Organizing Students to Learn Cooperatively

Beth Amaral and Carla HuckDHS SIOP CoachesNovember 21, 2013

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 from 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 successfullyParticipants gain respect for each

other’s contributions to the team

Objectives

Participants will be able to:

• identify the 5 key elements of cooperative learning and explain their importance

• discuss the pros and cons of different types of student grouping and apply them to various tasks

• understand the teacher’s role in facilitating cooperative learning groups

• work cooperatively with peers in a base group

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

A History of Cooperative Learning

Cooperative Learning is NOT a new ideaHighlights: The Talmud clearly states that in order to learn you must have a

learning partner.

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.

In the early 1900s John Dewey promoted the use of cooperative learning groups as part of his famous project method in instruction.

Social interdependence theory was originally formulated by Morton Deutsch in 1949

In the late 1960s- 1970s, brothers David Johnson and Roger Johnson began training teachers on cooperative learning at UMN and conducting research; published Learning Together and Alone: Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Learning

In the 1980s, Spenser Kagan developed the Structures Approach to Cooperative Learning

Early 1990s, Cooperative Learning gains popularity among educators

Benefits of Cooperative Learning Increased Achievement

Increase in Positive Relationships

Greater Intrinsic Motivation

More “On-Task” Behavior

Better Attitudes Toward Teachers and School

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

Traditional Groups vs. Cooperative Learning Groups

The instructor merely tells class participants to form groups to complete a class assignment. There is no structured interdependence, no individual accountability, and communication skills are either assumed or ignored.

The emphasis is on the task to be performed and there is no planning for group processing.

In the end, each person is responsible only for themselves.

Often the instructor sets the groups and then leaves them to work on their own until the time allotted to the task is completed.

Positive interdependence is structured into the group task activities and members are responsible for each other’s success. Individual accountability is an expected outcome. Communication skills are identified, directly taught, and expected to be used by all group members.

There are designated roles with shared leadership assigned and monitored by the group and the instructor.

The group regularly processes how they are working together and adjusts their personal and group behaviors accordingly. Both task and maintenance roles and outcomes are emphasized. The instructor observes and intervenes if necessary to ensure that the process is followed.

More than Just Working in Groups

Five key elements differentiate cooperative learning from simply putting students into groups to learn (Johnson et al., 2006).

1. Positive Interdependence

2. Individual Accountability

3. Face-to-Face (Promotive) Interaction

4. Interpersonal and Small Group Social Skills

5. Group Processing

1. Positive InterdependenceStudents perceive that they "sink or swim together." This can be achieved through mutual goals, division of labor, dividing materials, roles, and by making part of each student's grade dependent on the performance of the rest of the group. Group members must believe that each person's efforts benefit not only him- or herself, but all group members as well.

What would this look like in my classroom?

Big Project: Assign a learning task that a student cannot accomplish alone in a reasonable length of time.

Jigsaw: Divide the group into “Expert groups” on particular areas of the material to be learned. “Experts” in one area work together to develop expertise in their specialty, then return to their “Home” group to combine their new expertise with those of experts on other aspects of the material to finish the project.

Peer Review: Providing students with the opportunity to learn how to give and received constructive feedback is an important part of process of conducting research.

2. Individual AccountabilityThe essence of individual accountability in cooperative learning is "students learn together, but perform alone." This ensures that no one can "hitch-hike" on the work of others.

A lesson's goals must be clear enough that students are able to measure whether (a) the group is successful in achieving them, and (b) individual members are successful in achieving them as well.

What would this look like in my classroom?

Individual Grades: Individuals can be given quizzes and exams. Likewise, parts of group projects can be done independently or randomly drawn students can provide oral/written reports on group results.

Within-Group Peer Assessment: Another way to discourage students from letting others do their share of group work is to have students (anonymously) rate their group mates and include the average rating from all of a student's group mates as part of his or her grade.

3. Face-to-Face (Promotive) Interaction

Important cognitive activities and interpersonal dynamics only occur when students promote each other's learning. This includes oral explanations of how to solve problems, discussing the nature of the concepts being learned, and connecting present learning with past knowledge.

It is through face-to-face, promotive interaction that members become personally committed to each other as well as to their mutual goals.

What would this look like in my classroom?

Student Roles: Assigning roles that require interaction with the rest of the group as they work, such as checking data, keeping the group on task, or keeping records.

Online Bulletin Boards: If students have limited time to meet face-to-face, the instructor can set up an online asynchronous bulletin board for students to post what is essentially an e-mail to the group. Many forms of classroom management software such as Edmodo, Moodle and Blackboard make this possible. It also allows the instructor to monitor interaction.

4. Interpersonal and Small Group Social Skills

Students learn academic subject matter (task work) and also interpersonal and small group skills (teamwork). Thus, a group must know how to provide effective leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict management. Given the complexity of these skills, teachers can encourage much higher performance by teaching cooperative skill components within cooperative lessons. As students develop these skills, later group projects will probably run more smoothly and efficiently than early ones.

What would this look like in my classroom?

Discussion: Explain to your students why they are working together and how the group can promote their learning. Explicitly highlight cooperative skills that they should focus on.

Practice: Give students time to learn to work together before expecting spectacular results from cooperative learning. If you assign students to groups early in the term and let them do a series of projects together, not only will they learn each other's schedules and particular strengths, they will learn to ask and answer better questions of each other about their projects and progress.

5. Group Processing

After completing their task, students must be given time and procedures for analyzing how well their learning groups are functioning and how well social skills are being employed. Group processing involves both task work and teamwork, with an eye to improving it on the next project.

