Welcome to Exploring Education Through Technology! We will use Robert Marzano's Classroom Instruction that Works as a vehicle to generate conversation!
Step 1: Introduce Yourself! Not only your name, but title and school.
Step 2: Describe any experience you have had with blogs. It's okay if this is your first blogging journey!
Step 3: Simply interact! Don't hesitate to comment.
This chapter has been on my mind this week. I have been so frustrated with the noise level in my room lately. I decided that I was going to just quit doing cooperative learning so that my room would be QUIET for once.
Then I remembered this chapter and went back and read it again. I could not quit. So instead of quitting, we went over our group work rules, reviewed the objectives for working in groups, revisited the teamwork guidelines power points they made the first week of school and, mostly, I just got over it! So it is loud, but they are learning. I am remembering the value in doing this correctly and not letting the noise that bothers me keep them from being in a healthy, 21st Century learning environment!
One thing that I am impressed with as I go through this book and review the various strategies is that they are compatible and interrelated. I read one strategy after the other and can visualize individual teachers who I have seen employing one or more of these strategies in their teaching. It is crucial, however, that we take care in not over-employing multiple strategies. Choosing one or two that prove to be moving students to the next level is better then continually experimenting with one strategy after another. When that happens, students do not have the opportunity to latch onto a technique and run with it. I am not advocating "stale" instruction, but I believe that predictability can be comforting for most students.
Renee...I hear ya on the volume issues! Some days are four Tylenol days! But cooperative learning has much merit if it is used as you do with specific guidelines and expectations! I'm in the middle of book publishing with my AIG fourth and fifth graders. We're having issues with responsibility. The final product may be spectacular or a spectacular failure...the jury is still out. I've stressed many times over that each member of the group must complete his or her part in order to finish the project...let's hope they pull it off!
Cindy...I agree that a fair amout of predictability is a good thing! I've found that having a repertoire of strategies that work well and are used with enough regularity to become familiar to the students is a good foundation. I try to add a new strategy once a year or so and may delete one a year to keep things under control.
So much of the real world involves being able to work in teams or groups, this is a skill set we must empower our students with. Even education, which used to be the teacher as dictator in his or her classroom, now employees teams, and team teaching, and interdisciplinary study. We have to prepare our kids for the real world!
I could do a cooperative learning dance! I really like this strategy. At the beginning I was not sure how this would work with kindergarten. On their level I made picture cards with their jobs for their groups on them. They "draw" them and now everyone knows what is expected of them with their job. The noise does rise some days and I often have to redirect them, but I have limited the time and activities to be completed to about 15 minutes and day and sometimes I spread the activity out in steps over several days. So it can work! I love to hear their conversations during this time. Some of them have some very high levels of thinking and often they explain themselves to others and I see light bulbs coming on all over the room. In kindergarten this has really helped take them to higher levels of thinking and I know when they can explain things to peers correctly they have a firm grasp on the concept. I also like to purposefully set the groups up by personalities. It is interesting to see some of the confident children take a backseat to one who doesn't exactly know what needs to be completed but is very charismatic and persuasive. I often have to refocus these to the overall goal they are trying to accomplish. The more we do cooperative learning the more the children have became confident and successful. They also employ some of the other strategies from the book into their groups. I have heard some of my higher level students begin the group by summarizing to the others the goal. I also stress that all members are to participate and share the final product presentation. In kindergarten most of the time this is not a problem. They all try to take credit and have it their way!
I like this chapter too -- I really try to impress on my students working together. In my classes we work in production crews -- I let the students decide on their first group themselves. BUT, I decide the next groups -- I have found that if I decide who works together the students get to work better with each other! I think this cooperative learning helps not only in my classes, but throughout all of their lives.
Students have to learn to work with others and "play nice"!
Cooperative learning is a very important concept in PE, but we call it "team work." Almost every day we use some sort of grouping system to organize teams or stations. I have learned quickly which students do not need to be in the same group. Usually, I group students myself, but occasionally I let them chose. These are the days when I ususually have the most trouble. As said before, students have to learn to work together if they are going to become "productive citizens." I is a concept they are going to use througout their lives.
I must agree with everyone on the aspect of teamwork and cooperative learning. When the real world comes knocking, these kids must have the skills, be ready to go out into the world and be a cooperative learner and worker.
