Assignment #7: Complete the 4 part assignment format as you read, reflect, and respond to Chapter 7 – Cooperative Learning.
Remember: Although your course packet asks you to post to blog for parts A, B, C, and D…we are asking that you only post part C and D. We’re trying to make the blog easier to read and more user- friendly. Thanks!
A. Self Assessment of Current Beliefs and Practices: This component asks you to reflect on how and why you currently use the instructional strategy of Cooperative Learning in your classroom. The intent of this is to activate your prior knowledge of your strategy use so that you can make comparisons as you read the chapter. Below are the questions to help you complete your self-assessment. After completing your self assessment please post a thought or two as a comment (click on comment link below) to this posting labeled Week Seven: Cooperative Learning.
• What is your purpose for using cooperative learning in your classroom?
• What kind of cooperative learning activities do you use with your students?
• Think of a time when you used cooperative learning and was pleased with the results. Why did it work well?
• Think of a time when you used cooperative learning and was not pleased with the results. Why didn’t it work well?
B. Read & Reflect “Research & Theory”: This portion of the assignment asks you to read chapter 7 and reflect briefly on your thinking after reading the “Research and Theory” section for Cooperative Learning After completing your chapter reflection, please post it as a comment (click on comment link below) in the posting labeled Week Seven: Cooperative Learning.
C. Practice: Choose one of the specific “classroom practice” strategies or techniques shared in this chapter to try out with your students (If you are not currently teaching, you may share how you would use this strategy in your classroom). Please post a brief reflection of how this went to the posting labeled Week Seven: Cooperative Learning. Click on the “comment” link below.
D. Final Strategy Reflection: Use the following sequence of questions/prompts to reflect on what you’ve learned about both the strategies presented in the chapter and what you’ve learned about yourself as both a teacher and a learner. Please post your brief reflection to the posting labeled Week Seven: Cooperative Learning by clicking on the “comment” link below.
How has the information you read in this chapter on Cooperative Learning effected your thinking about teaching and learning? What have you learned about yourself as a teacher and learner? Use the following questions to assist you in writing a brief strategy reflection:
• How might I change how use cooperative learning in my classroom?
• What is something you now understand better about cooperative learning?
7 comments:
Kelsey
Assignment 7
C.
As an ELD teacher I already work with ‘small’ groups and sometime breaking them down into smaller sections just won’t work. I think this is the main reason I use mainly informal groupings. We do a lot of think pair share activities, partner pair ups, etc. One of my students’ favorites is something I call musical pairs. Think musical chairs but instead of finding a seat you find a new partner. I use this as a time for students to practice our sentence frames, discuss the topic, or share something they’ve learned. We use a form of informal groups almost everyday but the length of time spent together varies greatly from a simple check in to preparing for a presentation. I do also use formal groups but not as often. I would really like to use a form of base groups and have been thinking about how I could make this work in a small group setting. Maybe depending on my overall group size I could have groups of two or three. I think having a way for students to feel that they belong to the class would be very helpful since we only meet thirty minutes a day and they come from different classrooms to be part of my group.
D.
After reading this chapter I really started thinking about how I could better use cooperative learning in my classroom. I realized that I use a lot of informal groups, which work very well, but not a lot of other types of grouping. Once I started thinking about it I also realized that I create these groups in the same ways almost every time by drawing sticks or having students turn and talk with a neighbor or their table. I really liked the examples of using information about the student to create the group so that then the group has something in common going into the activity. I’m excited to try base groups in the future as well since as I already noted I would love a way to help my students feel like they belong to the class. I also now am thinking about how I can let students do some sort of individual check for understanding activity, possibly writing, instead of using a pair or small group.
I found it interesting that groups created by ability level often didn’t perform well. I am curious how this translates outside of a cooperative learning group since all my classes are created by ability level.
C.
I use informal and formal cooperative learning groups a couple times each unit. I like for students to talk about what they have heard after a discussion and/or learned from reading out of the textbook. Pair-share is great for answering quick little review questions and giving their opinions on events or people in history. At the middle school level students need expectations and roles within a group clearly defined. I have made a poster as a reminder of how to behave and work together successfully. I point to the poster each and every time they organize into groups. Recently, I had each student number off to 6 and group according to their number. They then read together about life in the Roman Empire and they then answered questions about their group reading. They had to choose a leader, a scribe, a presenter and researcher(s). This activity went really well. All the students were actively involved and were excited to report out and claim their work to be shared. One problem I see with partner work is that some kids rely too much on their partner(s) for answers and do not contribute enough. I find that many times my students want to work with a partner to chat and not get the assignment completed. What can I say? Middle school students are very social and a lot of monitoring must take place. If students have a meaningful goal that was fun to be a part of and claim to have been involved in, most students are willing to take part and do well.
D.
