Six Key Elements of
Cooperative Learning
v Teams
v Will
to Cooperate
v Cooperative
Management
v Skill
to Cooperate
v Four
Basic Principles
v Cooperative
Structures
Four Basic Principles of
Cooperative Learning:
Positive Interdependence
Individual Accountability
Equal Participation
Simultaneous Interaction
Cooperative Structures:
v Agreement
Circles:
Students stand in a large circle, then step to the center in proportion
to their agreement with a statement by a student or teacher.
v Blind
Sequencing:
Students sequence all pieces without peeking at the pieces of teammates.
v Circle-the
–Sage:
Students who know, stand to become sages; teammates each gather around a
different sage to learn. Students return
to teams to compare notes.
v Corners: Students
pick a corner, write its number, go there, interact with others with same
corner choice in a Rally Robin or Timed Pair Share.
v Fan-N-Pick: Played
with higher-level thinking Q cards. #1 fans, #2 picks, #3 answers, #4
praises. Students then rotate roles.
v Find
My Rule:
The teacher places items in a frame (two boxes, Venn, on a line);
students induce the role.
Two Box Induction
What’s My Line
Crack My Venn
v Find
Someone Who:
Students circulate, finding others who can contribute to their
worksheet.
People
Hunt: Students circulate, finding others
who match their own characteristics.
Fact
Bingo: Find someone who played on bingo
worksheet.
v Find
the Fib:
Teammates try to determine which of three statements is a fib. Fact or Fiction:
Teammates try to determine if a statement is true or false.
v Flashcard
Game: Flashcards
in pairs, with rounds progressing from many to no clues
v Formations: Students
stand together as a class to form shapes.
v Four
“S” Brainstorming:
Sultan of Silly, Synergy Guru, Sergeant Support, and the Speed Captain
play their roles as they quickly generate many ideas which are recorded by
Synergy Guru.
Think
Pad Brainstorming: No roles. Students generate items on think pad slips,
announcing them to teammates and placing them in the center of the table.
v Idea
Spinner:
Spin Captain “Shares an Idea” or “Quizzes a Pal” to Summarize, Evaluate,
Explain, or Predict.
v Inside/Outside
Circle:
Students in concentric circles rotate to face a partner to answer the
teacher’s questions or those of the partner.
v Jigsaw
Problem Solving:
Each teammate has part of the answer or a clue card; teammates must put
their info together to solve the team problem.
v Line
Ups: Students
line up by characteristics, estimates, values, or assigned items.
Value
Lines: Students line up as the agree or
disagree with a value statement.
Folded
& Split Line Ups: Students fold the
Line Up or Split and Slide it to interact with someone with a different point
of view, characteristic, or estimate.
v Lyrical
Lessons:
Students write and/or sing songs based on curriculum, often to familiar
tunes.
v Match
Mine: Receivers
arrange objects to match those of Senders whose objects are hidden by a
barrier.
Draw-What-I-Say: Receiver draws what sender describes.
Build-What-I-Write: Receiver constructs what Sender has described
in writing.
v Mix-Freeze-Group: Students
rush to form groups of a specific size, hoping not to land in “lost and found.”
v Mix-Pair-Discuss: Students
pair with classmates to discuss question posed by the teacher.
v Mix-N-Match: Students
mix, then find partners with the matching card.
Snowball: Students toss crumpled papers over imaginary
volleyball net, stop, pick up a snowball, then find the person with the
matching “snowball.”
v Numbered
Heads Together:
Students huddle to make sure all can respond, a number is called, the
student with that number responds.
Paired
Heads Together: Students in pairs huddle
to make sure they both can respond, an “A” or “B” is called, the student with
that letter responds.
v One
Stray:
The teacher calls a number; students with that number “stray” to join
another team, often to share.
Two
Stray: Two students stray to another
team, often to share and to listen.
Three
stray: Three students stray to another
team, often to listen to the one who stayed to explain a team project.
v Pairs
Check:
Students work first in pairs each doing a problem and receiving coaching
and praise from their partner; then pairs check and celebrate after every two
problems.
v Pairs
Compare:Pairs
generate ideas or answers, compare their answers with another pair, and then
see if working together they can come up with additional responses neither pair
alone had.
v Paraphrase
Passport:
Students can share their own ideas only after they accurately paraphrase
the person who spoke before them.
v Partners: Pairs
work to prepare a presentation, then present to the other pair in their team.
v Poems
for Two Voices:
Partners alternate reading “A” and “B” lines of a poem, and read “AB”
lines together in unison.
Songs
for Two Voices: Partners alternate
singing “A” and “B” lines of a song, and sing “AB” lines together in unison.
v Q-Spinner: Students
generate questions from one of 36 prompts produced by spinners.
v Rally
Robin:Students
in pairs take turns talking.
Rally
Toss: Partners toss a ball (paper wad)
while doing Rally Robin.
v Teammates
Consult:For
each of a series of questions, students place pens in cup, share and discuss
their answers, and then pick up pens to write answer in own words.
v Team
Interview:
Students are interviewed, each in turn, by their teammates.
v Team
Chants:Teammates
come up with words and phrases related to the content, then come up with a
rhythmic chant often with snapping, stomping, tapping, and clapping.
v Similarity
Groups:Students
form groups based on a commonality.
v Send-A-Problem:Teammates
make problems which are sent around the class for other teams to solve.
v Same
– Different:
Students try to discover what’s the same and different in two pictures,
but neither student can look at the picture of the other.
v Rotating
Review:Teams
discuss topic; chart their thoughts; rotate to the next chart to discuss and
chart their thoughts.
