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Direct Instruction VS Cooperative Grouping

Julie Aldrich
CIE 685
Dr. Jane McCarthy
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Aldrichfam4@hotmail.com












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Teachers spend hours upon hours poring over textbooks and teachers manuals trying
to develop the best plans and lessons for their students. When considering their approach,
teachers always look for the strategies and methods that are best for all of the students who are
part of their classroom as well as those that match their personal teaching style. Throughout my
career as an educator I have seen the pendulum swing back and forth several times as to what is
considered best practice in education. It seems as though there is always a hot new teaching
method that after a few years is pushed away and never heard from again. It is with these trends
in education that we begin to question our teaching strategies and begin to wonder which
methods are best to use with our students. This past year I attended a semester long course in
Clark County School District that was focused on literacy. The big push for this training was
teaching very purposefully and explicitly via direct instruction. Later that school year I attended
a training that was based on cooperative groups and strategies to use in a student centered
classroom. I walked away from both trainings very intrigued and full of excitement toward using
what I learned in my classroom. Throughout this course I have pondered which of these
different strategies is most effective and how each one would be best used with my classes.
Cooperative learning is the heart of a student centered classroom. When a classroom
operates with this type of instruction, students and the teachers share the focus. This type of
instruction is a far cry from traditional teaching methods where one person stands at a podium
and lectures the students. A cooperative group will usually consist of 2-6 members per group.
Students will work together to complete a project, solve a problem, or complete an activity.
Students and teachers will interact equally.

