Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning Designing group experiences so as to maximize learning opportunities.

What cooperative learning isn’t… • “I bet it’s just another new age, feel good, reform tool that diverts your kids from real learning.” • Cooperative learning is simply a way to organize group work to maximize opportunities for learning in that setting. • “I just got the hang of GANAGing. Am I supposed to throw that out and change to cooperative learning now?” • Cooperative learning will fit nicely with any approach you have to designing your class. • “I already have all the materials and techniques I can possibly fit into my class now!! How can I add some other approach?” • You don’t need to make extra time or give up material to do cooperative learning. You can use cooperative learning whenever you would normally have kids working in small groups.

A Humanities assignment “OK class, divide up into groups of three and be ready to do some kind of presentation on some aspect of the Civil War next Friday.”

What do you hope will happen during group work? • Students expressing opinions to each other and discussing ideas. • Students brainstorming on solutions to a problem. • Students answering each others questions and coaching each other. • Students using their collective knowledge to produce an even better product than they could produce as individuals. • Students learning how to work effectively as part of a team. • Oral learning style facilitated as students are asked to communicate with peers, explain concepts, produce questions, etc. • Weak students forced to push themselves harder. • Strong students helping weaker students and thereby reinforcing their own understanding. • Groups of strong students combining to produce a superior product.

the reality – great educational experiences don’t happen by accident Assignments like papers, projects, and presentations are only as good as the structure and directions you frontload for students, the support you provide during the process, and the way you evaluate them, all of which needs to be clear from the start. Similarly the experience of working in a group will only be as effective as the structure and directions you frontload for students, the support you provide during the process, and the way you evaluate them, all of which needs to be clear from the start.

Benefits of Cooperative Learning

Getting them ready……..

Front-loading expectations….. • ____ What is Mr. M looking for when we do group work such as labs and projects? • There will typically be a “group plan” for most group activities which we will go over before beginning work. Read carefully, ask clarifying questions, and follow the parameters as given. • Each member of the group should be actively involved in completing the task. You will usually have a specific part to complete as part of the “group plan”. No one should take over all parts of the task and no one should check out and expect others to do their work. There will be individual and group grades for most group projects!!! • Please talk softly enough that other groups don’t have to shout to hear each other. • I will expect the group to stay on task and not hear you saying things like “did you see that game last night?..............” • The group doesn’t move ahead until everyone understands what has been done, what is being done, and what you are going to do next. I shouldn’t here things like “I have no idea what we are doing, you guys don’t tell me anything!!.........” • There is no place for sarcasm. Everyone should be able to express an opinion, make suggestions, or ask a question and be listened to and responded to fairly. • The task should be completed with quality. The group must reach consensus about the when the product is completed satisfactorily. • EACH GROUP PROJECT WILL BE ASSESSED IN TWO WAYS: • An individual assessment of your work and effort. Your group will have input on this assessment. • An assessment of the product the group has produced and the quality of the group interaction.

Cooperative Learning – let’s break it down The Group Structure • You choose the groups based on the criteria you want to emphasize. • Choose a structure that: 1) provides a clear role for each student during each part of the process; 2) promotes individual responsibility as well as collaboration; 3) ensures the group will support each other. Ongoing Support • Monitor the group to make sure they are staying on task and following the group plan and consider a “process evaluation” which could take the form of a simple checklist. Evaluation • Make sure the product is evaluated as a whole (for the group) and for the individual. • Consider allowing students to evaluate other group members.

Group Structure - Choosing Groups Groups of 3 or maybe 4 are optimal- enough folks to share the work and express opinions, not so many that someone gets lost. How do you choose groups? • I like to have a different group for each unit (about every 2 weeks) • I like to vary the composition of groups from unit to unit • Homogeneous abilities • All strong or all weak • All girls or all boys • etc.

Group Structure - How do you come up with a Group Plan? You can come up with a “group plan” for an activity you already do in groups (or one you are planning) – Lab 1-1 OR You can use a pre-existing “cooperative structure” that makes sense for a group activity you already do (or one you are planning) – Examples on following slides

Jigsaw Groups with four or five students are set up. Each group member is assigned some unique material to learn, practice, or research and then to teach to or share with his group members. To help in the learning process, students across the class working on the same sub-section get together to decide what is important and how to teach it. After practice in these "expert" groups the original groups reform and students teach each other.

Think – Pair - Share TPS involves a three step cooperative structure. During the first step individuals think silently about a question posed by the instructor. Individuals pair up during the second step and exchange thoughts. In the third step, the pairs share their responses with other pairs, other teams, or the entire group.

Numbered Heads Together A team of four is established. Each member is given numbers of 1, 2, 3, 4. Questions are asked of the group. Groups work together to answer the question so that all can verbally answer the question. The teacher calls out a number (two for example) and each “two” is asked to give the answer.

Team Pair Solo Students do problems first as a team, then with a partner, and finally on their own. It is designed to motivate students to tackle and succeed at problems which initially are beyond their ability. It is based on a simple notion of mediated learning. Students can do more things with help (mediation) than they can do alone. By allowing them to work on problems they could not do alone, first as a team and then with a partner, they progress to a point they can do alone that which at first they could do only with help

Three stray one stay

Peer Evaluation

Sources – I also have several books in my office!! Social Skills and Community Building http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~kcofer/social_cooperative_structures.htm Cooperative Learning http://edtech.kennesaw.edu/intech/cooperativelearning.htm Cooperative Learning Structures http://connectingcurriculum.pbworks.com/f/Cooperative+Learning+Structures.pdf

Cooperative Learning