Social Learning Theory - Cooperative Learning

The courses I teach are Web Design and Video and Film. My students are already actively engaged in cooperative learning through the use of multimedia and web site creation. My students are constantly feeding off of each other's ideas and work in small groups. With my Web Design class, I give them a topic, they work in groups of 3, and build web sites based on the criteria of the project. I monitor their progress, give them suggestions and help when needed. Typically, they do more than I expect, as they research together to find new web page features that they can add to their sites. My students are becoming more creative with each assignment and are usually in fierce competition with the other groups in the class. The groups will share with each other, things that they have learned while working together and help each other when needed.

In my Video and Film class, each student group is assigned a director, camera operator, editor, anchor, and script writer. They will rotate these positions throughout the semester, learning the different set of skills needed to be successful with this course. Most students find a role that they prefer, however, I have them experience them all to fully understand what it takes to get a video produced. Some roles are easy, while some are more challenging. This type of cooperative learning embraces social learning theory and it is a successful approach to get my students to understand and learn the curriculum that I teach in both my Web Design and Video and Film courses.