Six Key Elements of Cooperative Learning

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.