Group work can be great. It can also end in disaster. The other day I sat watching a group of students do research together on a shared computer. They argued over who had controlled and which sites to look at. This got the whole group off task and worrying about the laptop politics rather than the research. Sound familiar?
Starting a lesson with the fable The Stone Soup could assist in getting students to work cooperatively.
The Stone Soup story usually goes something like this:
"Some travellers come to a village, carrying nothing more than an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any of their food stores with the hungry travellers. Then the travellers go to a stream and fill the pot with water, drop a large stone in it, and place it over a fire. One of the villagers becomes curious and asks what they are doing. The travellers answer that they are making "stone soup", which tastes wonderful, although it still needs a little bit of garnish to improve the flavour, which they are missing. The villager does not mind parting with a few carrots to help them out, so that gets added to the soup. Another villager walks by, inquiring about the pot, and the travellers again mention their stone soup which has not reached its full potential yet. The villager hands them a little bit of seasoning to help them out. More and more villagers walk by, each adding another ingredient. Finally, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all."Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_soup
Fables have been used for centuries to teach practical lessons. The Stone Soup's message about the benefits reaped from working cooperatively could definitely have a place in my classroom.
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