Cooperative Learning… What is it???

Recently I have written a lot about how PRECE is helping to transform not just the lives of individuals in Pentecoste but the entire public education system in the state of Ceará via the methodology of Cooperative Learning. In fact, this week Prof. Manoel Andrade and other leaders from PRECE and SEDUC (State Secretary of Education) will be leading a conference for professors around the state who are interested in learning the methodology. 3 weeks ago leaders traveled to the state of Mato Grosso to present the methodology at the Federal University. And, 2 weeks ago leaders were in the city of Jaguaribe teaching students from the high schools how to use the PRECE Cooperative Learning methodology. Below is the translation of an article written by SEDUC regarding the training. Read below to hear what the Brazilians themselves are saying.

The Second Cooperative Learning Seminar Promoting Student Leadership in the 11th Region
The Cooperative Learning conference for all high school students in the public schools within the 11th Region happened on the 3rd and 4th of April and carried with it the objective of promoting student leadership. 86 additional people also participated.

The event included the Coordinator of the regional SEDUC office in Jaguaribe, 7 representatives from the Regional Center of School Development, and directors and professor from the region.

The leaders of the seminar included 14 facilitators, 11 from the Office of School Development and Learning as well as 3 from the EEEP Professional High School in Pentecoste. According to the Coordinator, Elizabete Araujo, the group was very competent and available.

“The receptivity of the youth and directors showed us what we were hoping: this initiative is indeed the way to strengthen our youth” declared Elizabete.

At the time, a special thanks was given in the name of all the schools to Prof. Manuel Andrade, the Coordinator of Student Leadership at SEDUC and the entire team.

“The work will continue with a visit to the Professional High School in Pentecoste and the implementation of Cooperative Learning Cells in the schools of the region, beginning with a call for membership to be begun soon”, concluded the coordinator.

Cooperative Learning: is a methodology in which the students work in heterogeneous groups to resolve academic problems concluding in a project or another academic objective. For the development of these activities the students should rely on the guidance of a teacher or facilitator who is responsible for ensuring the presence of the 5 basic elements of cooperative learning which are necessary for proper use of the methodology.

These 5 basic elements are 1) Social Interaction (face to face), 2) Individual Responsibility, 3) Social Skills, 4) Group Processing, and 5) Positive Interdependency (Johnson and Johnson, 1998).

It Take 2 Types of People

Some people are visionaries. They are always looking toward the future, dreaming of a brighter tomorrow, and envisioning realities not yet seen or imagined. Their feet are not always planted on the ground because their thoughts carry them to places above where they can currently touch.

Others find the visionaries to be a bit flighty and label them as dreamers with their heads in the cloud. They don’t have as much faith as the visionaries. But, the skills of these realists are also valuable. They are the ones that put plans in to action and create outlines, timelines, and long range plans to make the dreams become reality. They are the ones who keep everyone in line and on task.

The world needs a nice balance between the visionaries and the realists. Luckily at PRECE we are blessed to have both types of people and that is making a huge difference. 18 years ago Prof. Manoel Andrade had the dream of revolutionizing public education in Brasil. He had witnessed the public education system fail many of his friends, family members and loved ones because of inadequate buildings and resources, too few teachers, and a lack of interest. In 1994, when 7 students from the small community of Cipó in northeastern Brasil began studying together in an old flour mill they had a vision. Their vision was not only to improve their own reality by entering the Federal University in the capital city of Fortaleza, but also to improve the reality of their community by bringing education back to the people and developing new educational, agricultural, business, etc. programs. They were visionaries. And, they put in a great deal of hard work.

Along the way came other visionaries who believed in their dreams as well as realists who were able to recognize the actual situation and put in place a process to change the situation. Over the past 18 years over 500 students who have studied with PRECE have now entered the university. The Federal University (UFC) has taken an interest in the methodology of PRECE and has developed their own Cooperative Learning program. And, the State Secretary of Education (SEDUC) has also taken an interest and given administrative control of a brand new High School and Professional School in Pentecoste to PRECE and the Cooperative Learning Program leaders at UFC.