Anyday you want to come into one of my library classes, you will not find us sitting quietly reading. Yes, I encourage reading, and we do our fair share of it, but I also encourage group work as well. Typically I will let the students make their own groups, but depending on the lesson, I will group them at times. When we have had a lesson, for example, and it follows with a worksheet or colorsheet to reinforce the content of that lesson, I will typically group the kids myself. Like Donna, I like to mix things up and listen to the conversations. It is amazing what you will hear when the creative juices get to flowing.
Oh, we also have music and dancing from time to time as well, and I get questions coming from down the hall (I'm very near the office) as to what exactly I am teaching in there! Learning is and should be fun and I strive to make it that way.
This chapter reminded me of the fact that cooperative learning is essential. Reading everyone else's posts on this topic was interesting, because it is an area I feel improves with each year that I teach. I can remember how we would group our desks together in school and learn together in various classes. Those were great experiences for me because gained input from others,which enriched my learning experience. I agree with Renee Deweese that we as teachers should make learning fun, and cooperative learning does exactly that.
I, like Renee and Ronda, do not have a quiet classroom. I do not feel that it must be pin-drop quiet to ensure learning is occurring. I believe some of the very best experiences have occurred in group, team or partner experiences. In this chapter, I am reminded that I need to select teams in a variety of ways when working on projects. Students need to experience working with other students with different ability levels, backgrounds, interests, etc. and being sensitive to the needs of others. This is an essential career-ready skill.
Like many of you my classroom is definitely not quiet. Have you every tried to keep 18, 4 year olds quiet. It is almost impossible. We use cooperative learning daily in my classroom. They usually have the same group members each day. I try to group them based on many factors, but skill level is considered. I agree that you don't want all of your lowest or highest performing students grouped in one group. You have to mix it up. We don't call them cooperative learning groups either, I say go to your small group - here is your task. They do very well with it. It is very effective for this age group. It also allows me time to listen to each students thoughts better and it helps me to get around to everyone more easily and offer help where it is needed more.
This chapter has been on my mind this week. I have been so frustrated with the noise level in my room lately. I decided that I was going to just quit doing cooperative learning so that my room would be QUIET for once.
ReplyDeleteThen I remembered this chapter and went back and read it again. I could not quit. So instead of quitting, we went over our group work rules, reviewed the objectives for working in groups, revisited the teamwork guidelines power points they made the first week of school and, mostly, I just got over it! So it is loud, but they are learning. I am remembering the value in doing this correctly and not letting the noise that bothers me keep them from being in a healthy, 21st Century learning environment!
One thing that I am impressed with as I go through this book and review the various strategies is that they are compatible and interrelated. I read one strategy after the other and can visualize individual teachers who I have seen employing one or more of these strategies in their teaching. It is crucial, however, that we take care in not over-employing multiple strategies. Choosing one or two that prove to be moving students to the next level is better then continually experimenting with one strategy after another. When that happens, students do not have the opportunity to latch onto a technique and run with it. I am not advocating "stale" instruction, but I believe that predictability can be comforting for most students.
ReplyDeleteRenee...I hear ya on the volume issues! Some days are four Tylenol days! But cooperative learning has much merit if it is used as you do with specific guidelines and expectations! I'm in the middle of book publishing with my AIG fourth and fifth graders. We're having issues with responsibility. The final product may be spectacular or a spectacular failure...the jury is still out. I've stressed many times over that each member of the group must complete his or her part in order to finish the project...let's hope they pull it off!
ReplyDeleteCindy...I agree that a fair amout of predictability is a good thing! I've found that having a repertoire of strategies that work well and are used with enough regularity to become familiar to the students is a good foundation. I try to add a new strategy once a year or so and may delete one a year to keep things under control.
So much of the real world involves being able to work in teams or groups, this is a skill set we must empower our students with. Even education, which used to be the teacher as dictator in his or her classroom, now employees teams, and team teaching, and interdisciplinary study. We have to prepare our kids for the real world!
