Quality teaching and effective learning situations can be enhanced through the use of Cooperative Learning Workshop – acquiring the basics #

 “there is more to cooperative learning than a seating arrangement. Placing students in groups and telling them to work together does not in and of itself result in cooperative learning’. (source unknown) #

What do we know about effective learning ? Students need: emotional and physical well being attended to a secure and supportive environment in which they feel valued and respected stimulating and varied input recognition of their individual learning styles and abilities. to transfer concepts and skills across various contexts to link new ideas with existing understandings to recognise patterns to be motivated (by need/interest/real purposes)

to construct understandings for themselves a physical environment that supports learning dialogue and collaboration with others time to gather, process, digest and practise to reflect on their learning. responsibility for their learning emotional engagement authentic, direct experiences as sources of new information/ideas involvement in setting personal goals creative potential tapped across curriculum to be challenged beyond what they know Munroe,J. 1993; Aitkin, J. 1997; Hornsby and Murdoch, 1998; Boomer, G. 1982; Caine, G. and Caine, R. 1991, 2000; Gardner, H. 1991; Novak, J. 1989; Marzano et al. 2001, Education Queensland ‘New Basics’ project, 2001.

PEEL Principles of Teaching for Quality Learning 1.Share intellectual control with students. 2.Create occasions when students can work out part (or all) of the content or instructions. 3.Provide opportunities for choice and independent decision-making. 4.Provide a diverse ways for students to experience success. 5.Promote talk that is exploratory, tentative and hypothetical. 6.Encourage students to learn from other students’ questions and comments. 7.Build a classroom environment that supports risk-taking. 8.Use a wide variety of intellectually challenging teaching procedures. 9.Use teaching procedures that are designed to promote specific aspects of quality learning. 10.Develop students: awareness of the big picture: how the various activities fit together and link to the big ideas. 11.Regularly raise students’ awareness of the nature of different aspects of quality learning. (Metacognition) 12.Promote assessment as part of the learning process.

Cooperative Learning Influences…. #

Six Key Concepts that underpin /essential to the effective use of Cooperative Learning (page 2)  Teams  Will  Manage (ment)  Social Skills and  Principles – P.I.E.S through  Structures #

TEAMS  Teams – no’s 4  Length of time in a team 5 weeks (min)  The ‘abilities’ mix in a team High - blue, High Medium - green, Low Medium - yellow, Low – red page (‘abilities’ work best in this arrangement; students are not told their ability type – teacher carefully allocates the colours as if by random)  Working in pairs shoulder partners or face partners

HighHigh Medium Low Medium Low Face partners Shoulder partners Physical Seating Options pg 26 Seating Arrangement for Mixed Ability group

WILL page  Classbuilding – fun activities that build up trust and a positive classroom climate *done at least once a week *stand up, move around *form pairs, partnerships  Teambuilding – fun, social activities that can be used as state changers; develop trust and social skills * done at least 2 a week * non academic * easy enough for everyone to participate

MANAGE(MENT)  There are 12 social roles that can be used for team projects and team discussions. Every person in the team has a role.  Each role has corresponding social skills #

Manage(ment) cont’d  a quiet signal : raise hand and say ‘high five’ (more suggestions pg 21-22,24)  number the seats: same order for each table  shoulder partner and face partners are named Person A and Person B  materials : 1 student per team collects /passes out (Selector tool can assist)  Sponge tasks: “When you’re done, do this…” write these tasks on the b/b  - Time allocated to tasks (Timer Tool can assist)

Manage(ment) cont’d  Music: - solo work such as journal writing, creative writing, silent reading etc should be 60 beats / minute (slow and no words) - Students entering or leaving the room, when energy is needed, any kind of movement use music with words at 120 beats per minute (music from 50’s, 60’s and 70’s)

Social Skills  Your observations  Teach the social skills

Principles  P ositive Interdependence  I ndividual Accountability  E qual Participation  S imultaneous Interaction

Principles cont’d  Why Learn about PIES? * To ensure that activities / learning experiences are cooperative learning and not groupwork * To evaluate new /old teaching and learning activities * To put things back on track; use PIES to see where CL is broken (refer to pg 9, 54)

Structures  Round Robin Variations - oral activities  Round table variations - written activities  Working in Pairs pg43 – 45, 57

Evaluation / Reflection  Pg

Websites  erGuides/cooplear.html erGuides/cooplear.html   es/cooperative/front_cooperative.htm