What would this look like in my classroom?

Reflections: It may be worthwhile for group members to write individual, private reflections on their learning after the project, citing which parts of the project and which group members contributed to various discoveries, then bring the group back together to discuss the project. Fink (2003) describes this process of 'learning how to learn' as one of five key components that contribute to significant learning experiences as it enables students to become better students, inquire about a subject and construct knowledge and become "self-directing learners." (p 50-55), also known as metacognition.

Types of Cooperative Learning Groups

Base Groups

Long-term cooperative learning groups with stable membership

Learners are chosen in a manner that will guarantee a good mix of academic levels in the group

The use of base groups tends to personalize the classroom, improve attendance and also improve the quality and quantity of learning

Recommended for large class sizes

Formal Groups

These groups may last from one class period to several class sessions to complete a specific task or assignment

The members are carefully chosen to maximize learning and minimize “group think”

These groups are where students learn and become comfortable applying the different techniques of working together cooperatively.

Informal Groups

Temporary, ad hoc groups that last for a few minutes, one discussion or class period

The members are often chosen randomly and will rotate on a regular basis.

Their purposes are to focus learner attention on the material to be learned, create an expectation set and mood conducive to learning, as well as help practice skills.

Placing Learners into Cooperative Learning Groups

• Intentional grouping is a way to purposefully organize groups by ability, personality traits, or by common interest in a topic of study. Other factors that would impact intentional groups include language background, male/female, and learning style.

• Random grouping includes organizing students by their birthday month, by drawing cards from a deck, counting off, using pictures cut into pieces to match together, etc.

• Social grouping is also known as student selection, whereby students select their own partners or group members.

Your Turn! THINK PAIR SHARE SQUARE

1. Divide your base group into pairs.

2. Take notes on your organizer, listing the pros and cons of each grouping method and a related activity for which they would work best.

3. Work with your partner to compare notes.

4. Combine into a square with another pair to share ideas and responses. Add any ideas learned from your peers.

5. Be prepared to share your responses with the whole class.

Assigning Roles Assigning roles to students is one way to encourage positive

interdependence, interaction, and group processing, which are among the five key elements of working in groups. Once students know the responsibilities and expectations of each role, you will have the flexibility of letting them select their roles at times based on interest and learning strength.

• Group facilitator: moderates discussions, keeps the group on task, assures work is done by all, and makes sure all have opportunity to participate and learn.

• Timekeeper: monitors time and moves group along so that they complete the task in the available time, keeps area clean, assumes role of any missing group member if there is no wildcard member.

• Recorder: takes notes of the group's discussion and prepares a written conclusion.

• Checker: makes sure that all group members understand the concepts and the group's conclusions.

• Summarizer: restates the group's conclusions or answers.

• Elaborator: relates the discussion with prior concepts and knowledge.

• Researcher-Runner: gets needed materials and is the liaison between groups and between their group and the instructor.

• Wildcard: assumes role of any missing member.

• Webmaster: manages the technical details of the final product when it involves a webpage or other multimedia format.

Who conducts the evaluation?

1. Teacher: provides students with feedback on the understanding of content, concepts, and applications.

2. Individual, self-assessment: engages students in active reflection on their achievements. Such assessments also build writing and speaking skills as students demonstrate their knowledge of the content, problem solving skills, and contributions to group processing.

3. Peer assessment: allows the opportunity for group members to assess the work of their peers, providing feedback on the relative merits of contributions and promoting cooperation as students realize their accountability to the group.

4. Group Processing: prompts students to respond to specific questions such as "what worked?," "what didn't work?," and "what can be changed to improve the group functioning process?"

Group Processing

"Groups need specific time to discuss how well they are achieving their goals and maintaining effective working relationships among members. Instructors structure group processing by assigning tasks as (a) list at least three member actions that helped the group be successful and (b) list one action that could be added to make the group even more successful tomorrow."

Johnson et al. (2006, 1:30)

Numbered Heads Together

Objective:

To ensure individual accountability within cooperative learning groups

Directions:

1. Count off each member by number (1,2,3,4)

2. Pose a problem or question to the group.

3. Give a time limit for individual think time, and then ask students to discuss and reach consensus on their answer. They check and make sure everyone knows the answer or how to solve the problem.

4. Call on all the 2’s, for example, to stand up and report out from each group.

Your Turn!

1. Count off around your base group

2. Watch the video:

“Structured Groups: Making Group Work Work”

VIDEO

3. Write your individual answers to the questions:

• As a teacher, what is the value in assessing how students perform in their individually assigned roles?

• What is the value in peer assessment?

4. Talk with your teammates to mutually agree on one group answer.

Round Table

Objective:

To strengthen cooperative learning social skills to recall, summarize or brainstorm for a group final product

Directions:

1. State a problem, topic or issue with multiple answers or steps

2. Distribute one sheet of paper and pen to each group

3. Students take turns contributing one idea or part of the topic, coaching one another when a member has difficulty.

4. Timers or time limits may be set so each member has an equal amount of time.

4. Each student contributes a different idea.

Your Turn!

• Using the roundtable worksheet at your table, take turns passing the paper around the circle, each member adding information.

• Answer the question:

What was your most valuable take-away from today’s workshop?

Reflecting on Learning

• Thank you for your participation! Please take a moment to complete the evaluation form.

• Supporting materials for this workshop are in your binder, and also located in Google Drive – SIOP Ideas – Cooperative Learning PD Nov/Dec 2013