Cooperative Learning Background

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
A balanced emphasis on knowledge and higher-order thinking skills can be found in the curriculum or learning guidelines of the educational systems of the Philippines. The learning of science no less than scientific research itself, is in its own way an investigative process. Critical-thinking, creative-thinking, metacognitive and self-regulation, social and affective skills are the means and ends of the academe today in order for the students to become scientifically literate. Constructivist and student-centered approaches are very important in achieving these educational objectives. In the light of the current global situation, the child/student-centered approach has a greater edge over the subject-centered approach.

This has led to us to believe that the best way to learn is by having students construct their own knowledge instead of having someone construct it for them. As teachers we need to think different ways on how can we deliver our daily teaching in such a way that it empowers students through ownership of knowledge and allows for constructivist learning. I’ve noticed that in their age, cooperative learning is appropriate. Students can benefit from working with peers. Cooperative learning helps students develop the skills they will need later for education success. It also gives them a chance to benefit from the knowledge of classmates. So, pairing the students as often as possible, as doing so makes learning enjoyable and effective. When pairing students, we should aim to create mixes in which one student excels and another struggle. This allows students with differing skills to share their abilities and help each other. Students come to school with a great diversity of backgrounds, interests and capabilities. Regarding learners’ minds as complex systems with heterogeneous natures helps us better understand the constructivist perspectives of learning, implement a student-centered model of instruction and appreciate differentiated curriculum, instruction and

In sharing their ideas, students take ownership of their learning and negotiate meanings rather than rely solely on the teacher's authority (Cobb et al. 1991). Additional benefits of using the think, pair, share strategy include the positive changes in students' self-esteem that occur when they listen to one another and respect others' ideas. Students have the opportunity to learn higher-level thinking skills from their peers, gain the extra time or prompting they may need, and gain confidence when reporting ideas to the whole class. In addition, the "pair" step of the strategy ensures that no student is left out of the discussion. Even a student who is uncomfortable discussing his or her ideas with the whole class still has an audience in this step. Finally, while the strategy may appear to be time-consuming, it makes classroom discussions more productive, as students have already had an opportunity to think about their ideas before plunging into whole-class