The Chronicle of Higher Education, 27 March 2001

A New Model for the Mathematics Classroom
By DANA SOBYRA

Cooperative Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics: Issues That Matter and Strategies That Work (The Mathematical Association of America, 2001), edited by Elizabeth C. Rogers, Barbara E. Reynolds, Neil A. Davidson, and Anthony D. Thomas. $31.50; association members $23.95.


Mathematics is one of those subjects that is learned alone. Lectures are the dominant mode of teaching. Homework is done at one's desk. Group projects are few and far between. When it comes to math, you may be sitting in a classroom full of other people, but that's where the sense of community usually begins and ends.

For centuries, that has been the case. By fits and starts, however, communal learning has been creeping into mathematics, and now, as a result of a new book from the Mathematical Association of America, "group think" may take center stage in the undergraduate classroom once and for all. Cooperative Learning in Undergraduate Mathematics, the latest volume in a series dedicated to the teaching of undergraduate math, presents the collective experiences of 17 authors who have used cooperative learning in their classrooms -- and who say that it works.

Cooperative learning encourages students to work, study, and learn in small groups, usually two to five people. That's a much more conducive setting than a lecture hall, the contributors argue, for the development of critical -- and creative -- reasoning skills. In small groups, students feel more at ease asking questions and trading ideas, which they might hesitate to do in a more formal setting. And by working together, they can tackle problems that might be beyond the abilities of any one of them individually. Some students are good at basic computation; others have advanced computer skills. "In a well-functioning cooperative-learning group," the book points out, "students learn to recognize and draw on each other's skills."

The real boon of cooperative learning is that it provides social support in the often intimidating mathematics classroom. The strategy, the editors say, is to view learning as a social activity, and to approach math as an interesting topic for inquiry and discussion. One of the tenets of cooperative learning, after all, is that students learn by "talking, listening, explaining, and thinking with others. The very act of explaining an idea or concept causes students to reach for a deeper understanding of that idea."

Of course, grasping the pedagogical merits of cooperative learning is only part of the battle; creating a classroom climate receptive to group learning is also crucial. The editors do their best to deliver on that front as well, providing suggestions that range from the relentlessly practical (how to physically arrange a classroom or use the chalkboard to promote cooperative learning) to the philosophical (how to resolve conflict within or among groups, or facilitate peer tutoring among students).

The contributors to this volume are the first to confess that sometimes their experiments in group learning have fallen short of the goal. But more often than not, their efforts have produced results that outstripped their expectations. That's why they wrote for this volume in the first place: to provide readers with a primer on what works, and why. And the contributing authors believe in practicing what they preach. From start to finish, Cooperative Learning was a joint effort. Each chapter was written -- and rewritten -- by small groups of authors, and then underwent a critique by the group as a whole.