A.
Jigsaw
Overview:
- May
be used with any textbook by dividing material to be read into
logical sections.
- Students
are divided into HOME groups depending on how many sections of
material are to be covered, e.g., three sections of material will
require home groups of three members (or multiples of three).
- Students
number off in home groups.
- All
students then go to EXPERT groups where they read and discuss
the section of material assigned to that expert group and complete
any other tasks assigned to expert groups.
- Students
then return to home groups and teach their section of material
to other members of their group and complete any additional tasks
assigned to home groups.
HOME
Groups:
Number
in home group will vary depending on size of group and number of
sections of reading material. 3-6 in a group is best. A jigsaw may
be described by the number in each group, e.g., a three-legged jigsaw
has three sections of material to be covered and three members in
each home group (or multiples of three).
Home
groups count off by number of sections of reading material, e.g.
for a three-legged jigsaw each group of three would count off 1,
2, 3.
EXPERT
groups:
All
number 1's from all home groups gather in an area of the classroom,
all 2's in an area, etc. to form expert groups. Each expert group
is to read and discuss the assigned section of material, and prepare
to teach the assigned section to members of their home group. Additional
tasks may be assigned such as prepare a 2 question quiz to administer
to home group, outline the material, prepare a transparency/ chart
including main points of the material.
HOME
groups:
Students
return to home group and teach the material on which they became
experts to their group members. Once each "expert" has
presented, the group may be assigned a task which may be varied
according to the goals of the teacher e.g., decide on the most important
points from each presentation, decide how the sets of material are
related, answer specific questions about the material. Each group
may be required to produce a product to share with the class, if
desired.
Additional
notes: Groups of 3-6 (both home and expert) are best so
try to divide material so that your groups will have this number.
If you have a class of 33, and have three sections of material,
so that you would have 11 groups of three, then have two expert
groups for each set of material so your expert groups will be smaller.
With uneven numbers, you may have more than a single 1 or 2 or 3
in a home group. In that case, one expert will present part of the
material and the other expert the remainder. Everyone must become
an expert and present.
B.
Number Heads Review
Instructions:
- Prepare
a list of questions over materials to be learned or reviewed.
Questions may be on transparency and uncovered one by one, or
simply read. Alternative: Have students prepare and write on cards
questions for each section as they read it. Pick up cards and
use for procedure.
- Divide
class into groups of 1-4(5) depending on size of class. Each group
should be given a designation (name, color, number, letter).
- Groups
count off 1-4(5).
- Assign
all groups to read a section of a selection.
- Ask
a question on the section and instruct each group to discuss and
arrive at an answer. Everyone in each group should be involved
in arriving at an answer.
- Choose
a number (e.g., "one"), pause briefly (60 seconds or
use your judgment) so that all "one's" are sure of the
answer, then choose a group (e.g., "Group A"). You may
use various methods of selecting groups/numbers such as spinning
a wheel, drawing numbers, etc.
- The
person who is number one in group A answers the question. You
may then ask if other "ones" have additional information
to add if you have time.
- You
may have as many questions on a section as needed.
- Repeat
procedure for all questions on a section, then assign new section
to be read and repeat until all information has been covered.
- For
review, assigning sections for reading may not be necessary although
you may wish to allow students to have textbooks, notes, etc.
available for arriving at answers.
C.
Think/write, pair/share
Instructions:
- Class
may be given a reading assignment with a topic for reflection
on the assignment or just a topic (sentence, experience, idea,
etc.).
- Each
person thinks about the topic.
- Each
person writes down thoughts on the topic.
- Each
person pairs with another person and discusses/shares their thoughts.
- Each
pair joins with another pair to discuss/share.
- Each
foursome reports one major insight/fact/whatever to the entire
group.
- Responses
from each foursome may be written on chart paper, overhead, or
semantic web as given.
D.
Semantic Web
May
be used as an activator of prior knowledge or as review.
- Topic
is placed in center of transparency.
- Responses
are generated by the group and recorded on the transparency. Try
to organize responses into areas of the transparency. Then draw
lines to show connections between the responses.
E.
Advanced Organizers
While
not strictly cooperative learning strategies, advance organizers
(sunshine outline, line story maps, vocabulary development maps,
content review maps, KWL Charts) and brainstorming are all tools
which are very useful in helping students to activate prior knowledge
and to review knowledge gained. There are many of these around in
many different formats. A teacher can use the ones which work best
for their personal style and content area.
F.