I could do a cooperative learning dance! I really like this strategy. At the beginning I was not sure how this would work with kindergarten. On their level I made picture cards with their jobs for their groups on them. They "draw" them and now everyone knows what is expected of them with their job. The noise does rise some days and I often have to redirect them, but I have limited the time and activities to be completed to about 15 minutes and day and sometimes I spread the activity out in steps over several days. So it can work! I love to hear their conversations during this time. Some of them have some very high levels of thinking and often they explain themselves to others and I see light bulbs coming on all over the room. In kindergarten this has really helped take them to higher levels of thinking and I know when they can explain things to peers correctly they have a firm grasp on the concept. I also like to purposefully set the groups up by personalities. It is interesting to see some of the confident children take a backseat to one who doesn't exactly know what needs to be completed but is very charismatic and persuasive. I often have to refocus these to the overall goal they are trying to accomplish. The more we do cooperative learning the more the children have became confident and successful. They also employ some of the other strategies from the book into their groups. I have heard some of my higher level students begin the group by summarizing to the others the goal. I also stress that all members are to participate and share the final product presentation. In kindergarten most of the time this is not a problem. They all try to take credit and have it their way!
ReplyDeleteAgain, please forgive the grammatical errors, my daughter is by my side ready to study spelling words!
ReplyDeleteAlso, the time on these posts are incorrect it is now 9:05 pm at my home!
ReplyDeleteI like this chapter too -- I really try to impress on my students working together. In my classes we work in production crews -- I let the students decide on their first group themselves. BUT, I decide the next groups -- I have found that if I decide who works together the students get to work better with each other! I think this cooperative learning helps not only in my classes, but throughout all of their lives.
ReplyDeleteStudents have to learn to work with others and "play nice"!
Cooperative learning is a very important concept in PE, but we call it "team work." Almost every day we use some sort of grouping system to organize teams or stations. I have learned quickly which students do not need to be in the same group. Usually, I group students myself, but occasionally I let them chose. These are the days when I ususually have the most trouble. As said before, students have to learn to work together if they are going to become "productive citizens." I is a concept they are going to use througout their lives.
ReplyDeleteI must agree with everyone on the aspect of teamwork and cooperative learning. When the real world comes knocking, these kids must have the skills, be ready to go out into the world and be a cooperative learner and worker.
ReplyDeleteAnyday you want to come into one of my library classes, you will not find us sitting quietly reading. Yes, I encourage reading, and we do our fair share of it, but I also encourage group work as well. Typically I will let the students make their own groups, but depending on the lesson, I will group them at times. When we have had a lesson, for example, and it follows with a worksheet or colorsheet to reinforce the content of that lesson, I will typically group the kids myself. Like Donna, I like to mix things up and listen to the conversations. It is amazing what you will hear when the creative juices get to flowing.
Oh, we also have music and dancing from time to time as well, and I get questions coming from down the hall (I'm very near the office) as to what exactly I am teaching in there! Learning is and should be fun and I strive to make it that way.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter reminded me of the fact that cooperative learning is essential. Reading everyone else's posts on this topic was interesting, because it is an area I feel improves with each year that I teach. I can remember how we would group our desks together in school and learn together in various classes. Those were great experiences for me because gained input from others,which enriched my learning experience. I agree with Renee Deweese that we as teachers should make learning fun, and cooperative learning does exactly that.
ReplyDeleteanother note on the topic of cooperative learning--isn't that what we're doing right now? :) I have enjoyed learning this way!
ReplyDeleteI, like Renee and Ronda, do not have a quiet classroom. I do not feel that it must be pin-drop quiet to ensure learning is occurring. I believe some of the very best experiences have occurred in group, team or partner experiences. In this chapter, I am reminded that I need to select teams in a variety of ways when working on projects. Students need to experience working with other students with different ability levels, backgrounds, interests, etc. and being sensitive to the needs of others. This is an essential career-ready skill.
ReplyDeleteLike many of you my classroom is definitely not quiet. Have you every tried to keep 18, 4 year olds quiet. It is almost impossible. We use cooperative learning daily in my classroom. They usually have the same group members each day. I try to group them based on many factors, but skill level is considered. I agree that you don't want all of your lowest or highest performing students grouped in one group. You have to mix it up. We don't call them cooperative learning groups either, I say go to your small group - here is your task. They do very well with it. It is very effective for this age group. It also allows me time to listen to each students thoughts better and it helps me to get around to everyone more easily and offer help where it is needed more.
ReplyDelete