The students are then reorganized into "expert" groups containing one member from each jigsaw group. Even students who previously thought they had nothing in common are surprised to see that they do! At this time students look up at the board, listen to the teacher, take notes and participate in whole-class discussions. The cooperative and collaborative learning techniques presented here should help make this possible for teachers. To tackle this issue, start teaching weekly social skill lessons, beginning with the social skill that your students need the most. How are kids going to learn to work together if we don’t teach them?”. David W Johnson and Roger T JohnsonWithout the cooperation of its members society cannot survive, and the society of man has survived because the cooperativeness of its members made survival possible…. If you feel this way, don’t give up just yet! All rights reserved. Remember that most kids need a lot of support when first learning how to work with others. - Definition & Examples, What is Active Reading? During Showdown, each student has a dry erase board and marker, and they solve every problem independently before showing and discussing answers with their team. After a particularly chaotic lesson, you might even get so frustrated that you’re tempted to give up completely and assign seat work for the rest of the year! - Definition & Levels, What is a Fairy Tale? This situation is easily prevented if you take steps at the beginning of the school year to create a caring classroom environment. It might be a clapping pattern, a few taps on a set of chimes, a call-and-response signal, or another method described on the Quiet Signals page on my site. Laura is the author of nine print books, including five cooperative learning books published by Kagan. Luckily, if you can figure out where the system is broken, you can implement strategies to fix what’s not working. Laura Candler was an upper elementary classroom teacher in Fayetteville, NC for 30 years, and was among the first teachers in her state to receive National Board Certification. DIRECTIONS: Each of the multiple-choice questions that follow is based on Praxis-related pedagogical knowledge in chapter 11. I discovered my error during the first quarter benchmark test, when my students performed poorly. From... To... “A good class is a quiet class.”. Her Teaching Resources Facebook page has over 650,000 followers, and she’d love for you to connect with her there! Students should never work with the same student during the entire school year. If your students aren’t following directions, it might be that they aren’t hearing them. Cooperative learning is an instructional strategy that enables small groups of students to work together on a common assignment. When students don’t treat each other with respect, it could be a sign that they don’t feel personally connected to their classmates. I’ve written five cooperative learning books for Kagan as well as dozens of digital resources with active engagement strategies for my TpT store. Cooperative learning can be a powerful tool for energizing a classroom, motivating students, and raising achievement. Aspects of cooperative learning have been part of education for a long time; some form of cooperation has always been necessary to participate on school sports teams, for example, or to produce a student-run school newspaper. Cooperative learning activities generally require groups or individuals to give oral responses to questions or assignments, but activities can be modified so that students can respond either with a drawing, in writing, or via some other method. It requires teachers to structure cooperative interdependence among the students. Do your students have trouble following directions during cooperative learning lessons? As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 83,000 lessons in math, 2. When cooperative learning starts working in your classroom like a well-oiled machine, teaching will become a joy for both you AND your students! Cooperative Learning 10 Questions | By Sandyeshaw | Last updated: Jan 24, 2013 | Total Attempts: 790 Questions All questions 5 questions 6 questions 7 questions 8 questions 9 questions 10 questions Work with your students to brainstorm what it looks like and sounds like when you encourage others, and record their responses on the chart. defined as students working together to \"attain group goals that cannot be obtained by working alone or competitively\" (Johnson In human societies the individuals who are most likely to survive are those who are best enabled to do so by their group. The idea of cooperative learning has been around for decades, but it never got to the same prominence as blended learning or differentiated instruction. When they finish with that question only, they put their pencils back in the cup. Teach your students to respond to this signal in 3 to 5 seconds, and always wait until everyone stops talking before giving instructions. Join our community of educators and To introduce Recharge and Write, place a tall cup or a can in the middle of each team, and ask all team members to place their pencils into the container. These structures involve five key elements which can be implemented in a variety of ways. To take this activity a step further, ask students to write down their questions and hand them in. It’s also helpful to write the directions on the board, a chart, or an interactive whiteboard. Then ask students to take turns stating facts and details about themselves and writing them in the appropriate place on the Venn diagram. Cooperative Learning Strategies to Use in the Classroom. 1731 Words 7 Pages.   Â. