INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / MAY 16, 1989

 

   

Eaton Profile Continued

 

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Eaton Encourages Co-operative Learning

By discussing issues, and
criticizing and praising each
other’s work in the classroom,
the students develop self-motiva-
tion, says Eaton. They learn to
work together, to listen, and be
sensitive to others - important

“Right now, in my own dis-
cipline, I’m happy about the
way in which we’ve been able
to take some of the insights of
co-operative learning and apply
it to our own problems of teach-
ing and curriculum

 

skills to have in both the
workforce and in family life.

development,” he says.

His department holds infor-
mal group meetings of three or
four instructors on a regular
basis to share notes, class exer-
cises and reduce duplication of

Eaton encourages the use of
co-operative learning outside the
classroom.

 

 

Faculty at a Glance ..............ccccee0s

Howard Eaton teaches literature and composition at Douglas Col-
lege. He’s been an instructor here since the College’s inception in
1970, and was the first chairman of the English Department at the
New Westminister campus.

One of Eaton’ s significant achievements at Douglas College has
been the successful implementation of co-operative learning into his
rlassrooms.

Not to be confused with co-operative education, co-operative learn-
ing provides an alternative to the traditional classroom situation
where the teacher lectures and the students listen and take notes.

Instead, students work together in small groups to accomplish
shared goals. Each student is responsible for learning the assigned
material and helping other members of the group learn. The instruc-
for acts as a classroom consultant who ensures the groups function
effectively, and serves as a technical expert on the learning material.

Howard Eaton has a Master’s Degree in English from Indiana
University.

 

 

 

 

 

instructor effort.

“We share good ideas and
give each other constructive
criticism,”’ says Eaton. It helps
reduce isolation among faculty
members.

Looking back, Eaton says his

| affinity for co-operative learning

is probably a natural result of
growing up in rural Kansas and
going to a school where four
grades squeezed into one class-
room.

“The Grade 8’s taught the

| Grade 6’s math, while the

teacher was busy with the Grade

| 5’s,” Eaton says.

At the University of Kansas,
where Eaton earned his B.A. in
English, he lived in a university-
sponsored co-operative
dormitory that was run by stu-
dents.

“We looked after cooking and
cleaning. Third and fourth-year
students set study rules and
provided academic help and
counselling. If I had a question I
just walked down the hall,” he
says. “J learned more from my
student friends than I ever did in
class.”