Jennifer Allard 2003 Summary

Jennifer Allard (2003), a high school calculus teacher from Fairfax County, Virginia, wanted to determine “Will direct instruction in cooperative learning and meaningful group work result in an increase in students’ desire to be part of trusting collaborative groups?” Allard (2003) had a former group four girls in AP calculus that studied together and became a bonded group inside and outside of the classroom. She noticed that the girls’ achievement in the course was increasing. The girls studied together, as well as encouraged one another to do their best while playing on each other’s strengths. The girls met after school and on weekends. It is not stated if the girls knew one another prior to the course. As a result, these four girls were able to pass the AP calculus exam. Allard (2003) wanted to see if this type of connected experience could be duplicated in a classroom: hence, her research …show more content…
How did this strategy foster the desire of group collaboration? Where is the direct instruction of cooperative learning?” Readers cannot assume that the students know how to work together just because the students are in groups. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed reading the candid observations. Allard (2003) was very direct in stating how some students were in the class just to receive a grade while others where there to actually learn and understand the material; this is true for most grades and subjects. As Allard (2003) analyzes the results, she states,
“The fact that only five of the students expressed any improvement in their opinions about cooperative learning leads me to believe that either my instructional strategies were not successful in developing true group learners, or that there are other factors besides “knowing how to do it” that affect a student’s inclination towards cooperative learning” (Allard, 2003, p.