Let's Learn about pigs

 Social Interaction Model: Engage 

week three 

What do you think each of the PIGS elements means?

There are many things that each letter in the acronym PIGS can stand for. I believe that the "P" stands for Positive Interdependence, that the "I" stands for individual accountability, that the "G" stands for Group Processing and that the "S" stands for Social Skills. The article "Positive Interdependence in Collaborative Learning" written by Marjan Laal states that for positive interdependence, "In a collaborative setting, the success of one person is dependent on the success of the group." This causes me to think that you have to work together well to succeed when dealing with positive interdependence. But how can teachers make sure students are not working alone and are working together to solve the problem given to them by the teacher. The article "cooperative learning" states, "Give, for instance, only one worksheet per group. This technique requires each member to look on with other group members. If you give out a sheet to each member, each would probably work alone, thus defeating your purpose." The purpose of Positive Independence is to improve collaboration in a class since students are responsible for their groups and their work. A real-life example of Positive Interdependence is teacher candidates and their fieldwork groups. When in fieldwork, a teacher candidates job is to teach their students the lesson to the best of their abilities. For the lesson to go well, teacher candidates have to work together and evenly split up the work. The article "cooperative learning" also explains what the I, G, and S in pigs stand for. It turns out I was right in my prediction in which the I stands for Individual accountability. The article states, "each student is responsible for learning the material, complete assignments." One person cannot take credit for other people's work. There are also different materials a teacher can use to make sure everyone is putting in their fair share of work. These activities are explained in the article "cooperative learning." The article states, "A teacher can ask questions or give pop quiz's on the material."  I was also right in my prediction that the "G" in PIGS stood for "Group processing." Group processing is the process in which students can rate how well they worked with people in their group individually. The article "cooperative learning" states, "group members reflect on how well they work together or have accomplished their task. Teachers have groups rate their work at the end of an activity. Teachers also provide feedback to each group." And I was also correct in my prediction that the "S" in pigs stood for social skills. Social Skills are the skills needed for people to interact with each other properly. The article "cooperative learning" states "the interpersonal and communication skills necessary for effective group instruction. One of the most critical elements is that students must be taught proper social skills of working in groups. Teachers spend significant time reviewing rules and procedures and incorporating role-plays to ensure compliance."

Why  is implementing  Social Interactive Model/Cooperative Learning important? Share your answers in your blogs.

 The article “cooperative learning” defines cooperative learning. The article states, “According to Robert Slavin (1994), “cooperative learning refers to a set of instructional methods in which students work in small mixed ability learning groups . . . . The students in each group are responsible not only for learning the material being taught in class, but for helping their groupmates learn” (p. 5).” Cooperative learning has many benefits, which are described in the article “Benefits of Cooperative Learning” The article then lists the benefits of cooperative learning as follows. The list states that the benefits of cooperative learning are: 

• Higher achievement.
• Increased retention.
• More positive relationships and a wider circle of friends.
• Greater intrinsic motivation.
• Higher self-esteem.
• Greater social support.
• More on-task behavior.
• Better attitudes toward teachers.
• Better attitudes toward school.

These benefits are the reasons why implementing the social interaction model is important.