Despite the rhetoric, what is Collaborative Learning, really?

Group Work: Math by Consensus
Ann Gryparent

The brochures on education reform claim that children need to learn to work in groups to prepare them for the world of work. I maintain that the type of group work done in the schools will totally undermine the workplace. For one thing, we all know that only a few students actually do the work, and the others just go along for the ride, or even slow down any progress. Furthermore, a consensus must be achieved, so it basically teaches children to go along with their peers, not to strive for the truth.

One of our children qualified for the Accelerated Math class in the early 1990s. This was when “collaborative learning” (group work for group grades) and “inquiry-based” math (no guidance) were just entering our school district. The Accelerated Class was piloting these changes.

One day after school, our daughter said they had been given a problem to solve in their math groups, but they could only submit one answer per group. Each person in her group came up with a different answer, so they VOTED on the correct math answer. The group ended up choosing and submitting the answer of a popular boy, but unfortunately, it was the wrong answer. Our daughter had come up with the correct answer, but it wasn’t submitted, and the teacher never knew.

I consoled her, but she smiled and said that it was all right. Even though the answer was wrong, the teacher had praised them for working well in their group.

I was appalled. Imagine if NASA or Microsoft did their calculations by negotiating to a consensus.

Is the goal of math class to learn math or to condition students to go along with the group? Sadly, we know the answer.