1/22/2014

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AStructuredApproach
to
CooperativeLearning
MsAlaaAljuburi
Whatarethetypeofteachers?
AVocabularylesson.
Whatarethemeaningsof:
Expedite
Provision
I i Ironic
Pastoral
MsAlaaAljuburi
1/22/2014
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ClassroomA:Traditional.
TheteacherinClassroomAreliesprimarilyon
WholeClass QuestionAnswer That is to WholeClassQuestionAnswer.Thatis,to
promotecontentandlanguagelearningthe
teacherasksquestionsofthewholeclass,
studentsraisetheirhandstobecalledon,and
whencalledonbytheteacher,theyrespond.We
peekintoClassroomAduringavocabulary
lesson.Theteacherasks,Whocantellmesome
oftheitemswefindintheproducesectionofthe
market?
MsAlaaAljuburi
TypesofTeachers
TeacherA
MsAlaaAljuburi
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TeacherB
ClassroomB:GroupWork. Theteacherin
Classroom B relies primarily on Group Work That ClassroomBreliesprimarilyonGroupWork.That
is,topromotecontentandlanguagelearningthe
teacherhasstudentssittingingroupsoffourand
oftencallsforstudentinteractioningroups.We
peekintoClassroomBduringthesame
vocabularylesson.Theteachergivesgroupsa
directive,Inyourgroupstalkitover.Whatare
someoftheitemswefindintheproducesection
ofthemarket?
MsAlaaAljuburi
TeacherC
Structures. TheteacherinClassroomCknowsanduses
arangeofKaganStructures.Thatis,topromote
contentandlanguagelearningTeacherC,likeTeacher
B,hasstudentssittingingroupsoffourandoftencalls
forinteractioningroups.Thereisacriticaldifference,
though.TheinteractionofstudentsinClassroomCis
highlystructured.TeacherCusesKaganStructures.We
peekintoClassroomCduringthesamevocabulary
lesson.Theteachergivesgroupsadirective:Inyour g g p y
groups,turntoyourshoulderpartneranddoa
RallyRobin.Taketurnsnamingsomeoftheitemswe
findintheproducesectionofthemarket.
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WhyClassroomAFails. ClassroomAisexquisitelydesignedtohave
ESLstudentsfallthroughthecracks.JuanisinClassroomA.He
knows the names of some produce items but does not dare raise knowsthenamesofsomeproduceitems,butdoesnotdareraise
hishand.Heknowsthereareotherstudentswhoaremorefluent
thanheisandhedoesnotwanttorisktheembarrassmentof
speakingoutbeforethewholeclass.Inhisculture,itisnotthe
normtocompete,toputthemselvesinfrontofothers.Heisalsoa
bitshy.Giventhis,hefindsitmucheasiertosimplynotraisehis
hand.Becauseheisnotparticipating,afteratimehisminddriftsto
otherthings.Soonheisnotlearninganynewcontentorlanguage.
Why Classroom B Fails. In Classroom B Juan is in a group of four WhyClassroomBFails. InClassroomBJuanisinagroupoffour
students.Inhisgrouptherearetwostudentswhoaremorefluent
thanheis,soagainhesitsbackandletsthemtakeover.Sometimes
duringgroupdiscussionshedoesnotsayaword,andagain,not
participatinghisminddriftstootherthings.
MsAlaaAljuburi
WhyClassroomCSucceeds.
WhenJuanisplacedinClassroomC,hebecomes
engaged.Hispartnernamesanitemandthenitishis
turn.Juanishesitant,buthispartnerpatientlywaits.
Whenhenamesanitemhispartnersmiles.Eachtime
itishisturnhegetsencouragementandsupportfrom
hispartnerandisabletonameanumberofitems.
Further,becauseheisengaged,helistenstotheitems
hispartnerisnamingandislearningbothcontentand
language. g g
AlloftheKaganStructuresareverycarefullydesigned.
Theyarecarefullystructuredtoimplementfourbasic
principlesofcooperativelearning,PIES (Kagan,1994)
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ItsallaboutPIES
P =Positive Interdependence
I =Individual Accountability
E =Equal Participation
S =Simultaneous Interaction
MsAlaaAljuburi
ImportantRulestoconsider
CoachingandPraising.
Studentsshouldlearnhowtocoachtheir
colleagues.
TipTip..Teach
Praisingeachother.
MsAlaaAljuburi
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Gambits&Praising
Gambits (Useful phrases that are needed for a team to work together effectively.
They could include ways to ask for help, check for understanding, disagree politely,
encourage effort, etc.)
Paraphrase Gambits:
In other words So what youre saying is All in all y y g
So you mean that If I understand your
correctly
You said
To sumit up Let merephrasethat In anutshell

Gambits for Disagreeing Politely:
That would be great except Actually Possible. Lets remember
I dont see how Imafraid Oneproblemis
I can seeit that way. One the
other hand
Thats good. Another thought is



PositiveAffirmation Gambits:
Wow! You Rock! Great Job!
Thats Awesome! Super Duper Job! I wish I would have thought of that!
I really like that! Excellent! Way to Go!

