1. LITERACY-BASED DISTRICT-WIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Aiken County Public School District January 15, 2016 LEADERS IN LITERACY CONFERENCE

2. Teaching Togetherness Beth Taylor, Special Programs Margaret Brown, Aiken Middle (Math) btaylor@acpsd.net mbrown@acpsd.net LEADERS IN LITERACY CONFERENCE

3. Welcome Outcomes Identify and define elements of collaboration Determine methods to teach each element Create a list of resources for effective collaboration Norms Full participation Ask questions Respectful technology use

4. Activator

5. 30 seconds – think How does student input affect how you approach collaboration in your classroom? Turn to your elbow partner Share

6. Activity Look at your card and determine the answer Find 3 other people with the same answer to form your group Complete activity

7. Rubric Results Takes responsibility for oneself Helps the team Respects others Makes and follows agreements Organizes work Works as a whole team From the Buck Institute for Education for Preparing 21 st Century Students for a Global Society

8. Rubric Discussion Who does it? Should students self-evaluate? Should teams self-evaluate? How does it factor into the final grade?

9. Group Work Count off 1-6 Get into groups Group 1: Takes Responsibility for Oneself Group 2: Helps the Team Group 3: Respects Others Group 4: Makes and Follows Agreements Group 5: Organizes Work Group 6: Works as a Whole Team

10. Instructions Review your section of the rubric Identify what this looks likes during collaborative work in your classroom Identify activities, rituals/routines, and other ideas that can provide students: Direct instruction on how to perform that element Practice implementing that element

11. Additional Resources Fun activities Tricks and Tools

12. Research on Teacher Influence Lin, T. et. al. (2015) Less is more: Teachers’ influence during peer collaboration. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107; 2, 609-629. 1.Let students do most of the talking. In fact students should speak about 120 times to a teacher’s 20 turns. 2.Scaffold collaboration (Students are working toward collaborative reasoning (small group, open, peer-led discussions) in order to achieve relational thinking (using perspectives to determine how it all fits together). Teacher helps the student get from point A to point B. With a teacher needing to be less visible during collaborative work, scaffolding can be difficult. Teacher scaffolds learning by stimulating one student’s thoughts and then letting it “snowball.” Once one student begins on a path, the others follow. Sometimes the teacher will need to prompt and model, but students are more likely to follow the lead of a peer than of a teacher. 3.Provide contingent praise related to the collaborative process (not specific cognitive outcomes) led to improved products. 4.Focus on behavior management during collaboration (reminding students how to work together, routines to encourage turn taking, etc.) rather than cognitive management (asking questions, trying to prompt thinking, etc.).

13. Start with Fun Activities Give your students collaborative problem solving activities, preferably in small groups. Moderately difficult and may possibly result in failure Students should have fun doing it, but they should also cause a level of stress and anxiety so that all students are working together to complete the task (i.e. competition, “saving” someone, timed, etc.). Activities may relate to academics, but the key to teaching collaboration is to ensure that the cognitive skills of the participants do not prevent them from participating fully. Plan the materials, timing, and instructions, AND the scaffolding. Probing questions to promote cooperation. Prompts you can provide to one person in the group to encourage the rest to join in the fun. Social skills you will reinforce with praise as you walk around. Give the initial instructions and then stand back to watch the action. Walk around the room, stop to watch the interaction, give a probe for thought, ask a question, give praise, etc. Watch for problems. If you see one (i.e. a student who is upset), stop and ask the group members what is happening. See if they even notice the problem. Ask probing questions until they come to the conclusion on their own and determine a method to solve it. Remember, you are a coach not a boss.

14. Activity Ideas Document Provided

15. Tricks and Tools Walk around and monitor (don’t sit at desk) Everyone has a paper or something to work on (so one person isn’t doing everything) Have to have one that can do it Plan groupings Silent conversations, white boards, think first Extra credit for admitting you’re wrong Speak up, argue

16. Wrap Up Elements of Collaboration Teaching Methods Resources QUESTIONS????

17. Teaching Togetherness Beth Taylor, Special Programs Margaret Brown, Aiken Middle (Math) btaylor@acpsd.net mbrown@acpsd.net LEADERS IN LITERACY CONFERENCE