Comparison of Chinese and British Cooperative Learning

1 Introduction

The theme I planed to talk about is cooperative learning in the classroom.As Schmuck （1985） stated，“Among the prominent institutions of our society，the schools are least characterised by co-operative activity.”，so cooperation is a main element in education and cooperative activities play a vital role as an effective learning method.Jolliffe （2007） demonstrated that learning cooperatively shows three categories of advantages： achievement，interpersonal relationships and psychological health.Students acquire greater productivity and collaborative skills.The communication with other students also promote interpersonal relationships.Besides，cooperative learning benefits their individual characters such as a sense of responsibility，sharing and self-confidence.Therefore，cooperative learning in the classroom is extremely important for us to make a good use of.

In China，teacher-led class is predominant in the past years.However，after realizing the importance of group work，teachers begin to implement cooperative learning in class which leads to satisfactory outcome among students.For example，my high school teachers have never arranged group work while lecturers in the college usually apply cooperative work in their teaching.I think highly of its advantages so I choose to analyse the different situations of cooperative learning between UK and China so that I could explore some strategies to promote the application of cooperative learning in China.

2 Comparison

Cooperative learning in China is not a very mature learning strategies.However，according to my experience in China，teachers are starting to bring cooperative learning into their class.Compared with my observations about cooperative learning，there are some similarities and differences between that in the UK and China.

For the similarities，I think UK and China share the similar teaching targets.They both use cooperative learning as one of the methods to improve students ability.They aim at enhancing students acquisition of knowledge and develop students social skill such as communication，self-regulation，confidence and so on.Another similarity is that group discussion is the mostly used step of cooperative learning in both UK and China because discussion is an indispensable part of a successful group task.Students need to discuss to exchange ideas and move forward their group work.

Nevertheless，according to my observation，there are more differences，which are listed as follow.

2.1 Students Number for One Class

About 15-20 in the UK； Around 50 in China.

2.2 Classroom Layout

Observation in the UK：①C hairs and desks are movable.Students can move the position according to their needs；②Students are expected to sit in groups.For small groups，they sit around a table while for larger groups， students always put several desks together to make squares；③There are many portraitures，teachers feedback and students assignments on the wall.These pictures and papers are changeable according to different class contents.The atmosphere is helpful for motivating students to get involved in group activities.Observation in China：①Chairs and desks are immovable.There is little space to move because classrooms are crowded；②Students always sit in rows toward a direction with teachers desk in front of the class.When there is a group activity，students prefer to turn around and talk with their neighbors；③Most classrooms only have classroom regulation posters on the wall.Recently，students begin to decorate classroom by putting up inspiring mottos.

2.3 Facilities in classrooms

In the UK，almost every classroom is equipped with computers for teachers and even for students.Sometimes，tools for group work are provided.For example，if there is a task to draw a picture，teachers will prepare painting brushes and drawing paper.

In China，computers are installed in classrooms for teachers only.Because of limited budget and less attention on group activities，schools seldom provide facilities for group work.

2.4 Main Cooperative Learning Types

Role play，group drawing，group presentation，group discussion in the UK； Group presentation，group discussion in China.

2.5 Frequency of Cooperative Learning

3～4 times in one class hour in the UK； Mainly teachers-oriented and occasionally cooperative learning in China.

2.6 Strategies to Manage Cooperative Learning

Observation in the UK：①Separate students into group according to their gender，personality and academic levels；②Reasonable group size；③Appropriate time limit；④Encourage students by interest.

Observation in China：①Form nearby students into one group；②Students have the choice to select partners；③Random selection；④Encourage students by grades.

2.7 Students reaction

In the UK，students are enthusiastic about group task.They devote themselves voluntarily and actively.In China，students are accustomed to individual learning.During discussion，they cannot fully focus on group task but chat about irrelevant things.

2.8 Teachers involvement

In the UK，teachers always walk around to give necessary assistance.Sometimes，teachers get themselves engaged in the group work.In China，teachers prefer to be isolated from group work.

3 Conclusion

From the comparison of cooperative learning in the UK and China，it can be seen that the implement of cooperative learning in Chinese class is much backward.Chinese teachers and educationalists should improve themselves in the using of cooperative learning strategies in teaching.We teachers in China have the responsibility to advocate the prevalence of cooperative learning.Therefore，I would like to draw peoples attention on cooperative learning and hope most teachers master the strategies to manage cooperative learning in China.

References

[1]Jolliffe，W.Cooperative Learning in the Classroom，Putting it into Practice[J].London：Paul Chapman Publishing，2007.

[2]Schmuck，R.A.In：Slavin E.R.（Ed） Learning to cooperate，Cooperating to learn[J].New York：Plenum，1985.

作者簡介

郟郁文（1992.06—），女，漢，河南鄭州人，河南水利與環境職業學院，助教/碩士，研究方向：英語教育。