Student Learning

PoLT Online Professional Learning Resource – Principle 2

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Theory Snapshot

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Aims of the principle

Principle 2 clarifies the elements of democratic decisionmaking and negotiation within schools and classrooms. It focuses on student ownership of learning and assessment. Autonomous and self-regulating learners effectively use collaborative ways of working. They are encouraged to develop meta-cognitive skills to inform and critique their learning.

Ownership of learning occurs within an environment where students make decisions, negotiate or make choices. The attributes of a democratic classroom consider and focus:

  • student voice and negotiation in the creation of the learning environment
  • student decision making in learning
  • mutual respect between teachers and students.

Integral to our understanding of Principle 2, The learning environment promotes independence, interdependence and self-motivation are theories advocated by seminal authors in cooperative learning Roger T. Johnson and David W. Johnson of the USA and Australia’s Garth Boomer, (1940-1993) one of last century’s most eminent educators. Boomer remains one of the most influential and admired figures in Australian education. His work remains highly relevant and continues to inspire educators and policy makers more than a decade after his premature death.

For more information see:

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Roger T. Johnson and David W. Johnson

Johnson and Johnson acknowledge the place of both individualistic and competitive approaches to teaching, but highlight they should be balanced with cooperative learning. Cooperative learning creates natural, interactive contexts in which students have reasons for listening to one another, asking questions, clarifying issues, and re-stating points of view. Through teamwork students are encouraged to engage in high-level thinking skills such as analyzing, explaining, synthesizing, and elaborating. The essence of the cooperative group is the development and maintenance of positive interdependence among team members. This sense of interconnectedness can help students transcend the gender, racial, cultural, linguistic, and other differences they may sense among themselves. According to Johnson and Johnson:

  • students do not know instinctively how to interact effectively with others
  • teaching and reinforcement of social skills are necessary and include teambuilding, accepting and supporting one another and resolving conflicts constructively
  • teachers need to model positive interpersonal skills, have students practice the skills, and encourage the students to process how effectively they are performing the skills.

For more information see: Johnson & Johnson Co-operative Learning Link (http://www.co-operation.org/pages/cl-methods.html)