I am pretty happy with the balance of cooperative learning and individual learning that takes place in my classroom. I believe a lot of roaming around the room by myself is very necessary to confirm that the students are attending to the task at hand. We are social people and can learn a great deal from others by working together, but it must be in a respectful way. Sometimes, in middle school, the respectful piece is the difficult part. I do not overuse cooperative learning groups because I know many who would prefer to work independently and not work with others. I believe all students need to perfect the skill of relying on their own abilities on most of the assignments, but living and working in the real world also tells me that cooperative learning is also important. I will continue to balance the two within my curriculum and assignments. I have learned that students need to be exposed to positive learning opportunities both individual and in a group, but overuse can be too much to ask solitary learners. I have also learned that teachers can overuse group work and over stimulate the students with all the noise and activity. I know that cooperative learning can be exhausting to manage and be successful on some occasions. A teacher must have good classroom management and clear instructions given to the students. Likewise, students must learn how to work together in order for all participating to benefit.
Cooperative learning
c. I use cooperative learning almost daily with all grade levels. As I was reading the chapter I realized that I mostly use informal groupings and rarely if ever use base groupings. Most of my success with cooperative learning has come from being trained in GLAD (Guided Language Acquisition Design) years ago. This is where the students “think, pair, and share” as referred to on page 89 in the example of 5th graders. I have learned that when using this informal cooperative learning strategy it is helpful and usually necessary to have a sentence starter, question or lead for the pairs to discuss or answer. When I use this strategy without one of those it quickly leads to a management issue. I also have noted that working with others is a skill that needs to be taught early on in the year and then practiced often throughout. I usually make a T-chart of what cooperation looks like and sounds like with student input early on in the school year. I hang that poster in my room for the remainder of the year and refer to it when needed for review to correct inappropriate behavior or to reward with positive reinforcement (group points etc…). I also agree with the findings in the chapter (pg. 88) about keeping groups small in size. This is especially the case for the primary students who are still practicing cooperation as learning and not just as play. I would like to explore using more formal groupings next, especially in social studies and science projects.
D. I really want to incorporate more formal groupings within my cooperative learning activities. I think I understand more about allowing for longer amounts of time to complete a task or assignment and having individual and group accountability within a task. I tend to become impatient when I see the formal groupings not progressing quickly enough or some of the students doing most of the work. I think if I structured the project more, allowed for more time for completion and created a rubric for independent and group work it would help the students manage their time and progress and alleviate my worry about “getting everything taught”. Mostly this chapter reaffirmed what I know and believe about cooperative learning and it re-lit a spark to power through and keep trying the more difficult groupings.
C. Cooperative learning is a strategy that I would like to work on and use more in my classroom. I feel that I do a lot of the informal grouping. I have students turn to their table buddy at their desk, turn to an elbow buddy on the carpet, and randomly get buddies from the Magic Hat (a computer program that will draw single or pairs of names) and then discuss a topic or work on a small assignment together. The strategy I would like to use more is the formal groups. I decided to try this a little with a literature circle. We have started to read chapter books in our reading groups. The groups are homogeneous. Within their reading groups, I had them assemble into groups of 3 or 4. Each group member was then assigned a task. I have the students work together to read the chapter and then discuss and record the questions for the chapter following their assigned job. I worked closely with a couple groups to help guide them through the process as they seemed the most unsure of what to do and how to discuss. I have only tried this with one chapter so far, and may try another chapter later (baby steps). It seems strange to not be right there directly teaching students, but a few groups had some good discussions going. Some students are struggling with the process and keep asking me what to do next. Trying to learn this skill will take time both for me and the students
D. I think that cooperative learning groups is a great way for students to learn from each other and further process information. It is a skill I am continuing to work on and feel more confident with myself. I think that students learning group skills and how to work with others is so important not just in school, but in life. I have one student in particular who is very smart, but by his own admission does not do well with groups. He says he gets too silly, and I notice that explaining and listening when others talk is difficult for him as well. He just wants to do what he knows he needs to do. I have learned from reading this chapter that I do need a balance of both group work and individual work so that students can learn to both work together and independently. Cooperative Learning is a strategy that I would like to explore further in my classroom and give students an opportunity to practice more.
Assignment #7: Cooperative Learning
C. I am currently working with small reading groups, so I do not “group” my students this year while they are with me. Their groups are already determined by schedule and ability, so it’s more of a direct instruction for ability than a cooperative group experience. However, when I was last in the classroom at third grade I used cooperative learning groups a lot. We would switch groups every two weeks for some subjects, and every 4 weeks for others. If the students were in work groups they were always mixed abilities, and I would also try to avoid personality conflicts as well. The only time students were grouped by ability was when they were receiving direct instruction from me on a specific skill or topic (often this was in math when students struggling with a concept came to work with me while the rest of the class was ready to do independent practice). Cooperative groups worked really well in my room for all academic levels. As long as each student had a specific job, or assignment to complete and be held accountable for, everyone worked well together and stayed on task. Every student had a “work plan” that had to be completed to turn in by the end of a unit, so they had a concrete outline for what was expected during group time. Students were “nudged” into being more responsible for their own learning, and weren’t able to “float along” while someone else did the work. Students did not want to let their classmates down, so they were always determined to get “their part” done.
