PD Bite - Term 1 Week 4 - co-operative learning

This year our Teacher Learning Network sessions will focus on co-operative learning. We encourage all teachers at St Mary's College to use co-operative learning strategies in their lessons. Co-operative learning adds to group work as it helps to build the collaborative skills that students need to function in the world of today and the future. At the end of this post I have included links to some websites with ideas to get you started ...

What is Co-operative Learning?

“It is a teaching approach that organises classroom activity by arranging students in small groups so that they can support each others learning” (Brown, Thomson, 2000:105)

It is based on five principles:

Positive Interdependence (we sink or swim together)

• The success of each group member depends on the success of every member
• We do this by setting and working towards shared goals.
• A team that works together stays together.

Individual Accountability (no hitchhiking/freeloading)

• You are accountable for your own learning and for supporting the learning of the group
• You need to encourage all team members to contribute their fair share.
• You also need to help others if they are stuck.

Group Reflection (we share our experience of working in the group)

• You reflect on how well you have worked together
• How successful your group has been at achieving the task
• How might your group do better next time

Small group skills

• We are not born to cooperate; we need to learn how to work together.
• You learn and practise cooperative skills in a group as well as learning your subject
• You need to work on building a positive group atmosphere and to encourage others to do the same

Face to face interaction

• You learn through the opportunities of purposeful talk.
• Through group discussions you explore and clarify ideas and personalise information and experience.
• You also learn to accept the opinions of others and to understand other points of view.

Remember PIGSF….it is essential for successful cooperative learning groups

Research shows that when productive group work is a regular feature of lessons, pupils:

• fully develop their understanding of an idea because they have tried to explain it to others or argue a point of view;
• are more likely to develop social and team-working skills.

Group work gives pupils opportunities to:

• practise and to learn from each other;
• develop a sense of empathy and to understand other views;
• develop problem-solving skills
  

Effective group work requires preparation by the teacher. Pupils need to be helped to develop the skills needed for working with others and so benefit from learning in this way.

Pupils are more likely to work effectively in groups if the teacher:

• provides clear structures in which groups can operate;
• uses strategies that support positive behaviours and develop group-work skills;
• establishes clear rules and procedures;
• introduces tasks so that outcomes are clear and linked to the behaviours required;
• selects groups to suit the task;
• maintains momentum by effective intervention;
• sets group goals.
  

"There is firm evidence that co-operative group work is effective in improving attainment compared with pupils working alone." (Johnson and Johnson 1999)

Research has shown that cooperative groups should be somewhat, but not too, heterogeneous with respect to student ability. Groups composed of high and medium, or medium and low, ability students gave and received more explanations than students in high-medium-low ability groups. (Webb 1991; Askew and William 1995).

Websites:

• co-operative learning - what is it and a range of class activities
• instructional strategies online
  

PD Bite - Term 1 Week 2

Professional Reading

What makes a good teacher?
For years, the secrets to great teaching have seemed more like alchemy than science, a mix of motivational mumbo jumbo and misty-eyed tales of inspiration and dedication. But for more than a decade, one organization has been tracking hundreds of thousands of kids, and looking at why some teachers can move them three grade levels ahead in a year and others can’t. Now, as the Obama administration offers states more than $4 billion to identify and cultivate effective teachers, Teach for America is ready to release its data.
by Amanda Ripley

PD Bite - Term 1 Week 1 2010

This information has been adapted from a handout I recieved a while ago.

Setting up for Learning

The Environment:

• Put fresh posters up, but leave room for student work (and put it up as soon as possible).
  
• Leave the room the way you find it.
   Rubbish in bin.
   Chairs in to desks.
   Whiteboard cleaned.
   Tables/desks returned to original arrangement.
   Windows closed and door locked if last class of the day.
  
• Set up a section of the room to display student work. Refresh it regularly.

Beginning of the lesson:

• It is a good idea to line junior students up outside, outside the class, or downstairs, if appropriate, before they enter the room. It can be an opportunity to talk to the class prior to the lesson. It is not as necessary for senior classes to be lined up.
  
• Greet your class, or each student (especially if you are learning names). Eye contact is important.

Learning Names:

• Call the roll a couple of times during class in early lessons. It helps you to learn names. Make a game of it, ie, can the teacher remember all the names by the end of the first period? Start calling students by name and if the teacher gets it ‘wrong’ he/she has to start all over again. You could also print your class list with photos off Kamar. This helps name recall.
  
• Note your version of pronunciation, commonly used or abbreviations of names.

Behaviour Management:

• Be stern and businesslike at the beginning. Be firm but fair; follow through on what you say. For example if you give homework, check it and have consequences for those that do not do it. If you want the rubbish picked up, check that it is.
  
• Develop a routine for each class. Have your Learning Objective, Outline of the Lesson and Do Now on the board every lesson. Expect that students enter the room and settle to the Do Now.
  
• Review School Rules.
  
• Compile Classroom Rules in consultation with students. Keep them concise. Do not list the things they should not do. Make them positive, for example, ‘come prepared for work’ (rather than ‘do not forget your book and pens’). Display them on the wall.
  It is also a good idea to cover “how we will show respect in our classroom”. Display the Classroom Rules as a large poster.
  
• Establish an attention gaining approach. Avoid raising your voice. Do not try talking over significant noise. Use tactical pausing. “Kelly ……. Thank you”.
  
• Discuss gaining teacher attention, for example, hand up.
  
• Be alert to unsatisfactory seating companions and be proactive in moving students apart if they are not working well. Introduce a seating plan if necessary (and don’t be afraid to change this if it needs adjusting).
  
• Balance corrective reminders with encouragement.
  
• Start the year with a clean slate. Try not to have preconceived opinions about students either because you know them, or if you know the student has a ‘reputation’, for example. Talk to colleagues who have taught the student previously and also check asTTle results if problems are becoming obvious.
  
• Consider using rewards, prizes, music in your behaviour management.

Getting to know your learners:

• Have a form for students to fill out about themselves, or ask them to write a story about themselves. Keep this on file and refresh your memory before phoning home.
  
• Devise a form which helps identify their preferred learning style (Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_multiple_intelligences).
  
• Pre-test to ascertain ability levels and to help you plan to meet student needs. Use formative assessment.

Creating a supportive Learning Community:

• Introduce a pair activity to help students get to know each other and also get used to co-operative learning. All students benefit from co-operative learning and placement is better if random rather than self-selected (again to help them to get to know each other).
  
• Try Team Building activities, for example, give pairs or groups selected items, encourage them to construct something and describe their creation’s function.
  
• Try to meet with teachers of the same class group and discuss consistent routines and behaviour management. Watch the class group being taught by others.
  
• Survey students at the end of Term One to find out how they feel the class is going for them. It is a good opportunity to have a class meeting at the beginning of Term Two (and perhaps an opportunity for a fresh start).

The Positive Classroom
This article by Stephen Myers discusses how he creates and maintains trusting classroom relationships. Well worth a read before your first class tomorrow.

Teacher Learning Network
This year TLN will focus on co-operative teaching and learning. The first one will be in Week 3 and I will out the session outline up on the whiteboard once it is finalised.