How Cooperative Learning Made Me A Better Teacher

Originally published in TEACH Magazine, January/February 2015 issue

By Dan Garrison

Let’s begin with the realization that what we all inherently understand is indeed true: kids are different today than they were when we were younger. You hear this stated by colleagues and, if you’re like me, from your own mouth quite frequently.

The fact is, they are. Children today are growing up in a world that only a few generations ago would have been science fiction. The technological boom has, for better or worse, changed society, and our social interactions look vastly different today than they did only a decade ago.

Dan Garrison

Dan Garrison, BSEd, MAT, MA History, is a 15-year veteran teacher, teaching fifth grade in the Raymore-Peculiar School District in Raymore, MO. He also adjuncts for the University of Central Missouri teaching Social Studies Methods and using cooperative learning. He has experience presenting, teaching, and using various cooperative learning strategies.