Letter from the Co-president

July 2007

Dear Colleagues,

IASCE is pleased to bring you the second member newsletter of 2007.

In this issue we provide further details about our two upcoming, co-sponsored international conferences plus additional context about cooperative learning in the two host countries—Italy and Japan. We hear from Catalonia and the exciting work the Peer Learning Group is doing there and we welcome Rachel Lotan to the IASCE board.

Once again, the newsletter presents us with an interesting selection of articles, book reviews, and journal abstracts. As is often the case, I am struck by the diversity of these pieces and also by the recurring themes. Our board member Kathryn Markovchick and her colleagues tell us more about Celebratory Learning—this time within the context of GEAR UP, a nation-wide program in the United States that has as its goal increased university readiness and attendance by traditionally under-represented groups. I was still thinking about the components of Celebratory Learning when I read the review of the Peter Senge article recently published by the prestigious MIT Sloan Management Review. I couldn’t help but notice that the questions Senge indicates must be answered within the context of systemic change, plus the three phases used by leaders to create systemic change, mirror the components and processes of Celebratory Learning.

In addition to Senge and Celebratory Learning, this newsletter includes links to recent work by Eric Mazur (he is the Harvard physics professor who had the courage to realize that engaging students in structured peer talk, in a large physics lecture hall, actually increased both their understanding of basic principles in physics and their confidence), plus several additional references to work about cooperative learning and community building in higher education. Also included are abstracts of interesting studies about small-group interaction and communication patterns, the use of peer learning in mathematics and for students with learning disabilities, and the use of specific “techniques” such as Academic Controversy. From frameworks and essential questions, to the comprehensive view offered by board member Robyn Gillies in her recent book Cooperative Learning: Integrating Theory and Practice, to the specific applications and case studies described in various journal abstracts, we are reminded that the study and use of cooperation for learning is ongoing, varied, and vital.

As always, we want to thank you--our membership. Our conferences, newsletters, and website are supported by your membership dues. With two conferences in two different parts of the world, we hope that we will see you and your colleagues in the near future. In the meantime, thank you for your support.  

Cooperatively yours,

Lynda

Lynda Baloche
Co-president IASCE