Pair Problem Solving
Participants/students
are placed in pairs. Each pair is given a problem - problem may
be the same for all pairs, different for each pair, or any combination.
The problem ideally should be one that may be solved using several
different approaches. The goal is as much for students to monitor
the thought processes/approaches used to solve the problem as the
actual solving of the problem. The follow-up discussion should focus
more on different approaches to solving the problem. Students will
gain much from becoming aware that many problems can be solved using
more than one approach and from increased awareness of their thought
processes
A variation
is to give individuals the problem (with strict silence) - have
them work on it for a brief time - then let them work in pairs -
goal to point up that working together and discussing ideas frequently
makes solving problem easier.
G.
Integration information gap
Another
example of how working together can make work easier: Choose a complex
problem. Divide the information needed to solve the problem into
2-3-4-5 parts (whatever is logical) - divide students into groups
containing the same number as the number of parts to the problem.
Give each person in the group a card with a part of the information
needed to solve the problem. Students may share information on their
card orally, but may not show information to anyone. Through discussion
students arrive at the solution to the problem.
H.
Roundrobin
Each
student in turn shares some bit/kind of information on a topic/subject
with classmates/teammates. Can be facts from a bit of reading, ideas,
or opinions. Topic/subject can be teacher or group choice.
I.
Matching
Prepare
a container with cards with a word on each card or have each student
write a word of a particular category (noun, verb, process) on a
subject/topic on a card and place in a container. Objects related
to a topic could also be used. Have a student draw two cards/objects
from the container and tell how the words/objects are alike/different/etc.
(________ is like _______ because they both _________.) Could be
used with numbered heads review and have groups arrive at answer
before calling a group and number. Know your students well - choose
a very dry subject - or be prepared for some "interesting"
answers.
J.
Paraphrase passport
Students
correctly paraphrase the ideas/information given by the student
who has just spoken and then add their own ideas/information.
K.
Send a problem
Each
student writes a review problem on a card and asks other teammates
to answer or solve the problem. After all team problems have been
solved, pass the cards to another team.
L.
Cooperative review
Cooperative
review is any type of game which may be used by groups to review
material.
M.
Co-op Co-op
Students
work in groups to produce a group product. Each student MUST make
a contribution to the product. The contribution of each student
should be decided on by the group before beginning the project.
Teacher should know, through some method, what the contribution
each student makes.
N.
Partners
Students
work in pairs to create or master content. Each pair may then join
with another pair to expand mastery as in think/write/pair/share.
Additional
Notes on Cooperative Learning:
Cooperative
Learning is NOT
- having
students sit side-by-side at the same table to talk with each
other as they do their individual assignments
- assigning
a report to a group of students where one student does all the
work and the others put their names on the product.
Cooperative
Learning IS
- positive
interdependence - students must perceive that by working together
they can learn/achieve more by sharing goals, labor, materials,
resources, information
- face-to-face
interaction - interaction patterns and verbal interchange promoted
by positive interdependence affect educational outcomes
- individual
accountability for mastering the assigned material.
- appropriate
use of interpersonal skills with students taught to use the skills
and to analyze how well the group is functioning
One
simple way to achieve this is to have students work in groups to
master work, evaluate each student individually, and, if all students
in a group achieve a predetermined level on the evaluation, award
all members of that group a predetermined number of bonus points.
(NOTE: Do not penalize groups not achieving by
deducting points.)
In
cooperative learning groups:
- membership
is typically heterogeneous
- all
members share responsibility for performing leadership actions
- responsibility
for learning is shared with group members expected to provide
help and encouragement to each other
- good
working relationships are maintained
- interpersonal
skills necessary to work together are directly taught/modeled
- the
teacher observes and analyzes not only how well the students are
learning but how well the groups are working together
Cooperative
learning strategies can work well and enhance learning for all students;
however, the language interaction they produce make them especially
effective for limited English proficient students. The strategies
allow and encourage students to use language for interaction to
solve real problems, thus speeding up the acquisition of the English
language. Some other techniques that also are helpful for LEP students,
especially when the subject is abstract and has high cognitive demand,
include:
- Repeat
- Paraphrase
- Slow
down
- Explain
- Demonstrate
- Use
visuals, realia, rich context
- Provide
for meaningful practice
- Use
a variety of techniques and materials
- Use
all modalities
Always
be aware that many LEP students are from cultures where students
does not question a teacher which includes asking questions when
they do not understand. They may know the concept but not the words.
Try to make sure they understand.
Many
more strategies exist for assisting LEP and all students succeed
in the classroom. This is just a beginning. |
