Changing a Course in Marine Geology from Lecture Format to a Cooperative-Learning Format

Abstract

After teaching a senior course in marine geology by lecture and examination for almost thirty years, I changed it to a cooperative-learning format. Twenty-two students worked in five teams. They read and wrote summaries of papers that overlapped coverage of a topic, discussed the readings within the teams, taught members of other teams, and wrote summaries of all the readings. Grades, however, were based on five individual written projects, two of which used data from the Internet. I had to change my goal in teaching from increasing students' knowledge of content to improving their skills as scientists. But I could cover only half the topics covered in lectures, which made selection of these topics crucial. Other difficulties included: a sense that the course was going too slowly, surrendering the lecturer's control of the classroom, accepting a highly flexible schedule, and selecting appropriate readings. The pleasures, however, greatly outweighed the difficulties: getting to know the students, hearing t...