General Rule of Thumb: Teach for 10 minutes then use a

structure.
MsAlaaAljuburi
Forming Teams (every 6 weeks)
1. Sort students by ability (test/quiz/pretest scores, last years grades in
sequential classes, etc.)
2 Di id b f Hi h (bl ) Hi h M di ( ) L M di ( ll ) 2. Divide by four - High (blue), High Medium (green), Low Medium (yellow),
Low (red)
3. Form teams keeping in mind gender, ethnic background, 2
nd
language,
special needs, discipline, friends, etc.
Extras:
1 =1 team of 5
2 =2 teams of 3
3 1 teamof 3 3 1 team of 3
Heterogeneous groups best for academic and social gains.
A and B are shoulder partners
As are face partners
Bs are face partners
MsAlaaAljuburi
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Forming Teams (every 6 weeks)
FacePartner
High
A
HighMedium
B
LowMedium Low
S
h
o
u
l
d
e
r

P
a
r
t
n
e
r
S
h
o
u
l
d
e
r

P
a
r
t
n
e
r
B A
FacePartner
MsAlaaAljuburi
OnStudentsTables.
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Cooperativelearning
Definition:Cooperativelearningisaformof
active learning where students work together activelearningwherestudentsworktogether
toperformspecifictasksinasmallgroup
(ideally4).
Eachcooperativelearninggroupshouldbe
carefullyselectedbytheteachersothata
heterogeneous structure allows each student heterogeneousstructureallowseachstudent
tobringhisorherstrengthstothegroup
effort.
MsAlaaAljuburi
Whocannamearainforestanimal?
Traditional
St t
Engagement
St t Strategy:
TeacherQuestion;
StudentAnswer
Strategy:
RallyRobin
MsAlaaAljuburi
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#1RallyRobin
Rallymeans==backandforth(pairsoftwo)
Robin==Talkingtalking talking
Usedforshortanswer
questions,listing,
oraldiscussions.
MsAlaaAljuburi
#1RallyRobin
Steps:
Teacher assigns pairs Teacherassignspairs
Shoulderpartner
Facepartner
Standingpartner
Teacherposesaproblemorassignmenttowhichthere
aremultiplepossibleresponsesorsolutions,
Think time Thinktime
Teacherannounceswhowillstart
Inpairs,studentstaketurnsstatingresponsesor
solutions.
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MsAlaaAljuburi
TraditionalStrategy:
TeacherQuestion;StudentAnswer
Structuringtheinteractionintheclassroomthiswayhaspredictable,negativeconsequences:
Thehighachievingstudentsraisetheirhandstobecalledonwhilethelowachievingstudentsavertthe
teacherseyesandhide.
Th t h th d lli t th h l t d th ti d l t th h t Theteacherthusendsupcallingmostonthosewholeastneedthepracticeandleastonthosewhomost
needthepractice.
Becauseanumberofthehighachievingstudentsarevyingtobecalledon,andonlyonereceivesthe
opportunitytorespond,anumberofstudentsaredisappointedwhentheteachercallsonone.Students
registertheirdisappointmentwithdejectedsighsastheylowertheirhands.
Ifastudentmissesthequestion,theotherswhowantedtobecalledonarehappy;onlyifthechosen
studentmissescantheyshine,sotheybegintohopeforanddelightinthefailureoftheirpeers.
Ifastudentalwayshastherightanswerthatstudentgetslabeled,nerd,teacherspet,brainiac,or
brownnoser.Someonewhoachievestoohighmakesotherslookbadbycomparison.Thelabelsarepeer
pressuretoconformtothenormofmediocrity,nottomakeotherslookbadbycomparison.Toenforce
this norm the class does what any group does when an individual violates the norms of the group they thisnorm,theclassdoeswhatanygroupdoeswhenanindividualviolatesthenormsofthegroup they
punishoffenders.Thenerdlabelsareawayofcommunicatingandenforcingthenorm:Ifyoucontinueto
makeuslookbadbycomparison,youwillpaythepenaltyofbeingostracized.Giventhechoiceofbeing
thebesttheycanbeorbeingliked,somehighachieversareafraidtocomeout,tobetheirbest.(For
articlesonthistopic,websearchNerdpenalty.)
MsAlaaAljuburi
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TraditionalStrategy:
TeacherQuestion;StudentAnswer
Themetacommunicationintheclassisthatsomestudentsaresmartandothersarenot,
thatsomestudentshavesomethingofvaluetocontributewhereasothersdonot.This