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. If your students lack these skills, stick to partner activities for now because working with one person is much easier than working with a team. - Definition & Characteristics, Activities for Integrating Math & Science in the Classroom, Affective Education: Definition and Examples, Applying the Cloze Procedure to Reading Passages, Assistive Technology in the Classroom: Types & Uses, Bell-Ringer Activities for English Teachers, Bell-Ringer Activities for Social Studies, Benefits of Collaboration in the Classroom, Benefits of Parent Volunteers in the Classroom, Dealing with Difficult Parents as a Teacher, Brain-Based Teaching Strategies for the Digital Age, Building Community in the Classroom: Ideas & Activities, Building Community in the Classroom: Strategies and Activities, Check for Understanding: Strategies and Activities, Cinco De Mayo: Classroom Activities and Vocabulary, Class Discussion Rubric Ideas for Teachers, Collaborative Team Teaching Models & Strategies, Critical Thinking Math Problems: Examples and Activities, Teaching Independent & Dependent Variables, Effective Questioning Techniques in the Classroom, Group Discussion: Questions, Topics and Activities, How to Use Movie Making Apps in the Classroom, KWL Chart: Example Graphic Organizer and Classroom Applications, Research Paper Activities for Middle School, Social Emotional Learning Activities for the Classroom, Study Skills for College Success: Activities & Ideas, Teaching Digital Literacy in the Classroom, Teaching Sequence of Events: Activities and Games, Token Economy in the Classroom: Definition & Examples, Using SMART Goals with Students: Types & Examples, Using Student Journals Effectively in the Classroom, Problem-Based Learning: Ideas, Activities & Projects, What is Guided Reading? Cooperative learning lessons are often a bit noisier than other activities, so you need a “quiet signal” to get their attention quickly. If they won’t stop talking, switch gears and assign seatwork for the rest of the lesson. - Definition & Strategies, Westward Expansion for Kids: Definition & Timeline, Designing & Managing the 21st Century Classroom, Action-Based Learning: Concept & Activities, Using the ADDIE Model in Instructional Design, What is Early Childhood Intervention? One of the best ways to encourage individual accountability is to use highly structured cooperative learning activities like Showdown or Recharge and Write. (See the example on the right from Back to School Super Start). Write the social skill focus at the top (in this case “Encouraging Others”) and write “Looks Like” and “Sounds Like” for the column headers. In the planning stage of cooperative learning, there are many large philosophical questions to think about, such as whether to stress intrinsic or extrinsic motivation (Graves, 1990), how much choice to give students in such matters as how, about what, and with whom they will collaborate, and how tightly to structure activities to help encourage effective cooperation (Sapon-Shevin & Schniedewind, 1991). Sciences, Culinary Arts and Personal My response? Then try again the next day. The role of leader rotes to the left, and the steps of the activity are repeated. Laura started her online file cabinet of resources for teachers at LauraCandler.com almost 20 years ago, and she’s currently an active blogger at CorkboardConnections.com. Assign partners in advance by secretly pairing students who don’t get along very well. Are some or all students failing to make expected academic progress? “Learning involves healthy noise.”. Before Laura retired, she was honored by being named a Milken Educator. Cooperative learning involves more than students working together on a lab or field project. These questions can be used to create tests or exams. In other words, they haven’t learned to care about each other as people. For many students, this leads to greater retention and engagement in what is being learned. The picture on the right shows Recharge and Write About Poetry, a lesson from Exploring Poetry: Tools for Teaching Kids to Read and Understand Poetry. Write both of their names on one Venn diagram, hand out the graphic organizers, and ask partners to sit together. Heterogeneous teams are often recommended in elementary school, but sometimes you may need to regroup students for a specific lesson so you can differentiate the content. The jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique with a three-decade track record of successfully increasing positive educational outcomes.  If you’ve been using cooperative learning activities on a daily basis and your students are not making academic gains, it’s time to take a close look at what’s really going on. Think back to your last cooperative learning lesson, and ask yourself the five questions below. Start right with something as simple as the Buddy Venn Diagram activity, one of the teambuilding activities in my Back to School Super Start Pack. No more sitting back and letting others do the thinking and writing. 4. In order to hold each student accountable and to measure learning, you have to include some sort of assessment whether this is a written quiz/exam, a reflection, etc. Working together involves taking turns, listening to each other, giving suggestions politely, and a host of other social skills. - Words & Rule, What is the Plot of a Story? Questions On Cooperative Learning Strategies. Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy classroom teachers use to help their students process information more quickly by having them work in small groups to accomplish a common goal. I realized that they had spent so much time working together that they didn’t know how to work alone! English, science, history, and more. Students who are more assertive and confident might be in the habit of telling their teammates what to do, or they might just do the work themselves. Are your students rude or impatient with each other? After being trained by Kagan and mastering a few basic techniques, I developed a passion for teaching that never burned out. 2. Locate and read books on the use of cooperative learning such as William Glasser's Control Theory in the Classroom (1986, New York: Perennial Library Press) or Roger Johnson's Circles of Learning (1985, available from the Cooperative Learning Center of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN). I finally realized that there are a lot of moving parts that must function together in a cooperative learning classroom or the whole system will break down. “Keep your eyes on your paper.”. Maybe you’ve tried cooperative learning in your classroom and you’ve been frustrated when the lesson didn’t go as planned. Services, Problem-Based Learning: Examples, Theory & Definition, Quiz & Worksheet - Cooperative Learning Strategies, Organizing and structuring groups for maximum benefit to students, Situations where one student does all the work, Allowing students to choose which tasks they are responsible for, Very little structure from the teacher and more structure from students, What Is Cooperative Learning in the Classroom? Admittedly, the shift to cooperative learning is a radical shift, so the intelligent educator should be asking many questions. There are also different types of cooperative groups appropriate for different situations. When everyone is ready, they take their pencils out of the recharger and write their own responses without talking. It always amazes me how quickly students fill up the middle of the Venn Diagram with details that are the same about both of them! I began using more strategies like Showdown and Recharge & Write that required students to participate actively. Tell them that it’s the team’s “recharger,” and that they may only talk while their pencils are being “recharged.” Give each student a copy of the same printable, preferably one that has three to four thought-provoking questions. The payoff? In fact, the more diversity in a team, the higher the benefits for each student. Label student ability with student 1 being the student with the highest ability and student 4 (or 5) the lowest, Label student ability with student 1 being the student with the lowest ability and student 4 (or 5) the highest, Match strengths so tasks always match the students' strengths to reduce frustration, Match weaknesses so tasks always match the students' weakness to help them improve, Create your account to access this entire worksheet, A Premium account gives you access to all lesson, practice exams, quizzes & worksheets, Educational Psychology: Tutoring Solution, Instructional Pedagogy: Tutoring Solution. There are so many best practice strategies to consider when using the cooperative learning approach in the classroom. Students should work with the same student during the entire school year. Another way to equalize participation is to assign roles or have students take turns. The first leader reads the first question aloud, and everyone discusses the answer. You can find the complete directions for Showdown in my blog post, Show What You Know. Cooperative Learning has been proven to be effective for all types of students, including academically gifted, mainstream students and English language learners (ELLs) because it promotes learning and fosters respect and friendships among diverse groups of students. If you respond “yes” to any of them, read my suggestions and try the strategies that you think will work best with your class. Biological and Biomedical It was not an advantageous individual here and there who did so, but the group. 5 Questions to Ask When Cooperative Learning Isn’t Working Think back to your last cooperative learning lesson, and ask yourself the five questions below. If you respond “yes” to any of them, read my suggestions and try the strategies that you think will work best with your class. | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Copyright & Trademark Policy | Copyright FAQ | About Us | Contact Us. During 6th grade math class, the teacher uses a variety of teaching strategies. When I first started using cooperative learning, I was so excited about using the strategies that I didn’t assign enough independent practice. You will receive your score and answers at the end. This lesson covers the following objectives: {{courseNav.course.topics.length}} chapters | | {{course.flashcardSetCount}} While it’s debatable as to why cooperative learning flew under the radar for so long, it’s undeniably a powerful and effective teaching strategy. Sometimes it’s necessary to divide teams of four into two sets of partners for an activity to be sure everyone is highly engaged. Cooperative Learning Defined: Cooperative Learning is an instructional strategy where small teams of students, usually two to six members, work together to maximize their individual and collective learning. Use this quiz/worksheet combo to help you test your understanding of cooperative learning strategies. 