Elementary Education Case Study:
You engage your third grade students in cooperative learning activities at least twice a day, changing heterogeneous group members once every four weeks. You have agreed upon routine procedures that your classroom community uses within their small groups, including the roles and responsibilities of group members. Lately you have noticed that one small group always seems to have difficulty grasping material and completing their project in an acceptable manner. You observe this group carefully and find that Lisa seems to be the catalyst for their problems. She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning. She constantly interrupts others in her group. She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations.
There are several ways in which self-efficacy and self-regulation might contribute to Lisa's intervention plan. Lisa may be behaving inappropriately during group work because she does not feel as if she is able to do the work or reach the academic goals set for her. In order to improve Lisa's self-efficacy, I could express confidence in her abilities. This would include expressing confidence in her strengths and making an effort to turn her weaknesses into strengths. For example, I might tell Lisa that I know that she is capable of acting appropriately in her cooperative learning group. Giving Lisa a way to see her progress over time is also important when it comes to increasing self-efficacy. One way to track her progress would be to make a CLG Activity Chart for Lisa. Each time that Lisa exhibited appropriate group behaviors, she would get to place a sticker on her chart.
I would also emphasize the importance of self-regulation during cooperative group work. As previously stated, I would make a behavior contract with Lisa in order to improve her self-regulation skills. Lisa and I would create the contract together so that she would fully understand what is expected of her. After the creation of the contract, Lisa would be expected to self-regulate with minimal teacher assistance. This could involve asking herself if she is staying on task, noticing when she is getting upset, and thinking of positive ways to get her feelings across during group work.
Click here for an article that I found on the connection between self-regulation and homework. I had never thought about this connection before, but I think the article makes some interesting points.
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