The realists and the visionaries are walking hand in hand and

building upon each other’s abilities. Since the beginning of 2012 alone, PRECE leaders, teachers from the Professional School, leaders from SEDUC and UFC Professors have visited many high schools and colleges around Brasil to teach the PRECE Cooperative Learning Methodology. They have been to around Ceará and most recently to the state of Mato Grosso. And, now in all Professional High Schools in the state of Ceará the students will use the PRECE Cooperative Learning Methodology during their “study hall”.

In 1994 Professor Manoel Andrade and 7 students had a vision. Today that vision is a reality.

Saudades

Over the past 10 days I have put 2,000 miles on my car and I still have at least another 1,000 to drive before returning to Fortaleza, Brazil. The miles have taken me around town to dinners with best friends, across states to visit family members, and to new churches/schools and familiar landmarks in order to speak about PRECE.

In Atlanta, as I met my friends for dinner we frequented some of our favorite coffee houses and restaurants as well as new places so that I was able to completely erase the taste of rice and beans from my palate. Conversations picked up where they left off in July and I felt surrounded by the love and warmth of friends who are as close as family. As my father and I drove 15 hours overnight from Wabash, Indiana to Middlebury, Vermont I remembered 18 years of overnight car rides that my family made as we travelled from our small community in Indiana to the farthest reaches of the United States- road trips to the southwest ending on the Arizona/California border, yearly Spring Break trips to Vermont to visit my grandparents, yearly summer vacations to our timeshare in Sarasota, Florida, road trips down the east coast of the USA where my father gave historical lectures every 15 miles as he pointed out the historic significance of each flag pole and old plantation home. They are memories filled with love, joy and a deep sense of happiness. As I drove from the south of the USA to the mid-west I passed the same milestones that I passed as I made the familiar drive over the 6 years I lived in Atlanta. Memories of dinners and long conversations I had with college friends who had moved to Louisville, Cincinnati and Indianapolis flooded my memory. And, as, I drove past the exit to Hanover College I was reminded of the 4 formative years I spent there, opening not only my eyes to new and different ideas but also my mind and heart.

My father, mother, sister, grandparents, friends from college and best friends from Atlanta are all a part of my story. They are all a part of me and have helped to mold me in to who I am today. But, being a product of the American culture I never realized how intricately interlaced their stories are with my story. In the United States we are often urged to value independence, individual successes and one’s own gains. We take pride in the advances we apparently make on our own sometimes without giving credit to the community of support that has helped us reach various goals and overcome obstacles.

In Brasil I have learned thousands of new words… all in Portuguese… and one of the most profound words I have learned is the word SAUDADES. The word does not translate accurately in to English but is close to “I miss you”. However, the Portugues word “saudades” carries a weight that is much deeper and more profound. Saudades is a longing for something that is a part of you but missing from you; it is a realization that you are not fully complete without the piece that is currently away from you; it is the recollection of experiences, memories and feelings that brings joy and life amidst the feeling of emptiness. Saudades touches at the core of ones being and the sense that alone, as an individual, we are not whole, we need others to complete us.

When working with the PRECE students and the students the at the High School/Professional School in Pentecoste we refer to this as Interdependence and we stress that they are interdependent upon one another in order to reach their goals. Successes are not achieved by the individual but rather they are intertwined successes in which everyone reaches together. If one student fails, the entire community fails, but when one student succeeds the entire community succeeds. With this mindset and this recognition of interdependence there is a much greater chance of success and less of a chance of failure.

When I am in Brasil I miss my friends and I long to be close to my family in the USA. But, when I am in the USA I feel a sense of “saudades” for the community for PRECE, the part of me that is not complete without the community I have come to know, love and call family.

