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Engaging Students Through Cooperative

Learning: Ideas for Success

Laura SchulzTalent Development High Schools

Three Musketeers: A TEAM Building Activity

1. Find three things that everyone on the team likes

2. Find three things that everyone on the team dislikes

3. Find one thing that is unique to each of the team members

4. Decide on a team name that has something to do with your collective likes and dislikes

5. Write your TEAM name on your “Table Tent”

What makes a TEAM different than a

group?

What is a Team?Teams differ from groups because they include the following basic

elements of cooperative learning:Goals are shared Information is circulatedRoles are assignedMaterials are managedTeammates depend on each other to

complete tasks successfullyStudents gain respect for each other’s

contributions to the team

Goal Setting: Why are we here today?– Think about what your expectations

are for the professional development session today

– Pair with another team member to discuss expectations

– Share as a team your expectations– Set 3 goals your team wishes to

accomplish during our session today– Write those 3 goals on the back of

your team’s table tent

Why Cooperative Learning?

We Learn:•10% of what we read•20% of what we hear•30% of what we see•50% of what we both see and hear•70% of what is discussed with

others•80% of what we experience

personally•95% of what we teach someone else

William Glasser

Expectations in the Workplace: How have things Changed?Organizational Effectiveness ReadingProblem Solving TeamworkInterpersonal Skills WritingComputation ListeningCreative Thinking LeadershipOral CommunicationCareer Development/Motivation

According to Fortune 500 Companies: The Top Skills

sought by employers1970

3. READING

2. COMPUTATION

1. WRITING

20003. INTERPERSONAL

SKILLS4. PROBLEM

SOLVING

1. TEAMWORK

Thinking about the subject or subjects you

teach(Knowing the skills that are in demand in the workplace today)

What jobs or careers are you preparing your students to

hold?

(Use chart paper to share some examples)

BREAK TIME

A History of Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning is not a new idea. The Talmud clearly states that in order to learn you

must have a learning partner. In the first century, Quintillion argued that students

could benefit from teaching one another. The Roman philosopher, Seneca advocated

cooperative learning through such statements as, "Qui Docet Discet" (when you teach, you learn twice).

Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1679) believed that students would benefit both by teaching and being taught by other students.


In the late 1700s Joseph Lancaster and Andrew Bell made extensive use of cooperative learning groups in England, and the idea was brought to America when a Lancastrian school was opened in New York City in 1806.

Within the Common School Movement in the United States in the early 1800s there was a strong emphasis on cooperative learning.

In the last three decades of the 19th Century, Colonel Francis Parker brought to his advocacy of cooperative learning enthusiasm, idealism, practicality, and an intense devotion to freedom, democracy, and individuality in the public schools. Parker's advocacy of cooperation among students dominated American education through the turn of the century.


John Dewey promoted the use of cooperative learning groups as part of his famous project method in instruction.

In the late 1930's, however, interpersonal competition began to be emphasized in schools

In the late 1960s, individualistic learning began to be used extensively.

In the 1980s, schools once again began to use cooperative learning.

What is Cooperative Learning?

Cooperative Learning refers to a set of instructional methods in which students work in small, mixed-ability learning teams.

The students in each team are responsible not only for learning the material being taught, but also for helping their teammates learn.

Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning (Johnson, Johnson, & Holubec, 1993).

Within cooperative learning groups students discuss the material to be learned with each other, help and assist each other to understand it, and encourage each other to work hard.

Cooperative learning groups may be used to teach specific content (formal cooperative learning groups), to ensure active cognitive processing of information during a lecture or demonstration (informal cooperative learning groups), and to provide long-term support and assistance for academic progress (cooperative base groups) (Johnson,

Johnson, & Holubec, 1993).

Any assignment in any curriculum for any age student can be done cooperatively.

Benefits of Cooperative Learning

Increased AchievementIncrease in Positive RelationshipsGreater Intrinsic MotivationHigher Self-EsteemMore “On-Task” BehaviorBetter Attitudes Toward Teachers

and School

Additional Benefits of Cooperative Learning…

Students take responsibility for their own learning

Students translate “teacher talk” into “student speak” for their peers

Students engage in “cognitive collaboration.” They must organize their thoughts to explain ideas to classmates

Students have FUN learningStudents social nature is used to

their advantage

Bonuses for High AchieversHigher levels of achievement

Even greater retention of information due to “cognitive rehearsal”

Development of key skills:SocialLeadershipCommunicationDecision MakingProblem SolvingConflict Resolution

Basic Elements of Cooperative Learning

Positive Interdependence Face-to- Face InteractionIndividual AccountabilityInterpersonal And Small Group

SkillsGroup Processing Taken from: Circles of Learning: Cooperation in the Classroom (Revised

