Concept Set 2: Co-operation
Definition: Co-operation is a behaviour that involves one working with another to reach a common benefit.
Definition for children: Co-operation is what people do when they work together to help complete a task.
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1973, p. 250)
co-op-er-a-tion 1 : the action of cooperating : common effort 2 : association of persons for common benefit 3 : a dynamic social process in ecological aggregations (as communities or colonies) in which mutual benefits outweigh the disadvantages (as competition) of crowding – co-op-er-a-tion-ist
Examples:
Non-Examples:
Justification: In each of the examples the people are working together to reach a common goal. There is no evidence of disagreement or reason for one to prevent the goal from being pursued. In the non-examples there is disagreement, and no goal or common goal is reached.
Lesson Plan
Target Students:
Grade 3, 26 students with a large range of skill levels coming from a variety of backgrounds.
Vision of the educated citizen:
The educated citizen has extensive world knowledge, is open to view all sides of a situation, caring, sensitive, honest, organized, responsible and is continually striving to make the world a better place. This person is able to work co-operatively with others to successfully complete common goals.
Goals supported by this lesson:
Content: Concept of co-operation.
Critical thinking: Students will have to makes choices about the meaning of co-operation and whether it is good or bad. They will have to explore examples and non-examples of co-operation and decide whether they fit the meaning or not. The students will be emotionally engaged in this lesson by participating in role playing activities which will allow them to feel what it is like to either co-operate or not.
Goals that will be applicable to later lessons:
Personal and social values: The students will learn about and value the significance of co-operation in the classroom and their everyday lives.
Individual and collective action: The students will generate a common agreement on how to ensure co-operation is demonstrated in their school or classroom.
Learning Outcome – Teaching for the Educated Citizen:
The educated citizen needs to understand how to co-operate. This concept is significant and relates to all aspects of life. Every decision made can be influenced by whether a person wishes to co-operate or not. People will not co-operate if they will not benefit themselves, unless they understand the true meaning of this concept and why it is so important.
Tools that students will need to successfully respond to critical challenge:
Background knowledge: For this lesson the students will need to understand the concept of co-operation.
Critical thinking vocabulary: The students will need to understand what emotions are, and points of view to be able to determine whether co-operation is beneficial.
Habits of mind: The students will be expected to demonstrate flexibility realizing that co-operation depends on the people’s decisions of what they say.
Criteria: The students will need to understand how to role-play and to determine whether a situation demonstrates co-operation or not.
Thinking strategies: The students will need to work in their groups discussing their thoughts on whether the situation demonstrates co-operation or not.
Teacher Preparation/Resources:
Prepare some tasks written on index cards for the students.
Examples:
(Write a task on each side of the task card and then put these cards in an envelope. Teacher will need enough envelopes, 1 for each group of 5/6 students.)
Create/find some example situations where co-operation is demonstrated.
Create/find some non-example of co-operation.
Create/find some situations which could be role-played to demonstrate either co-operation, or not (depending on how the students act it out).
Chart paper for students to record their role-drama/situation.
Markers.
Introduction:
Share some examples and non-examples of co-operation, and discuss the reasons why they demonstrate co-operation or not. (Use visuals and verbal descriptions to demonstrate examples of co-operation, and non-examples of co-operation. Post these on the front board for the students to refer to at any time during the class. Try to find meaningful examples that the students may have experienced themselves and would be familiar with.)
Brainstorm with the students some possible definitions of co-operation.
Discuss whether co-operation is good or bad, and ask students to verify their decisions with reasoning. Record feedback from the students to refer to later.
Body:
Using the visual examples and non-examples, discuss what type of conversation might occur. Have volunteers try to act out some of the examples. Ask what the character’s task might have been. How did the students know? Discuss how each character may feel, and how they might be reacting to the situation.
Demonstrate with a volunteer how to improvise a situation when given a task. Provide the volunteer with a task, and find one for yourself (they may either agree or disagree).
Role-play a discussion (for about fifteen seconds) between yourself and the volunteer; each of you will be trying to fulfill your task.
Discuss with the rest of the class whether they saw co-operation or not, and why they chose that decision.
Role-play another discussion with a different volunteer (ensure that with the role playing you demonstrate both an example and non-example of co-operation).
Role-play one more discussion with another volunteer, but make this a questionable example of co-operation. Discuss why it is not a clear example or non-example of co-operation.
Divide the students into groups with an envelope of tasks. Ask two people from the group to select a task (one index card, each student should only see one side of the index card) and role-play (as you have done) for the rest of the group.
Instruct the students to discuss within their groups whether they saw co-operation or not.
Ask the students to record a picture or description of the situation to help remember what happened. This will be shared at the end of the class. After discussing what happened, ask the two actors to share what their task was and how they felt when they were acting.
Make sure all of the tasks are acted out, and that everyone in the group has a turn at role-playing.
Conclusion:
Ask the groups to share some of the tasks that were put together, and explain whether they saw co-operation or not. Discuss how the actors felt when they were role-playing.
Review the students’ previous definitions of co-operation, and re-discuss the validity of each of them.
Ask the students to provide other examples or non-examples of where they might have seen co-operation before.
Re-address the discussion on whether co-operation is good or bad. How have the student’s opinions changed, and why?
Extensions:
Ask the students to write in their journal an example and non-example situation of co-operation. Ensure that the students include why they are so.
Ask the students to generate ideas of how co-operation should be seen in the classroom and why. Discuss how in some situations co-operation is not visible at a first glance, but becomes evident in the long run.
Assessment:
After the students have participated in the extension activities and have been exposed to more examples and non-examples of co-operation, collect in their journals and assess how well they understand the concept of co-operation.