D. I saw a lot of positive growth, both in attitude and academics, from my students when I used cooperative groups. My students were held accountable by their peers, and had to rely on their own efforts for a grade when it was time to turn in their work plans. It was very constructive class time, but every so often there would be some personality conflicts, or someone who would not pull their own weight, and some teacher intervention would need to take place. As mentioned in “T’s” entry, I would have to roam around the class and occasionally make suggestions or redirect choices, etc to keep things positive. It was also a good way to take inventory on how personalities were working together, or how well work ethics matched, before making a new set of groups. When I taught first grade I was able to buddy kids up even—we use a lot of GLAD strategies in our building, and the cooperative grouping with the different colored pencils to “hold each student accountable” worked really well. They thought they were doing “projects” and didn’t even realize there was teaching/learning going on with their peers.
Hi Kelsey,
I love the “musical pairs” grouping. Fun name! I think trying base groups with your students is a great idea to foster a sense of community in your room. I believe Marzano’s analysis of the research says that the ideal number for groups is three students.
I’m not sure what the latest research is saying, (though you can often find research to support most views,) but our district was saying that ability grouping didn’t yield as high results as mixed groups. I’m sure there is a whole body of information and research out there on this topic.
Hello Therese,
Great points. I’d say at all levels students need clear definitions of their roles and the expectations for the work time. I like how you refer to your chart each time you organize into groups. Also, the teacher needs to monitor and circulate during the work time. It’s not a time to check email or to grade papers. Students need to see that this work time is important and be redirected if they get off task. Lastly, as you said, if the work is meaningful and fun, your students will be more likely to participate and produce quality products.
Hi Christi!
Using your T-chart early in the year is a great way to introduce the expectations for group work. And by hanging it up you can refer to it through out the year. (Or modify or add to it if need be.) The earlier students are taught how to work in groups, the better! I’m sure the older grades appreciate students who have had positive experiences with group work. I think if you keep the group size small, around three people, and clearly identified the roles within the group (for accountability of completion of the assignment), it should help the management of the groups when you couple them with your rubrics and more structured assignments.
Hi Renee!
I think using baby steps to introduce, scaffold and support the students is what you should be doing. Thinking of yourself more as the facilitator, rather than teacher, may help with your feelings of not being there for each group for direct instruction. As you found, students often have amazing ideas or conversations if we just give them the structure and allow them the time to share. And as many of you have said, working with others is not only a skill for school; it’s necessary for life!
Hello Molly,
The avoidance of personality conflicts is an important part of creating groups. Students need to learn to work with others, yes, BUT if we want productive (drama free) groups, then sometimes we need to fine-tune the groupings. ☺ It sounds like you have a very good handle on cooperative groups!
C. In my classroom students sit at tables of two. This means they are often paired up in ‘table partners’. As the teacher who makes the seating chart, I do have some control over those pairings, careful to try and avoid personality conflicts. I use table partners for reading from the text, collaborating on assignments, partners for skits or role plays, etc. Formal groups are something that we use occasionally as well, sometimes with me selecting who will work together and sometimes allowing students to self select. Self selection often ends up being ability groupings, the students intrinsically partner with friends that have similar views of school as they do. Which means students who don’t care about their grades tend to find other students who feel the same, and those students that want to do well and be successful gravitate to like minded individuals. I therefore have to continually balance their buy-in (easier with self selected partners) and the mixed ability groupings (easier with teacher selected groups.
D. When I was in middle school, I greatly preferred to work individually. As a teacher, I think I would fall into that pattern very easily because it is so comforting and familiar to me. Read the book, do the worksheets, take the test. That pattern led me to success as a student and I know that there are some students that would prefer that as well. Luckily, health and middle school both REQUIRE social interaction. Health is a skill set, not simply information to be memorized and reused on a test. This means that working together is necessary for learning the information, practicing the desired skills, and for the developmental stage early adolescents are at. I think reading this chapter has really reminded me of the value of cooperative learning, and renewed my interest in finding structured ways to include it in the classroom.
With my students, it often becomes a management concern when students work together, feeling like either two students pair up to do none of the work and take a poor grade, two students pair up to do great work and earn a terrific grade, or that two students pair up to earn the same grade when only one student has done the work. I have a few group projects that have carefully constructed timelines and roles, which encourages the students to work together and provides the personal accountability to the group that makes a huge difference in how successful the entire process is. It seems that this is something I need to build into more groupings, even the informal table groupings. Maybe assigning every student a specific role with a task specifically for them? It seems that this could lead to less management concerns and encourage even those apathetic students to step up and help the group. I plan to start putting these ideas to practice immediately!
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