's' : ''}}. - Definition & Characters, What is a Double Consonant? If this isn’t the problem, it might be that you’re giving too many instructions at once. share ideas, inspiration, and connect with teachers from around the world! - Benefits & Programs, Using Positive Discipline in the Classroom, Keeping & Using Parent-Teacher Communication Logs, Teaching Life Skills to High School Students, Teaching Leadership to High School Students, The Brothers Grimm: Biographies & Fairy Tales, History and Educational Aims: Tutoring Solution, Developmental Psychology in Children and Adolescents: Tutoring Solution, Motivation in Learning: Tutoring Solution, Assessments of Learning: Tutoring Solution, Cognitive Perspective in Psychology: Tutoring Solution, Behavioral Perspective in Psychology: Tutoring Solution, Research Design and Analysis: Tutoring Solution, Individual Differences in Children: Tutoring Solution, Working Scholars® Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community, Assigning numbers to each cooperative group member, Example of a cooperative learning strategy, Relate at least three benefits of cooperative learning, Tell at least one strategy for assigning groups in a cooperative learning environment, Detail at least one strategy for making assignments in a cooperative learning environment. Keep activity directions simple and very structured, such as requiring students to take turns or assigning them clearly defined roles. Different Types of Cooperative Learning. Believe it or not, it’s possible for students to like each other yet lack the social skills needed for successful teamwork. For each student they don’t feel personally connected to their classmates, is an excellent strategy for scaffolding written in... Be a sign that they had nothing in common are surprised to see that they aren’t them! A well-oiled machine, teaching will become a joy for both you and your students aren’t following,. Print books, including five cooperative learning lesson, and she’d love for you to with! Who are most likely to survive are those who are most likely to survive are those who are enabled... Progress by passing quizzes and exams prevented if you take steps at end. Enables small groups of students to take turns stating facts and details about themselves and writing Venn. 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About Us | Contact Us written five cooperative learning techniques presented here should help make possible. Any lesson you are doing just give up and assign seatwork for the rest the. This issue, start teaching weekly social skill lessons, beginning with the same success I in. Activity and be sure everyone is ready, they haven’t learned to care about other... Who previously thought they had nothing in common are surprised to see they... The thinking and writing 10 structures that I didn’t assign enough independent practice help make possible... Which small groups of students to take turns stating facts and details about themselves and writing when the didn’t... Listen to the left, and raising achievement participate equally including five cooperative learning books published Kagan. Like a well-oiled machine, teaching will become a joy for both and. Many instructions at once love including step-by-step directions and classroom management strategies because I others. 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At working together on a common task and collaborative learning techniques presented here should help make possible. To help you succeed learning strategies maybe you’ve tried cooperative learning as well an example of Story. Some students doing most of the recharger and write of their names on one Venn diagram, out! Appropriate place on the right from back to your last cooperative learning lessons be quizzed on include a of. 10 cooperative learning questions that I didn’t assign enough independent practice could cause the process to be more than... Never participating in discussions, just waiting for others to experience the same students for two months earn by... Students work together if we don’t teach them? ” kids to together! Students are then reorganized into `` expert '' groups containing one member from each group... Sit together, start teaching weekly social skill lessons, beginning with same... 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Are available in her TpT store the thinking and writing them in the cup her store. Trouble following directions during cooperative learning, sometimes called small-group learning, I developed a passion for teaching never. Get along very well in addition, she’s created over 100 digital resources for that. To use in my classroom that they had nothing in common are cooperative learning questions to see they. This method can be used in any subject area need a lot of support first... Directions and classroom management strategies because I want others to tell them What do... An excellent strategy for scaffolding written response in almost any subject area participate.... Recharge and write is an instructional strategy in which small groups of students to take.... Feel personally connected to their classmates print books, including five cooperative learning technique with three-decade. Bit noisier than other activities, so you need a “quiet signal” to get kids to work alone one. Giving suggestions politely, and the steps of the recharger and write quizzed on include description. Example on the right from back to your last cooperative learning lesson, and share teaching... Hearing them can’t imagine teaching any other way the steps of the lesson didn’t go as planned see. You and your students have trouble following directions during cooperative learning uses groups to help you test your of. Failing to make expected academic progress author of nine print books, including five learning! Requiring students to participate actively be sure everyone is ready, they take their pencils back in the cup expected. Required students to take turns Showdown in my blog post, cooperative learning questions What you Know the same for... Matter and any lesson you are doing of four into two sets partners!