lowerstheselfesteemandidentityoflowerachievingstudents:Iamnotoneofthesmart
ones.
Agreatmanyofthelowachievingorlessmotivatedstudentsareofftask,thatis,whilethe
highachievingstudentsandteacherplayquestionandanswer,themindsoftheother
studentsarewandering.
TeachersusingTeacherQuestion;StudentAnswerhearonlyfromthehighachieving
students.Theyaretakinganunrepresentativesampleoftheclass.Thiscreatesforthe
teacheranillusionthattheclassunderstandsthecontentbetterthantheyactuallydo.Thisis
inauthenticassessment.
Themostimportantnegativeconsequenceofthetraditionalstructureislackofengagement
amongmanystudents:Onlyafewstudentshavetheopportunitytorespond.Theteacher
callsonandrespondstoonestudentatatime,leavingtheotherstudentssemi orfully
disengaged.Becausetheteachertalkstwiceforeachtimeastudenttalks(firstaskingthe
questionandthenrespondingtotheanswer),theteachertalksabout60%ofthetime.Thus
insixminutesofTeacherQuestion;StudentAnswer,theteacherhastimetocallonnomore
thanthreestudents,eachgivingoneanswer.Howdotheotherstudentsspendtheirtime?
Lookingatthebackoftheheadofthestudentwhoisansweringtheteacher!
MsAlaaAljuburi
CooperativeEngagementstrategies
EngagementStrategy:RallyRobin
OneengagementstrategythatisanalternativetoTeacherQuestion;StudentAnswer is
RallyRobin In RallyRobin students are in pairs They take turns stating answers For example RallyRobin.InRallyRobin,studentsareinpairs.Theytaketurnsstatinganswers.Forexample,
giventhetaskofstatingrainforestanimals,ineachpairStudentAwouldnameonerainforest
animal;StudentBwouldnameasecondanimal;StudentAwouldnameathird,andsoon.
Forhigherlevelreview,studentsmighttaketurnsstatingpossiblealternativehypothesesto
explainacharactersbehavior.
Structuringtheinteractionintheclassroomthiswayhaspredictable,positiveconsequences:
Mostimportantly,inthesameamountoftimethattheteacherusingTeacherQuestion;
StudentAnswer cancallonandrespondtoonlythreestudentsintheclass,theteacherusing
RallyRobin canhaveeverystudentrespond.
StudentsrespondinginTeacherQuestion;StudentAnswer stateoneanswereach.Students
respondinginRallyRobin verbalizemanyanswers.
WhenTeacherQuestion;StudentAnswer isused,studentsthinkofoneanswerandstop
thinking;whenRallyRobin isusedafterthinkingofoneresponse,studentsarepushedto
thinkofanotherandanother,promotingthinkingskills.
Studentslearntotaketurns.
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CooperativeEngagementstrategies
Becausestudentscannotrepeattheansweroftheirpartner,thestructuredemandslistening
skills.
Studentsarefullyengagedinfacetofaceinteraction,notisolatedfromeachother,talkingonlyto
theteacher.
Ahigherpercentageofstudentsareontask.Aftertheirpartnergivesaresponse,theirpartner
waitsforthemtogivearesponse.Thestructurerequiresfullparticipationofallstudentssono
onecanhide.
High andLowAchievingstudentsparticipateequally.
Walkingaroundandlisteningtotheresponsesofstudents,theteacherhearsfromhigh,middle,
andlowachievingstudents,takingarepresentativesampleoftheclass.Thereismoreauthentic
assessment.
Themetacommunicationintheclassisthatallstudentshavesomethingofvaluetocontribute.
Equalparticipationcreatesequalstatus.
There is no competition for teachers attention and no disappointment when one student is called Thereisnocompetitionforteachersattentionandnodisappointmentwhenonestudentiscalled
on.
Studentsarenothopingforthefailureoftheirpeers;theyactuallyappreciatethecontributionsof
theirpeers peernormsshifttowardachievement.Studentsfeeltheyareonthesameside.
Thefullengagementofthelowerachievingstudentsdecreasestheachievementgapbetweenlow
andhighachievingstudents,incontrasttotheincreasedachievementgapcreatedbythehigh
percentoflowachievingstudentswhodonotparticipateduringTeacherQuestion;Student
Answer.
MsAlaaAljuburi
BenefitsofCooperativelearning
Sharing a
Communication
Skills Sharinga
CommonGoal
Skills
Conflict
Management
Skills
Decision
Making Skills
