Teamwork

As children move into adolescence, they pay increasing attention to their peers—to what they think, say, and do,
and to what they believe is cool. Cooperative learning takes advantage of this need for social interaction by offering students a structured opportunity to discuss topics, share ideas, organize their thoughts, and work with other students.
 

Cooperative learning also employs positive peer pressure by giving teammates a common learning goal and rewarding them for reaching that goal.

Besides filling a developmental need, this social dimension is actually a critical aspect in the learning process for people of any age. People learn in communities. Together, we can accomplish more than as individuals, and we have more fun in the process. Students are no different. Research shows that opportunities for cognitive rehearsal, clarifi cation, and reteaching have a positive effect on academic achievement.
 

When students collaborate, they have an opportunity to discuss new concepts and develop ways to facilitate their level of understanding by making connections to real life or prerequisite skills. They get to try out new ideas and ask questions in a small group before speaking to the whole class or fi nishing a tangible product. When students discuss and defend their ideas or solutions with teammates, they learn to think problems through, support their own opinions, and critically consider the opinions of others before coming to a conclusion. And they learn that, in the end, the responsibility for learning still rests with them.

Teamwork can play an essential part in any math class. In 2008, after almost two years of study, the federally commissioned National Mathematics Panel Report was published. Categorized into seven areas, the report makes recommendations in an effort to support the evolution of mathematics education as we move into the twenty-first century. Several recommendations tie directly into the ideologies behind PowerTeaching:

• Page 20: PowerTeaching relates directly to “A Need for Coherence” because PowerTeaching is a framework that supports the deeper understanding of mathematical concepts as recommended by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics’s (NCTM) focal points. Within teams, students are challenged to make connections to their existing knowledge and to build upon the foundation that they already possess.
• Page 31: “The Panel recommends that teachers and other educational leaders use research-based
  interventions to help students and parents understand the vital importance of effort in learning
  mathematics.” PowerTeaching is research-proven, and resources and professional development are being
  supplied to the teachers.
• Page 31 “The Panel recommends research that assesses potential risk factors for mathematics anxiety;
  it also recommends development of promising interventions for reducing serious mathematics anxiety.”
  The structured teamwork in PowerTeaching decreases the anxiety level in students by providing layers of
  support for the students.

Citations taken from: National Mathematics Advisory Panel. Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the
National Mathematics Advisory Panel, U.S. Department of Education: Washington, DC, 2008.