Cooperative
Learning
It’s All About Engagement!
Implementation
In a two day professional development
training eighty Surry County School
teachers and administrators were trained
in the Kagan model of Cooperative
Learning. This model has been shared
throughout the county by our Professional
Learning Communities exchanging
instructional strategies that are displaying
success in the classroom. Cooperative
Learning promotes collaboration and
cooperation in the classroom.
Cooperative Learning Goals
To distinguish between
Cooperative Learning and
Group Work
Positive Interdependence
Individual Accountability
Equal Participation
Simultaneous Interaction
Cooperative Learning Goals
To learn specific structures
to keep students engaged
Generating activities:
Content + Structure = Activity
Cooperative Learning Goals
To engage students in a
Brain-Friendly
environment
Safety
Nourishment
Novelty
Cooperative Learning Goals
To review and learn how to
incorporate the 21st
Century multiple literacies
Communication
Team Work
Connections to Multiple
Literacies
Working cooperatively is woven
throughout the 21st Century multiple
literacies.
• Expression of point of view
• Diversity
• Communicating new ideas
• Contribution to a group
• Respecting self and others
• Community
Group Work vs.
Cooperative Learning
Research says that true cooperative
learning, as opposed to group work,
will boost learning and assessment
results.
Hundreds of studies resulted with
this finding.
Group Work vs.
Cooperative Learning
Remember!
Positive Interdependence
Individual Accountability
Equal Participation
Simultaneous Interaction
Three Kinds of Teachers
Teacher A
Teacher asks question
Think time provided
Student raises hand
Teacher calls on student
Student answers
Teacher responds
Results of Teacher A Lesson
• Quiet noise level
• Students finished at different times
• Teacher grades all work
• No help for struggling students
• No enrichment for gifted students
Three Kinds of Teachers
Teacher B
Teacher asks question
Think time provided
Practice – group work
“Help each other”
“Solve it as a team”
Results of Teacher B Lesson
• Teacher grades and assigns group
scores
• Noise level minimum
• Smart students working on task
• Struggling students not involved with
content assignment, only group
assignment (recorder, etc.)
Three Kinds of Teachers
Teacher C
Teacher asks question
Student to student
interaction
Content + Structure
Teacher C Activity
Rally Coach
A = Solve first problem; talk aloud
throughout process
B = Watch, Coach, Help, Praise
Swap roles after every problem.
A:10
Results of Teacher C Lesson
• All students engaged in content and
structure
• Positive noise level
• Student to student interaction
Introducing Structures
Fan-N-Pick: Pick a card, any card!
Teammates play a card game to
respond to questions. Roles rotate
with each new question.
Processing Fan-N-Pick
Using Round Robin Rally, share ideas
that the Fan-N-Pick structure can be
used for content in your classroom.
3 minutes
Begin with Student ___
Mix-Pair-Share
The class “mixes” until the teacher
calls, “PAIR.” Students find a new
partner to discuss or answer the
teacher’s question.
• Using music
• Ask questions regarding the multiple
literacies and group work vs.
cooperative learning
Quiz-Quiz Trade
Students quiz a partner, get quizzed
by a partner, and then trade cards
to repeat the process with a new
partner.
Timed: _____ minutes
Questions:
Rally Robin
In pairs, students take turns
responding orally.
Minutes: ______
StandUp-HandUp-PairUp
Students stand up, put their hands up,
and quickly find a partner with whom
to share or discuss.
All Write Round Up
In teams, students take turns sharing
responses. All teammates write each
answer shared.
Question:
Minutes:
Timed Pair Share
In pairs, students share with a
partner for a predetermined time
while the partner listens. Then
partners switch roles.
Question:
Time:
Round Robin Variations
• Single Round Robin
• Continuous Round Robin
• Timed Round Robin
• All Write Round Robin
Silly Sports
Silly Sports are needed to get
students out of their seats and get
blood flowing to their brain.
• Freeze-Unfreezer Tag
• Everybody’s It
• Balloon Bounce
Forming Teams
• Step One
– Make cards
• Name
• Sex
• Score
Keep up with prior teams
Teams should change every six weeks
Score used may vary
Forming Teams
• Step Two:
– Sort Cards
• Do the math
• Place on matrix
• Consider remainders
Each team should contain a high, high
medium, low medium, and low
Forming Teams
• Step Three:
– Color Coding
• High – Blue
• High Medium – Green
• Low Medium – Purple
• Low – Red
Other considerations: social skills, special
needs
Forming Teams
• Step Four:
– Remember
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• 2nd Language
• Special needs
• Difficult clients
Management
• Hints:
– Establish a quiet signal
– Number seats
– Create shoulder partners and face
partners
– Goal: clusters full-time
– Consider seating
– Consider proximity to all teams
– Form mixed-ability teams
– Create an island of cooperativeness
– Decide who goes first
Room Arrangement
• Sketch your classroom arrangement
now
• Using Kagan’s structures, see the
provided diagram on page ___ of the
text as the suggested classroom
diagram.
• Using Timed Pair Share, how might
you rearrange your classroom to
incorporate the Kagan structures?
Lesson Planning
• Expectations:
– Incorporate team building and class
building into upcoming lesson plans.
– Move from Teacher A/B toward
C
Teacher
– Move from group work to cooperative
learning structures
Follow Up
• Lesson Plans
• Snapshots
• Observations (Standard IV d)
• PLCs sharing