Student to Student interaction, or what some term "Cooperative Learning" leads to student achievement in countless ways. You can search the term Cooperative Learning, and every website about it will list numerous research and other studies done that prove when students work together to learn, they will better understand content. While we all know student to student interaction is a proven learning method, how do we implement this in our classroom? And more so, how can we use technology to engage students in collaboration?
I titled this particular post "Think-Pair-Share = Same-Old-Thing" because I've sat through countless observations, planning meetings, and professional development trainings where the definition of people interacting is to think about whatever it was you were just told, talk about it with the person next to you, and then wait to get called on to share with the class. Not to say this method of student interaction is without merit, it just should not be the only "go to" for engaging students (or adults) in cooperative learning.
So, I find myself in the middle of a lesson next year and want students to work together, what are some methods of managing student interaction I have used in the past that have been successful?
- Talking Chips - Best with groups of no more then 4, ensures everyone has equal voice
- Monkey Cards - I have a file somewhere on 1 of the 8 flash drives from when I was in the classroom of "monkey cards". There are 36 cards, with an equal mix of country names, numbers, and colors that I can pick from to have students form groups. The best thing about them is students do not know which item I'm going to group them with, so trading means nothing. When I find the file I will upload it here.
- Numbered Heads Together - Works best when you ask students to write down the number they just counted off with, otherwise total chaos will ensue. A variation would be to pre-write these on worksheets before you hand them out to students.
- Consensus Circle - In groups of no more then 4. Good for brainstorming and critical thinking. Draw a circle and then a larger circle around the smaller circle. Divide the larger part of the circle into however many group members there are. Students brainstorm ideas individually in their parts of the circle, and then choose the most important idea together to include in the smaller part of the circle.
- Four Corners - For a whole class. Also a chance for students to move around. Can be used at any point in a lesson
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI love the focus on how to group students in various ways. Be it traditional or online learning, there is much to be gained from cooperative learning. I am curious as well about the future of technology-my honest thought is that tablets and like devices WILL be the wave of the future and those less advantaged schools will, as in so many times in the past, struggle to keep up. As costs come down it will become easier to aquire necessary resources but between now and then I fear it will be another example of how some of our students are fighting for equal opportunities from the very beginning.
Jessica, I enjoyed reading your blog post (cute image as well). I agree that student interaction and think it can go a long way in boosting self confidence and helping students become more aware of one another. Having them learn together can also balance out strengths and weaknesses. The example you used with the Consensus Circle sounds very engaging.
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