Edition) D.W. Johnson, R.T. Johnson and Edythe Johnson Holubec. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986

Positive Interdependence

Students must feel they need each other in order to complete the group’s task

Mutual GoalsJoint RewardsShared Materials and

InformationAssigned Roles

Face-to-Face InteractionDiscussing

Summarizing

Explaining

Elaborating

Receiving Feedback

Individual Accountability

Teams succeed when:

Every member has learned the material

Every member has helped complete tasks

Frequently teachers assess individual learning

Interpersonal and Small Group Skills

CommunicationLeadershipDecision-makingConflict ManagementActive ListeningChallenging Ideas Not PeopleCompromising

Group ProcessingGiving students the time and the

procedures to analyze how well their teams are functioning with:Learning tasks

Social skills

Self-assessment

Sample Types of ActivitiesDirect Instructional Activities

present information to students or demonstrate skillsActivities for Student Practice

after direct instructionCooperative Learning Instructional Activities

brainstorming, note-taking pairs, cooperative writing and editing pairs

Whole Lesson Formatsinvolves teacher-directed and student directed strategies without other lesson components

Movement Oriented Activitiescornersjigsaw

Cooperative Note-taking PairsObjective:To enable students to take something from one another’s notes to improve their own

Directions In Brief:

1. Assign or allow students to select partners.

2. Teach

3. Stop every 10 minutes for sharing of notes.

Cooperative Note-taking PairsCheck - in

Directions in Brief1. While teaching, stop periodically

for a check-in.2. Instruct students to skim their

partners’ notes looking for: information they missed information partners have incorrectly

noted3. Students retrieve their own notes

and make any needed changes.

Objectives:• To move students in a purposeful way• To gather data in a quick, visual way that is

engagingDirections:1. Identify the kind of data you want to gather.2. Post four multiple choice responses, one in

each corner.3. Students select their responses.4. Members of groups discuss their choices.5. Spokespersons summarize/present group

members’ thoughts.

SCARED

Fearless

Cautiously Optimistic

CORNERSGo to the corner…

THINK – WRITE – PAIR - COMPARE

Objectives: to give rehearsal time, engage more students, and promote thoughtful responses

Directions:• Present a problem, idea or question to be

discussed• Pair students randomly• Allow time for individuals to think in silence• Allot time for students to write responses

(independently)• Give time for partners to compare their responses• Give the whole class time to discuss responses

THINK – WRITE – PAIR - COMPARE

Think of one way you could apply 4 CORNERS

in your subject area(s).

What are the Pros and Cons of using 4 Corners?

PRO CON

FormationsObjectives: to make abstract concepts more concrete while incorporating movementDirections in Brief:1. Identify an abstract concept2. Translate it to a living model3. Compose steps in the process of

constructing the model4. Engage students in construction of the

model5. Engage students in processing the concept

Formations1. Meet with others in your subject area

2. Decide upon one abstract concept and a formation that makes it concrete.

3. Be prepared to present your formation to your colleagues in other subject areas.Note: Every member of your group

does not have to be a part of your formation

Designing an 18 Week Plan

• Identify essential skills and information to be taught using a variety of resources– Hawaii Standards

– Curricula Frameworks from a variety of sources

– In house resources such as teacher lessons, textbooks, etc

Restructuring does not mean throwing out everything from “before block scheduling”. Incorporate the best of the “tried and true” methods, build adapt and reincorporate them in the new time frame.

• List the most important concepts/skills you want students to understand before the end of the course

• List effective activities now used to address each goal

• Indicate which concepts you wish to address in more depth

• Think of ways to contextualize each goal with reality based activities

• Consider various strategies you might add to address each goal

Design Weekly Lesson Plans

• Provide a detailed outline of activities for each unit including possible materials, resources, strategies

Design Daily Lesson Plans

Include at least three activities which allow for:– The incorporation of movement

– The inclusion of time for whole class, individual and group work

– Changes in media

Traditional Lesson Design

• Warm up/ Problem Solving 10-15

• Homework Review 10• New Material 25-30• Practice Activity 15-20• Closure 10• Writing 5-10

Lesson Plan With Cooperative Groups

• Warm-Up 10• Direct Instruction 10-15• Work in Small Groups20-25• Small Group Presentations 20-

25• Large Group Interaction 15• Closure/Writing/Assignments 10

Allocation of Test Related Time

• Test Review 15-40• Test 60-85

What is a ROTATING REVIEW?

TopicSomething I learned

today. . . Students walk around the

room to each piece of chart paper and write

something about what they learned that day.

Sheets are posted and used as a review.

• Objective: to get students to recall, summarize or brainstorm

• Directions:State the problem, topic or issue Distribute one sheet of paper to each groupGive a time limit and ask students to begin to write

Round TableEach person at your table should write one thing he/she has learned about cooperative learning.

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