IVREA. Il cooperative learning it is one of the “frontiers” on which, in recent years, attempts have been made to innovate the way of teaching. We talk about it with Riccarda Viglino who has taught in primary school for more than 40 years and who has been involved in teacher training for some time.
What is cooperative learning?
«It is not only an effective methodology for teaching and learning, but a real educational context in which to learn and grow together. Mario Comoglio, a well-known university professor in Rome but with Canavese origins, introduced it in Italy and defines it as a method that educates by teaching».
Can we talk about a “new didactics”?
«Not only that: cooperative learning, in its deepest and most authentic sense, is a new way of “doing school”, which integrates some perspectives that have always been at the center of the most advanced educational reflection, such as the learning community, the ‘individualized teaching, authentic assessment and situated cognition’.
You recently collected your reflections and your experiences in a beautiful booklet entitled “Cooperative learning” which is already attracting a lot of interest among teachers of all levels of school. Is she satisfied?
«Yes, I am very satisfied with this work which I had been proposing to Edizioni Gulliver for some time and which has now finally seen the light. It is a small theoretical-practical manual that aims to respond to the needs of the many teachers who have approached cooperative learning in recent years and who intend to start using it in the classroom».
How is it structured?
«After a first theoretical part that briefly illustrates the founding principles of the method and the results of research on the subject, the manual devotes ample space to illustrating in detail numerous structures for cooperative group work that can easily be transferred to the classroom, and examples of activities and learning paths implemented. Finally, there are examples and proposals for work units, including multidisciplinary ones, for each class».
Who is it aimed at?
«Mainly for primary school teachers but it can be useful for all those who intend to start applying cooperative learning in the classroom».
Does this mean that cooperative learning can also be used in secondary school?
“Of course! On the other hand, in recent years, thanks also to the collaboration with the Colored Chalks association and with Ce.se.di. of the Metropolitan City of Turin, I was able to carry out various training activities aimed at teachers, including secondary school teachers. Cooperative learning that is not reduced to simple “group work”; many think it’s a method that can go well with children but that it’s a “waste” if proposed to older kids. On the other hand, there are excellent experiences carried out in all levels of school. On the other hand, we must not forget that even in the world of research the individual work of the individual is almost never as effective as cooperative work which has the advantage of enhancing everyone’s strengths and helping even the “weakest” ones to overcome their own limits”.