A New Beginning- Professional School in Pentecoste

Wednesday, February 1, 2012 was a great day for the people of Pentecoste, for the individuals and communities that have journeyed with PRECE, for the future education in Ceará, Brasil and for all who believe that learning cooperatively can transform and improve not only individual lives but entire communities.

On Wednesday at 7 a.m. the Escola Estadual de Educação Profissional Alan Pinho Tabosa officially began classes with 180 First Year High School students. The Professional School in Pentecoste is the first school in Brasil to officially have a university (UFC- Universidade Federal do Ceará) as a co-manager. With the help of leaders from UFC the school will use the cooperative learning methodology, similar to what has been used by PRECE communities for 18 years. The cooperative learning model, which is gaining more recognition around the world, utilizes group work where students help one another, mutually come to consensus, and discuss problems (both academic and social) in order to facilitate better understanding of the material.

The morning began with breakfast for the students and their family served by teachers and volunteers, words of encouragement from UFC professors (Manoel Andrade and Ana Celia Clementino Moura), the Secretary of Education (Mauricio Holanda) and others. The students then began cooperative learning activities to better understand the methodology and climate of the school. It was a fabulous start to what will surely prove to be a great school year and the start of a great transformation in education. During the breakfast the following poem was read by Prof. Manoel Andrade.

We Need

We need…

Students who have their feet on the ground and their head in the stars. W ho have the capacity to dream without fear of their dream, to be idealists and practice transforming their dreams to goals and their goals to realities.

Students who are determined, who never give up constructing their destiny and building their lives, who love their people and help to construct a better world in which to live.

Students who understand, in vision and in mission, and push on with their own motivation.

We need students with dignity, who lead with coherency their discussions, actions, beliefs and values.

Students who question, but not through the simple defense, but

by the inner need to only accept the best.

Students who show their best to others, not wishing to be superior or inferior, but equal.

We need students who are eager to learn and proud to absorb new knowledge, who have the courage to open paths, meet challenges, create solutions,

and run calculated risks without the fear of making mistakes.

Students who do not get carried away with their own brilliance but with the brightness of the result which is achieved together.

Students who can see the trees, but also pay attention to the magic of the forest and therefore have the perception of both the part and the whole.

Students who are just, that inspire confidence and show trust in partners, encouraging them and energizing them, without fear that it will cast a shadow on themselves, but being

proud of the others.

We need students that create around themselves an atmosphere of enthusiasm, freedom, responsibility, determination, respect and friendship. Finally, we need the students, yes, but we also need the mothers, fathers, men, women and children who are willing to be instruments of transformation in our society, who are willing to contribute to the Kingdom of God, where no one can be treated by what they have or don’t have, where all are equal before the Creator and before man, where peace, justice and love are values to which we are truly committed

and absolutely unquestionable.

We need you.

Reflections from a friend of PRECE

For over a year now, Kacy has been working with PRECE and using their methodology of cooperative learning to teach English at the EPC’s (Popular Cooperative Schools) around the country-side of Pentecoste and most recently at the Professional School. Since I learned about PRECE and their methodology from Kacy, I have wanted to know and understand more about them and possibly arrange a partnership with them so that together we can use my knowledge and experience to PRECE’s benefit.

I want to talk about my experience visiting some of the EPCs around Pentecoste’s county. I will write about my experience with the Professional School at another time.

On the 5th and 6th of November I travelled to many communities, with Kacy, to witness and experience teaching English and also to learn how the EPCs work. But, I must say, it is not an easy trip to make. The communities are in the middle of the desert, and very remote. There, the reality quite different from what most Brasilians from the cities classify “normal”. It is so different that usually we pretend it doesn't exist or we just pretend to be blind to it. In some parts of the “Sertão” not even clean running water or basic sanitation have yet reached the people, it is where the sun punishes the animals, vegetation and people day in and day out. And the sand dust is everywhere. Because of conditions the families that live there are frequently poor and they don’t have access to good education or better opportunities.