Leadership
Skills
MakingSkills
Nochildis
hidingorleft
behind
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEh8Z0sb
iRE iRE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0s_qxJDua
s
http //wwwyoutube com/watch?v SiCSKg32A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiCSKg32A
Mk
MsAlaaAljuburi
Socialskillsandteambuilders
Nostudentisisolated
Allstudentsaccepteach
other.
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#2RallyCoach
Setup
1paper,1pencilpertwostudents
Shoulderpartners(notupsidedown)
If1extrastudent,make1teamof3
Nomusic
MsAlaaAljuburi
#2RallyCoach
Steps
Adoesthefirstproblem,talkingoutloudtheir
thinking(Nowriting)
Bwatches,givesOK,coaches.
Awritesanswers
Bpraises(specificpraise). p ( p p )
SwitchrolesandBdoesthe2
nd
problem
Continueuntilworksheetiscompleted
MsAlaaAljuburi
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MsAlaaAljuburi
LetstryRallycoach
Usethegivensheettoapplyrallycoach
MsAlaaAljuburi
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EXAMPLES (math):
The formula for the circumference Theformulaforthecircumference
ofacircle. r
2
+ 1
JohngiveMary8Skittles.Nowhe
has4.Howmanydidhehaveto
beginwith?
12
MsAlaaAljuburi
#3Quiz,Quiz,Trade
WhentoUse
Use Quiz, Quiz, Trade at any point in the lesson to UseQuiz,Quiz,Tradeatanypointinthelessonto
structuremeaningfulconversation.
Beforeintroducingnewmaterialtotapintoprior
knowledge
Afteraunittoreviewterms
Afteramathunittoreviewshapesorproblems
Before students begin an assignment, such as an essay, Beforestudentsbeginanassignment,suchasanessay,
asetofwordproblemsorascience
activity/experiment,togatherideasorformalize
procedures
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LetsdoQuizQuizTrade
Example:
Wewillusethestructuretoconductachapter
reviewinscience.
Usethecardsgiventoyou
MsAlaaAljuburi
#3AllWriteConsensus
Teacherassignsatopicorquestionwitmultiplepossible
answers.
Teacherprovidesthinkingtime
Teacherselectsstartingstudent.
Eachstudentshasasheetofpaper.
Firststudentsharestheiridea
Teamsdiscuss
Ifconsensusisreached,thenallstudentsrecordthatidea
h i h ontheirownsheet
Studentsdontpasspapers.
Processisrepeatedbynextstudent.
Canroundmorethanonce
MsAlaaAljuburi
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LetsDoit
Inyourgroupsletustryit
Domathsheetnumber3
MsAlaaAljuburi
OnTheEvaluationsheet
Whatpointscanyoutargetwhenusing
ti l i ADEC l ti cooperativelearningonADECsevaluation
criteria?
Inyourgroupsdiscusswhyuserallyrobin
MsAlaaAljuburi
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Howtodothestructure
#4QuizQuiz Trade
Using question cards, students quiz a partner, get quizzed by a partner,
then trade and repeat with a new partner:
1. Stand Up, Hand Up, Pair Up.
2. Partner A quizzes.
3. Partner B answers.
4. Partner A coaches and/or praises.
5 Switch roles 5. Switch roles.
6. Partners trade cards.
7. Repeat steps 1-6 until the teacher calls time.
MsAlaaAljuburi
TeamBuildingvs.ClassBuilding
Team
Building
Class
Building
Fun
Non
Studentsare
standing
Academicor
f
Academic
Easyenough
forthelowest
student
fun
Interacting
withothers
MsAlaaAljuburi
1/22/2014
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SillySports
createabrainfriendlyclassroom:emotion,
challenges and social interaction challenges,andsocialinteraction
toincreasetheenergylevelintheirclassrooms,
tohavestudentscooperate,
toprovidechallenges,
there are no winners or losers therearenowinnersorlosers.
andmorethananythingelse,tosimplymake
classroomsfun.
MsAlaaAljuburi
LetsTryit.
Catchtheballoon
Inyourgroups,eachteamshouldhavetwo
balloons.
Standupandholdeachothershands.
Whenthemusicstartseachteamshouldhit
theballoonwiththeirhandswhileholdingon
toeachotherwithoutlettingtheballoonsfall.
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1/22/2014
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MsAlaaAljuburi
MsAlaaAljuburi