Cooperative Learning

This week's assignment revolved around cooperative learning groups and strategies. I have to say that I used to shy away from using this type of strategy in my classroom because there would always be that one student that did the majority of the work and the rest would get the grade without participating. I also feel that there are times when I need to know what that one individual child truly knows. A few years ago I met a teacher who uses this type of learning in his classroom and he explained how he grades his students. He assigns each member of the group a task and basically gives them two grades; one for individual work and one as a group. I do use cooperative group work and strategies such as "Jigsaw" in my classroom now more regularly. I think working in groups helps with social skills and students are more apt to listen to their peers than us at times.