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According to our text, cooperative learning instills in learners, important behaviors
that can prepare them for life in the adult world. We gain many of our attitudes and values from
social interaction. Cooperative attitudes and values can be acquired from having time to work
with others inside the classroom. These types of interactions can also increase good social
behavior. When working in a small group, students must work with others to complete a task.
This allows students to see positive social interaction and a chance to practice their interactions
with others in a positive and appropriate way. While interacting with others, students will
inevitably encounter others who have a differing opinion or view. Exchanging differing ideas
and viewpoints can be an eye-opener for many students who have never had to justify their
opinion or have never received a pushback when sharing their ideas. This type of interaction
provides children with an opportunity that they will in no doubt encounter many times
throughout their lives. Additionally, having these discussions with peers allows students to get a
clear look at themselves. Through these experiences children learn not only about the other
children in their groups, but also at their own values and attitudes. It helps children to develop a
sense of self. In addition to all of the social benefits, cooperative learning provides an
opportunity for students to apply higher level thinking skills. When working in the small groups,
students will be analyzing, synthesizing, and making decisions, all which are skills that are
necessary as they move into adulthood.
Cooperative learning is not as easy as throwing students into a small group and asking
them to complete a task. It is much more involved than that. The teacher needs to be very
thoughtful and purposeful when designing an activity which uses cooperative groups. Initially, it
will need to be decided what size each group should be, how groups will be selected, and how
much time will be required to complete the task. An end goal or result will have to be clearly
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stated and students will all need to be aware of the purpose of the activity for the group to be a
success. Many times educators will assign roles or jobs to each member of the group. This
requires every student to take an active role and participate in the task at hand. Some common
roles are researcher, runner, recorder, summarizer, and checker. With every student accountable
for taking a part of the project, one leader is not necessary and everyone is considered equally
important.
Not every lesson and topic will lend itself to using a cooperative group technique, and
this approach will not be a good fit for all instructors. However, this is a strategy that is being
used in classes across the nation in Kindergarten classes all the way through to university
campuses. Even musical ensemble programs are finding this method of instruction to be
beneficial. Cooperative groups can best be used in lessons that require an end product or inquiry
that requires a summation. One of the many benefits of cooperative groups is that they meet the
needs of individual learning styles. Additionally, they may produce a level of engagement that
other teaching strategies and methods do not.
As with any strategy, there will be limitations. This technique should not be used just
because you want to give your class a break for routine or to provide the students with an
opportunity to socialize. For this method to be successful, a teacher must put forth some real
planning time and strategizing to make it work. Additionally, some instructors may have a
difficult time giving up control of the classroom becoming less of a leader of the conversation.
Another problem that may occur is that some students may be reluctant to step up and become
active learners in the group. Some students may give the teacher a little push back and others
may spend their time inappropriately and the teacher needs to have a plan in place to deal with
these types of problems. (Garfield, 1993) In a recent research project, it was found that for many
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students with even minor behavioral problems, this type of instruction was less than ideal. The
structure of this type of lesson may be too loose and provide too many opportunities for
misbehavior for some students. (Nelson, Johnson, & Marshand-Martella, 1996)
Another type of teaching method that is seen in every classroom across the nation is
direct instruction. Direct instruction is a teacher led activity or lesson. This method of teaching
is much like a lecture. The purpose is clear, explicit and concise. The information is given to the
students in the most direct way possible via one information source, typically, the teacher. In
this type of instruction, the teacher organizes a quick paced set of interchanges that focus on a
limited set of predetermined facts, rules, or action sequences. The information that is presented
is clear and concise. Usually a lesson will open with goals or objectives being stated. The
content material is presented sequentially with step by step directions. The skill is modeled for
students and then examples are given. The instructor will check for understanding throughout
the lesson, but specifically at the end by asking questions, providing further practice, or having
student summarize their learning.
Some activities that are associated with direct instruction are guided practice, content
reviews to review or reteach, seatwork, or presenting new information and concepts via the
lecture. No matter which activity is chosen to be the focus of the direct instruction lesson, the
sequence and purpose of the lesson is almost always the same : review, present new content,
practice, provide feedback, review, provide new content, practice, etc. etc.
Each lesson using direct instruction will begin by activating prior learning with either a
review from the previous days lesson, checking the homework, or explicitly reviewing the
previous content. This allows the teacher to get a gauge of where the students stand with the
current content. Next, the instructor will present new information to the students. There are
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many ways or personal styles that teachers can use to present the information, but the key is to
teach small pieces at a time. After the core of the lesson has been taught, students will practice
the new concept with guidance from the instructor. Teachers will be right there to help when
needed, prompt students either verbally or by modeling and re-teaching. Students have a great
deal of success in this type of practice as their teacher is there to help them along the way. Next,
instructors provide feedback and correctives when necessary. Students will be able to get
positive feedback immediately from their teacher and get correctives and opportunities for re-
teaching if necessary as well. This is beneficial as it is immediate and done in a positive and
quick manner.
Direct instruction is more effective for some students and purposes than for others. The
approach should depend on the type of student and the teachers objectives. (Peterson, 1979)
Over the years there have been plenty of research studies that find that direct, explicit instruction
is the most effective teaching method around. According to a 2011 article, students in an eighth
grade math class were able to learn standard deviation much more quickly when they were
taught this method via direct instruction over any other technique. (Peterson P. E., 2011) Others
have found that students will learn more by participating in meaningful activities and discovering
outcomes themselves via inquiry over being told the hows and whys. Many students will
struggle to sit through a lesson taught with this type of structure. They need to have more
involvement and activity than is available in a direct teaching lesson.
The sage on the stage versus the guide on the side is how the debate is often
framed. (Peterson P. E., 2011) Which method is best is a question that has been asked often over
the years. I have personally used both of these strategies in my classroom over the years and
have had success and failures with both. In reflecting on my own teaching and the literature I
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have read on these two teaching methods, I can honestly say that neither one is better than the
other. In my opinion, it all comes down to the preparation and planning that a teacher puts forth
in teaching the lesson. I believe that direct instruction has gotten a negative connotation tied to it
because many teachers do not include all of the appropriate strategies that are necessary to teach
an effective lesson, therefore spending most of the time lecturing the students or spending their
time doing drill and kill. Additionally, some teachers have tried to implement cooperative
groups on a whim, having not thought through all the necessary components to build success
with their students.
What I have learned throughout my time in this course, along with reflecting on my own
teaching is that using different methods rather than the same routine day after day keeps both the
teacher and the students interested and receptive to learning. One of the most important factors
in how interesting teachers are to their students is their use of one key behavior: instructional
variety. Knowledge of a variety of instructional strategies and the flexibility to change them
both within and among lessons are two of the greatest assets a teacher can have.









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Bibliography

Garfield, J. (1993). Teaching Statistics Using Small Group Cooperative Learning. Journal of
Statistics Education, 50-62.

Nelson, J. R., Johnson, A., & Marshand-Martella, N. (1996). Effects of Direct Instruction,
Cooperative Learning, and Independent Learning Practices on the Classroom Behavior of
Students With Behavioral Disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders,
53-61.

Peterson, P. (1979). Direct Instruction: Effective for What and for Whom? Educational
Leadership, 46-48.

Peterson, P. E. (2011). Eighth Grade Students Learn More Through Direct Instruction. Education
Next.

Russell, G. S., & Di Natale, J. J. (1995). Cooperative Learning for Better Performance. Music
Educators Journal, 26-28.












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