But PRECE came to change that, because what they do is invest in people from these communities, by helping them to get into the university. And then once those students reach the university or are about to graduate they return to their homes to help the communities and help another people to walk the same path. So PRECE creates a circular process and uses the Cooperative Learning Method in all that it does.

As I was saying: It is not an easy task to do- to go between the EPCs you usually have to travel miles before you get to the next community, under a hot weather, dusty air and bad roads (we were lucky that we had a car to take us everywhere, but I saw people doing the same route on foot under the sun!). Every trip was really tough and tiring, and some of the EPCs didn’t have fans to cool off from the scalding heat. So by the end of the second day when we returned to Pentecoste we were covered in sweat and dust and we were really, REALLY exhausted.

Then I started to think that Kacy does this crazy routine every week and not once I have seen her complain. When I was still in London and we used to talk over SKYPE she sometimes would tell me that she was tired (Which is totally understandable; my legs were numb and my throat full of dust after only two days!), but I have never heard her complain about having to do this trip every week. So I started to question myself: “Is it worth?”, “Would I do the same?”. And the answer is “Yes, I would!”. The rewards that you get from spending time with the people of PRECE are priceless!

First, I have never seen people so eager to learn! As I said earlier, I saw people travelling by foot to the EPCs in extremely hot weather to learn. When in class they would follow Kacy’s instructions and then try and practice until they got it right. And above that they were very patient with her when her badly spoken Portuguese confused them.

Second, the people who live in the rural communities of Ceará are so warm and welcoming!!! Everywhere we went people would receive us with big smiles, kisses and hugs. I even got to be invited to play Soccer with a bunch of kids, and after lunch with the family of José Alfredo and Dona Marta I played memory game with the family beautiful twin kids named Fernando and Fernanda! I couldn’t have felt more at home!

Third, and most importantly, I believe education is a means to liberation and empowerment. Someone once told me that “Where education and knowledge arrives, also arrives development and prosperity”. I truly believe that and I think that this is what PRECE is trying to create. In the near future, I think those communities won’t be impoverished anymore because the people who are studying at the university and graduating with their abilities in hand will invest in their home town, bringing their jobs and expertise to be used in the community. And then doors of opportunity will open, roads will be built, businesses will appear, clinics will operate, houses will increase, etc…

And finally, I believe in the work that PRECE is doing in the interior of Ceará and I think everyone should use PRECE as an example of humility as well as faith in the power of people and a brighter future. I think if everyone did as PRECE does we would have a different Brazil.

Leonardo de Oliveira

1st Cooperative Learning Conference in Ceara

The past two days were filled with love, laughter, pride, appreciation and a great sense of solidarity and community. The Federal University of Ceara, in partnership with PRECE and the Secretary of Education in Ceara hosted the first ever Cooperative Learning conference!

The conference boasted presentations from PRECE student leaders, COFAC students at UFC, teachers at the new Professional School in Pentecoste, and a round table composed of UFC professors, SEDUC teachers and other leaders in the educational community. Each presentation was unique as each showed how the different communities are using the methodology of cooperative learning in their own special way. The PRECE students talked about the history of their EPCs, the difficulties they have overcome and some that they still face, and the projects they have developed. Their experience of informal cooperative learning outside the classroom is changing individual lives, the entire county of Pentecoste and now spreading throughout northeast Brasil. The COFAC students talked about their experiences facilitating groups of peers and their joy in developing something that is improving the entire university. They are helping to pave the way for something brand new and dynamic. And, the teachers spoke about their experiences implementing cooperative learning in the classroom. They shared their stresses as well as successes and showed how the climate of the school and the relationships between the students is flourishing. The school, a project of UFC, SEDUC and PRECE is the first to formally use cooperative learning within the classroom here in Ceara, Brasil.

