Page 90 - ACADEMIC REDING

engagement. On the contrary, teachers should expect some resistance,

and the following issues should be carefully considered. First, the task and
the subject matter have to be challenging without being too difficult.

Discussing, applying and interpreting might be more meaningful tasks to
cooperate on than defining and explaining concepts. Second, the teacher

has to strike a very delicate balance between supporting students and
ensuring they are on track without starting to lecture. This is indeed very

difficult because some students strongly prefer the teacher to elicit the
correct answer rather than engaging in conversation, confronting their

own misconceptions and those of peers. Finally, students are unlikely to
fully engage in cooperative learning unless it is meaningful to them.

Teachers also need to carefully explain the intention and purpose of
cooperative learning and confronting conceptions of university teaching in

which the teaching is the passive transmission of information from tutor
to student.

Activity 11

Answer the questions below based on the above conclusion of a journal
article.
1. Does the cooperative learning increase the students’ enthusiasm?
_____________________________________________________________

2. How many limitations do the researcher present?
_____________________________________________________________

3. Why does the researcher think that the length of the treatment is not enough?
_____________________________________________________________

4. What do the students want the teacher to do in a classroom?
_____________________________________________________________

5. Why do the teachers need to clearly explain the aim of the cooperative learning
activity?

_____________________________________________________________

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