Pathways home page 7. Some see group work as particularly important in science classrooms. In addition to developing social skills and facilitating classroom management, working in teams reflects the way science is practiced. Science itself is a collaborative, cooperative enterprise.
Scientists work in teams.
In order to involve all members of a group in a hands-on learning activity, one should assign roles for the children. For example, one student may be the recorder, another could be in charge of materials, and another may actually perform the activity. The roles should be rotated or reassigned so that each child can be involved in every part of the process and so that each child may have a chance to play their favorite role. The challenge in education today is to effectively teach students of diverse ability and differing rates of learning. In cooperative learning, all contribute to the group effort because students receive group rewards as well as individual grades.