The most beautiful part of the conference was watching how the participants supported and encouraged each other during their presentations. It was truly cooperative learning in action. Not only can the presenters talk about their experiences using cooperative learning, but they live the methodology in all that they do. It was my great pleasure to be surrounded by such a sense of cooperation, solidarity and love.

Thanksgiving

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have two favorite holidays:

1) Martin Luther King Jr. Day (especially in Atlanta) where everyone takes a “Day On, Not a Day Off” to serve their neighbor in need.
2) Thanksgiving where we are surrounded by friends, family and some of my favorite foods! The cool crisp weather, the changing of the leaves and the moments with loved ones always remind me that I have so much to be grateful for.
Here in Brazil the environment isn’t the same, but during this time of Thanksgiving I still have so much to be grateful for. Below, in no specific order, are my Top 10 Thanks!

PRECE
Every morning I wake up and remember that I am beyond lucky to work with and for an organization that I believe in. Every evening I go to bed knowing that PRECE is making a difference in the lives of people and bettering the reality for thousands of Brazilians and that in some small way I am a part of it. How did I get so lucky to meet such an incredible organization?


My Health
I don’t think that I have ever been so grateful that I am, in general, an extremely healthy person. Maybe this is because I have never before lived without health insurance. But, I am now going on 6 months without health insurance (dad- I promise I will get it!) and every day I am thankful that I wake up with a healthy mind and body!

My dearest Brazilian friends- Isabela and Iriana, and Carol and Maraiza
I am thankful that these phenomenal women have been more than hosts who have welcomed me in to their homes. They have welcomed me with their hearts and have found a place in my heart. I would be a very sad and lonely person without them.

The internet and Skype
The homesickness that comes with living thousands of miles away from my family and best friends is lightened when I am able to talk on Skype, Gmail Chat, etc. with people every day. Without Gmail chat my sister and I wouldn’t be able to send each other hourly updates about what we ate for lunch or how we are too lazy to work out in the afternoon. Without Skype I wouldn’t be able to hear the voice of my best friend Pegah or see her smile. Without the internet in general, I wouldn’t be able to post my “Top 10 Thanks!”. And, you all should be grateful for that! HA!

Dona Martha
She is everything that I am not, but everything that I want to be. She is love and patience and kindness and endurance and fortitude and hospitality and generosity and struggle and acceptance and selflessness. She is Brazil. She is woman. And, she might just be a saint.


Manoel Andrade and the entire Andrade family
There are times when Manoel Andrade speaks and I simply sit mesmerized by him. He oozes of faith, love and commitment. His faith in a brighter tomorrow and his conviction and perseverance in making it a reality is astonishing to me. I keep thinking that maybe if I just stay close to him, some of him will rub off on him. And, what is more amazing is that his entire family is exactly the same way. He learned this love, faith and commitment from his parents, as did his sisters, children, cousins, etc. They are incredible testaments of faith.

The PRECE Car
My friend Luciana named the car “The Warrior”. She is right. I also think that the car is my salvation- my salvation from riding on the back of a motorcycle in the rain, hot sun, over rocky/bumpy/dirt roads and from carrying all of my teaching supplies and overnight items in a backpack. Every time I start the engine I say a prayer of thanks for those individuals who provided some of the money to purchase the PRECE car many years ago and for the generosity of Manoel Andrade for permitting me to drive the car.

My roommates- Nicelly, Ednaldo and Tony
I couldn’t ask for better friends to share a home with, meals with, and frustrations with. They are seeing the best and worst of me and I am thankful that they are willing to put up with me! I honestly would not survive in the interior of Ceará if not for the 3 of them!

The Beaches of Brasil
Enough said. It just doesn’t get any better than spending a long weekend, an afternoon or just an hour jog on the beach. This is where I meet the Spirit most powerfully and I am so grateful that at any moment I am no more than an hour away from a beautiful Brasilian beach.








Leo