cooperative learning activities
Cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so students work together to maximize their own and each other's learning (McGrath & Noble 2008). I used cooperative learning on my rounds in the attempt to increase student achievement and to create more positive relationships among students.
David Johnson and Roger Johnson (1975) identified five essential principles of cooperative learning, and in 2009 Frey, Fisher and Everlove added another important one. These six principles are: positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual accountability, social skills, group processing, and Fisher's meaningful task.
TEAM Coaching
This is a great activity to use when preparing students for their tests, an activity that fosters one of the most efficient ways for students to learn - reciprocal teaching. I have noticed with my students that when prompted to coach each other, not much interest was shown from the students. This activity addresses this issue as students set themselves an improvement goal for which they work towards as a team. A lot of hands-on learning, revision and coaching is involved because for a whole group to get the highest score possible, a lot of work has to be done.
Focus areas: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.4
Cooperative learning principles used:
Positive Interdependence - fostered by set improvement goals
Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction - reciprocal teaching
Individual Accountability - roles assigned to students
Social Skills - active listening, negotiation, respectful disagreeing, positive tracking, group summarizing, suggesting/persuading, including others, speaking in front of others
Group Processing - fostered by the role of the positive tracker and a set time limit
Meaningful Task - as this activity was preparing students for their grammar test students were engaged
This is a great activity to use when preparing students for their tests, an activity that fosters one of the most efficient ways for students to learn - reciprocal teaching. I have noticed with my students that when prompted to coach each other, not much interest was shown from the students. This activity addresses this issue as students set themselves an improvement goal for which they work towards as a team. A lot of hands-on learning, revision and coaching is involved because for a whole group to get the highest score possible, a lot of work has to be done.
Focus areas: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.4
Cooperative learning principles used:
Positive Interdependence - fostered by set improvement goals
Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction - reciprocal teaching
Individual Accountability - roles assigned to students
Social Skills - active listening, negotiation, respectful disagreeing, positive tracking, group summarizing, suggesting/persuading, including others, speaking in front of others
Group Processing - fostered by the role of the positive tracker and a set time limit
Meaningful Task - as this activity was preparing students for their grammar test students were engaged
Postbox
I implemented this activity in Year 11 Psychology class right at the beginning of my rounds in Penola Catholic College. I specifically chose Postbox because it not only perfectly fitted in the studied topic of Moral development (the Case of Heinz), but, given that I was new to students and they needed to become more familiar with me, my aim was also to shift the classroom dynamics into a different level to create a more comfortable and engaging classroom environment. In this activity created by Helen McGrath and Hazel Noble (2008), students hold themselves accountable through various roles that they choose based on their ability, interest and / or learning needs. Students are confident with their chosen role, they are focused, organised and engaged.
Focus areas: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2
Cooperative learning principles used:
Positive Interdependence - fostered by group members creating different experiences
Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction - 1-5 answer prompts, teacher's modelling
Individual Accountability - roles assigned to students
Social Skills - active listening, negotiation, respectful disagreeing, positive tracking, group summarizing, suggesting/persuading, including others, speaking in front of others
Group Processing - group work evaluation sheet
Meaningful Task - the task was interesting to students, refer to their feedback below
I implemented this activity in Year 11 Psychology class right at the beginning of my rounds in Penola Catholic College. I specifically chose Postbox because it not only perfectly fitted in the studied topic of Moral development (the Case of Heinz), but, given that I was new to students and they needed to become more familiar with me, my aim was also to shift the classroom dynamics into a different level to create a more comfortable and engaging classroom environment. In this activity created by Helen McGrath and Hazel Noble (2008), students hold themselves accountable through various roles that they choose based on their ability, interest and / or learning needs. Students are confident with their chosen role, they are focused, organised and engaged.
Focus areas: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 2.1, 3.3, 4.1, 4.2
Cooperative learning principles used:
Positive Interdependence - fostered by group members creating different experiences
Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction - 1-5 answer prompts, teacher's modelling
Individual Accountability - roles assigned to students
Social Skills - active listening, negotiation, respectful disagreeing, positive tracking, group summarizing, suggesting/persuading, including others, speaking in front of others
Group Processing - group work evaluation sheet
Meaningful Task - the task was interesting to students, refer to their feedback below
Multiply and Merge (M&M)
I used M&M strategy on many occasions when teaching in Penola Catholic College in 2013. In Year 11 Psychology class, I implemented this activity for several topics as a quick way to promote productive group work amongst students. For Year 9 Italian class, I went one step further with this and I added four different roles to the activity which were assigned to students based on the specific skills that they needed to work on. Students formed six groups of four and each group received a handout presenting different topic from the theme 'Calabrian Customs in Australia'. The details of this activity (some of which I modelled to students for a better understanding) are described in the lesson plan below.
Focus areas: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.3, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2
Cooperative learning principles used:
Positive Interdependence - fostered by roles assigned to students
Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction - exchange of ideas
Individual Accountability - roles assigned to students
Social Skills - active listening, sharing workload, including others, negotiation, respectful disagreeing, group summarizing, suggesting/persuading, speaking in front of others
Group Processing - N/A
Meaningful Task - relates to 21th century society in Australia
I used M&M strategy on many occasions when teaching in Penola Catholic College in 2013. In Year 11 Psychology class, I implemented this activity for several topics as a quick way to promote productive group work amongst students. For Year 9 Italian class, I went one step further with this and I added four different roles to the activity which were assigned to students based on the specific skills that they needed to work on. Students formed six groups of four and each group received a handout presenting different topic from the theme 'Calabrian Customs in Australia'. The details of this activity (some of which I modelled to students for a better understanding) are described in the lesson plan below.
Focus areas: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.6, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.3, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2
Cooperative learning principles used:
Positive Interdependence - fostered by roles assigned to students
Face-to-Face Promotive Interaction - exchange of ideas
Individual Accountability - roles assigned to students
Social Skills - active listening, sharing workload, including others, negotiation, respectful disagreeing, group summarizing, suggesting/persuading, speaking in front of others
Group Processing - N/A
Meaningful Task - relates to 21th century society in Australia