Next Generation: The Benefits Of Cooperative Learning

Next Generation is the institution is which I choose to do my field experience hours. It is an after school program where children from middle school through high school are able to go and do homework and after school activities in a safe and enriching place. I enjoyed getting to know all of the children there and was able to get to know a lot of them on a personal level. I gave them advice on how to apply to school and get scholarships. The younger ones in middle school always enjoyed playing soccer or keep away with me while they were waiting on their parents to pick them up. The experience I had at Next Generation was incredible and I hope that if I have the opportunity, I will be able to work in a program very similar later in the future. …show more content…
Lecture classes are good for some lessons that need a lot of information and facts facilitated, but for lessons that can incorporate other people, cooperative learning strategies should be taken advantage of. Group discussions, debates, small group work, and students teaching the class are different ways that cooperative learning can be achieved. These students at Next Generation do best when it comes to cooperative learning versus direct instruction. They use their peers to bounce ideas off of and find helpful ways to explain a lesson to someone who might not understand it so well. Using this style of teaching will help students learn to work with other people, communicate better, and sympathize with others. They listen to their peers and understand different people’s lives and their own outlook. Understanding that your own opinion is not the only one and certainly not always the right one is a major lesson that all children must learn. While some learn this at a very young age, other children just realize this as they go through middle school, high school, and maybe even college. This understanding of other people and their own outlook on life is essential to them become more accepting and tolerant towards all people of all cultures, genders, social economic statues, race, ethnicity, and even …show more content…
Not every teach will stay in a school system all of her life and it is nice to know of different possibilities we, as teachers, have. Knowing the difference I could make for an older child that is not in the best family situation could mean more to me than anything else I could do. Setting these children on the right path and encouraging them to accomplish anything in the world might be what they need to hear to be successful. I admire the women who work with these children every day and how they inspire them to become better than they are. The different strategies and methods the teachers use fit how the students learn best and they will modify them at any time to accommodate everyone. I hope to go through training programs and learn how to sympathize with children who are in situations I have nerve been in and the best way I can encourage them to keep