13-year old Babu has been coming to Butterflies’ Haathi Park contact point near his public school for several years. Grinning, he can hardly wait to tell you how his 7th grade cooperative learning pod (3 boys and 1 girl ) works. “Each day there is a particular subject/s allocated for study. After gathering at our contact point, we decide who will be today’s Summariser (leading the cooperative learning group) and who the Reflector (revising what has been studied) for that particular subject or topic. Babu is quick to underscore that each of the four students gets a chance to take on these roles in rotation. Together they next answer the questions posed by their Child Rights Educator, correcting and explaining the material to each other as needed. The group takes responsibility for each other’s academic growth. As a fellow cooperative learner Gaurav puts it “if one of our friends has not come to the contact point for several days, we all go to his or her home to see what’s up and cover the missed material. We study together. We play together. We want to grow up together”.
Children develop a spirit of healthy competition and sense of ownership of both their lives and those of their team members, too. “I’ve learnt to help myself and other children. I feel happy to help my friends and don’t feel pressurized to be better than others. If we all do well in our studies, we all will grow and our group will get a prize”, reasons Priyanka, the girl in this 7th grade cooperative learning group.
It turns out the studying together has also helped children resolve other issues by seeking solutions collectively. “I once faced a problem in my home. I couldn’t study with the television always on in our small one-roomed home. When I discussed this issue in our bal sabha (children’s council), one of my pod members invited me to study with him. I now go to his home where we study together. We both want a bright future. Our group helps us to achieve that. I like studying now”, says a beaming Babu.