL/LC Program. First of all, 75% of them perceived as a difficulty the individual assessment and team assessment, caused by insecurity or unspoken causes. The CL/LC Program includes self-assessment in “C ambit” and teachers consider it very important to get responsability to students and make them take part of their own learning process. In “B ambit”, only 2% of the teachers used cooperative structures with an assessment aim. The 81% use cooperative structures at the start of didactic unit to know previous knowledge of students but they didn't use the product to adjust didactic program. During the didactic unit, teachers didn't use an assessment finality to take decisions about educational assistance and in the end of the didactic unit, the 19% of teachers used cooperative structures with final assessment aim. The investigation suggests some important appreciations about assessment. On the one hand, educational assessment has to be considerate as an inherent element of teaching and learning process that provides information about decisions to make concerning the educative practices design and their developement. On the other hand, results allowed understand the requirement to develop an inclusive assessment respectful with diversity and cooperative learning values. Finally, requirement of develop an assessment understood as educative practices capacity to give an adjusted response to the real students features and helps them through an inclusive assessment to learn more and better.

References

Ainscow, M. (2001). Desarrollo de escuelas inclusivas: ideas, propuestas y experiencias para mejorar las instituciones escolares. Madrid: Narcea ediciones. Álvarez, J.M. (2001). Evaluar para conocer, examinar para excluir. Madrid: Morata. Colomina, R. & Onrubia, J. (2001). Interacción educativa y aprendizaje escolar: la interacción entre alumnos. In Coll, C.; Palacios, J. & Marchesi, Á. Desarrollo psicológico y educación. 2. Psicología de la educación escolar. (pp. 415-434). Madrid: Alianza. Colomina, R.; Onrubia, J. & Rochera, Mª. J. (2001). Interactividad, mecanismos de influencia educativa y construcción del conocimiento en el aula. In Coll, C.; Palacios, J. & Marchesi, Á. Desarrollo psicológico y educación. 2. Psicología de la educación escolar. (pp. 437-456). Madrid: Alianza. Coll, C.; Barberà, E. & Onrubia, J. (2000). La atención a la diversidad en las prácticas de evaluación. In Infancia y aprendizaje, 90, 111-132. Coll, C. (2001). Constructivismo y educación: la concepción constructivista de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. In C. Coll, J. Palacios & A. Marchesi (Comps.). Desarrollo psicológico y educación 2. Psicología de la educación escolar. (pp.157-185). Madrid: Alianza. Coll, C. & Miras, M. (2001). Diferencias individuales y atención a la diversidad en el aprendizaje escolar. In C. Coll, J. Palacios, y A. Marchesi, (Eds) Desarrollo psicológico y educación, Vol.2. (pp. 331-356). Madrid: Alianza Coll, C. & Solé, I. (2001). Enseñar y aprender en el contexto del aula. In C. Coll, J. Palacios & A. Marchesi (Comps.). Desarrollo psicológico y educación 2. Psicología de la educación escolar. (pp.357-386). Madrid: Alianza. Coll, C.; Rochera, M. J.; Mayordomo, R. & Naranjo, M. (2008). La evaluación continuada como instrumento para el ajuste de la ayuda pedagógica y la enseñanza de competencias de autoregulación. In Cuadernos de docencia universitaria. Barcelona: ICE. Díaz Barriga, F. (2007). La investigación psicoeducativa en la perspectiva sociocultural: algunas aproximaciones y retos. In Sembrando ideas (Revista educativa electrónica de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), 1, 35-43. Flick, U. (2011). Introducing research methodology. A beginner’s guide to doing a research project. Londres: SAGE Publications Ltd. Lago, J.R. & Pujolàs, P. (2011). El asesoramiento para el aprendizaje cooperativo en la escuela. In Martin, E. & Onrubia, J. (coords.).Orientación educativa. Procesos de innovación y mejoras de la enseñanza (pp.121-138). Barcelona: Graó. Pujolàs, P.; Lago, J.R.; Naranjo, M.; Riera, G,;Olmos, G.; Pedragosa, O.;Soldevila, J.; Torné, A. & Rodrigo, C. (2011). El programa CA/AC (“Cooperar per aprendre/ Aprendre a Cooperar).Internal use Working Paper unpublished at the University of Vic, Vic, Spain.

Author Information

Mila Naranjo (presenting / submitting)
University of Vic
Department of Psychology
Vic
Verónica Jiménez (presenting)
University of Vic, Spain

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