The year is 2015. The United States and the Soviet Union have developed "force shields" that canopy their countries, protecting them from destructive missiles.
But in both countries, experts are wary that methods will be found to breach the shields, that the arms race will simply take another direction. And in other countries not so protected, there is pervasive fear the major powers could unite against them, that U.S./USSR treaties could be broken, that there will be a proliferation of chemical and other types of weapons to compensate for the loss of atomic missile stockpiles.In a mock United Nations summit, Greg Midgely (as Mikhail Gorbachev Jr.) speaks for the Soviet Union's position; John Linford expounds the American viewpoint and other students ably speak for the UN while reporters observe and relay events to the public.
Students in this "what if" exercise in Upland Terrace Elementary School are not only developing thinking and problem-solving skills, but drawing on each other's strengths to learn.
They are demonstrating "cooperative learning," an educational concept that is growing in popularity in Utah.
Sue Takashita, who teaches this class of gifted students, divided them into groups of four and assigned roles as she made the assignment to think about her fictitious arms race problem and develop some resolutions.
Each child brings his or her viewpoint to the discussion, she said, and since they get a group grade as well as individual grades, they motivate each other to participate.
"Children learn from one another as well as from their teachers," she said. Cooperative learning gives them a format for interacting and increases their social skills as well as their academic performance.
The team approach works well with virtually all academic subjects, Takashita said, demonstrating with a math problem on the blackboard. Immediately, the groups of children were buzzing with discussion about how to solve the problem.
"I don't get it," said one puzzled boy.
"That's all right. Kelly does," another replied. And Kelly led the group to the proper solution. In another setting, it may be Kelly who is receiving help from others in the group, Takashita said. No student is allowed to be passive in the group because it is structured to demand input from every member and response from the others.
She uses cooperative learning in a variety of ways to encourage student interaction. Several other Upland Terrace teachers also use cooperative learning, said Beverly Cook, the school's principal.
Cooperative learning also works with children with mixed abilities in the regular classroom, said Natalya Nattiv, a Utah State University instructor who has helped pioneer the concept in Utah. She brought the idea from University of Californi-Riverside, where she trained under one of the originators of the educational strategy. She is in demand for training seminars and educational meetings around the state as cooperative learning catches on. Takashita attended some of Nattiv's seminars before implementing the approach in her classroom.
In a regular classroom, teachers are asked to select teams that represent a variety of abilities, she said. A formula has been developed that suggests taking the child at the top of the class, the child from the bottom and two from the middle, as far as performance goes.
Such "mixing" helps children to "get beyond stereotypes and to function outside their own cliches," she said. Teachers are encouraged to be sensitive, at the same time avoiding putting best friends or worst enemies on the same team.
"Children love it. They are social beings who love to interact. And teachers who are using their time and energy shushing children can use their time more constructively," said Nattiv.
"The top-ranked students often are most in need of learning cooperative skills," she said. "We don't train children with leadership potential to be leaders, but to hoard their potential."
At the same time, students at the low end of the rankings can be successful in a team if progress is based on points. They have the potential to contribute more points to the success of the group, Nattiv said. "For a student to raise his score from 30 to 35 is as good as another student raising his from 80 to 85." Experience has shown that the children in groups who "ask for or give explanations" gain the greatest benefit. With a teacher guiding the team efforts, children at all levels can both contribute to the group and take from it.
Teams can be mixed-and-matched throughout the year in different academic areas so students have an opportunity to relate with a variety of their classmates and to change roles.
Cooperative learning takes some of the individual competitiveness out of school and makes success a team responsibility. Teams often create a team identity, giving themselves names and otherwise strengthening the group.
Grouping often improves interaction skills that are overlooked in many classrooms. Studies also indicate that students in cooperative learning settings do better academically, Nattiv said.
Cooperative learning is no panacea for all education's problems, but is an effective addition to a teacher's "bag of methods," Nattiv said.