Where Heart Meets Mind
We care about the implementation of cooperative learning and all those working together to make cooperative learning an ongoing reality in schools. Cooperative Learning: Where Heart Meets Mind collaboratively evolved out of that care.
The purpose of this resource book is to involve educators in critical inquiry, personal reflection, and supportive discussion about the concepts underlying cooperative strategies and effective classroom applications. Specifically, the book is designed to:
- Promote understanding of the elements basic to cooperative learning
- Stimulate critical and creative thinking about effective classroom use
- Raise and explore implementation issues and options
- Encourage supportive interaction among educators experiencing and facilitating cooperative strategies.
The book is organised into three main sections:
- Part I of the book considers cooperative learning as a valuable strategy within a framework of other effective classroom practices;
- Part II deals with student interaction patterns and how to facilitate cooperative groups; and
- Part III presents practical ideas for getting started, sample lessons, and activities for continued professional growth with cooperative learning.
The chapters that constitute each part of the book contain questions and activity sheets for discussion making this book a resource to be used interactively among colleagues. For example, teachers working together in peer coaching or study groups may use this book to explore cooperative learning concepts, develop classroom applications, and design student materials. The sample lessons and student forms that appear throughout the book are readily adaptable to a variety of classroom situations. Staff developers may also use this resource to facilitate cooperative activities and discussions among educators studying cooperative learning in professional development programmes.
