The UElement and the COOPERATIVE WORK
For several years, our school, and virtually every school of the Daughters of Charity of Madrid, is implementing an innovative learning methodology based on the theory of multiple intelligence of Howard Gardner: cooperative work. At school, it is applied by dividing the class into small working groups of about 4 people in each group; each one has a role (coordinator, spokesperson, secretary or supervisor). Each group must work together to achieve different tasks proposed in different subjects, combining this work with both individual and group work. The roles that each group member will occupy are assigned by the tutor of the group, who also formed the groups taking into account the capabilities of students in class, so that groups more or less homogeneous with each other.
From my point of view, the ultimate expression of cooperative work would be if a role is imposed from the outside, because if the group is put together well, each member will assume its proper role without even knowing it. One will coordinate, another will look for information, another will keep documents, etc; but no external authority will have imposed a role. And that's exactly what we've done in our group. When we started the project, we divided the group into three smaller teams (which correspond to the main tasks to perform: research, interviews and activities) in the best way thought to get great results in each area, but without having to allocate each role.
Throughout the project, and fairly immediately, it has been observed that the team had a coordinator, a supervisor, a spokesman, etc; but no one had told them what role they had and they probably didn't know either who they were. While we were working in small teams, everyone was doing their best to contribute to the common good of the small team, and then all that was extrapolated to the team, to the 10 members as a whole; where everything has been observed in a better way. Each participant took his role and worked cooperatively applying everything we learned in class without realizing that what we were doing was cooperative work, but real cooperation, without anyone beeing taken advantage neither in their position nor anything else, but working together for the common good of all.
But we belong to a great team, bigger than our classes, larger than our school, greater than our country. A team formed by 28 countries in which each of them is different from one another. A team where everyone contributes what they can contribute to the common good. A team where no country is more than another or has more rights than another. A team where all citizens, who participate in it, are equally sovereign; where no one is imposed on anyone. A team made up of countries that were at odds for a long time, that after hundreds of years of wars managed to agree without leaving anyone behind and unite for the common good of all its citizens: the European Union.
History has shown us that humanity progresses working cooperatively. And what better way than working this way since basic training? Cooperation is the future of humanity. Independently we won’t get anything or achieve a 10 in a spanish project or overcome the economic crisis.
“Unity in diversity”