Cooperative Grouping

Cooperative learning is actually a generic term that refers to numerous methods for grouping students. Therefore, "cooperative learning" as a strategy requires a closer look to take advantage of potential benefits for learners. Effective cooperative learning occurs when students work together to accomplish shared goals and when positive structures are in place to support that process (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Even though appropriate use of student groups for learning has been shown to yield significant learning improvement across disciplines, the successful application of cooperative grouping in classrooms still eludes many educators (Johnson & Johnson).

What Cooperative Learning Is

=>    Students’ help each other learn and encourage individual team members' success.

• Individuals in the group understand that they are accountable to each other and to the group as a distinct unit.
• Interpersonal and small-group skills are in place, including communication, decision making, conflict resolution, and time management.
• Members are aware of the group's processes. Individual members talk about "the group" as a unique entity.

Implementation

Grouping students to work collaboratively and cooperatively offers benefits for learners. Teachers who are successful at facilitating cooperative learning employ research-based strategies, such as:

1. Create the right type of group for the need. Sometimes an occasional informal ad hoc group is needed, such as pair and share. Base groups are formed for long-term social and interpersonal support. Formal learning groups are used when a commitment of time and effort is required.
2. Keep group size small. Ideally, learning groups include no more than four students. Base groups may be larger, up to six students.
3. Use ability grouping sparingly. Students across the spectrum of abilities benefit by heterogeneous grouping, especially low-ability students.
4. Don't use cooperative learning for all instructional goals. While cooperative learning is a powerful strategy, it can be overused, or misapplied. Students need time to investigate ideas and pursue interests on their own.
5. Use a variety of strategies when choosing students for groups. Many selection strategies (common clothing, favorite colors, letters in names, birthdays) will work when attempting to randomly group students.
6. Facilitate success. Develop organizational tools, forms, learning journals, and other structuring documents that foster the smooth processes needed for effective cooperation and group work. Use online tools for ubiquitous access to forms.
7. Support new groups. Cooperative learning is a practiced skill that requires monitoring and adjustment. Teach specific skills before grouping students, define criteria for success, and develop rubrics for key expectations. Meet with new group members to support their success.

Reference

Focus on Effectiveness. (2005) Retrieved from http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/coop.php

Concept Attainment

 Concept attainment is an indirect instructional strategy that compels students to identify distinguished characteristics of a given item or concept. Teachers give focus statements and presents examples accompanied by yes and no exemplars. Students try to compare the attribute of both positive and negative examples carefully. Build students ability to identify additional examples as yes or no by body gestures as suggested by the teacher. Students will provide the essential attributes of the concept then teacher confirm the definition according to the essential attributes. After that, students can generate their own examples and they learned to describe their thinking by identifying.

The Process as following:

1. Identify positive and negative examples of the item or concept that you are wishing to explain. List each example on a separate card.

2. Mix the cards then select one to use in the class. Identify it as a positive or negative example.

3. Continue selecting cards but allow the students to attempt to classify them as positive or negative examples.

4. Periodically ask the students if anyone can hazard a guess as to what the unknown concept could be.

5. Continue until the concept is identified correctly.

6. Have the students continue to suggest their own examples.


References

Gaikwad, P. (2011). Advanced instructional strategies [compendium]. Silang, Philippines: Adventist Institute of Advanced Studies.

Concept Attainment. (n.d.)Retrieved from http://www.saskschools.ca

Graffiti Teaching Strategy

Graffiti is an excellent strategy to enhance students’ thinking skills and promote their writing skills and that is a great way to stimulate students’ participation in the classroom. Teachers should provide questions related to same topic and write each questions on the top of a separate sheet of paper. The students need to be divided into based on question numbers. Each group will be given a question sheet and a different color pen and discuss the question then write the answers within the certain time. Then transfer the questions sheet to next group till all the sheets are passed through all the groups. In the final round, the original sheet comes to the group, they need to summarize the ideas and share them in the class.

The Procedure of Graffiti as following:

1.Students divided into groups according to the question numbers.

2.Each cooperative group is given a piece of chart paper and different colored markers. So that teacher can track each individual group’s contribution.

3.Each group is given a different question sheet toward same topic.

4.For a short time period (3-5 minutes), every group writes “graffiti” (words, phrase, statement, pictures) on their particular question.

5.After about three to five minutes, the teacher stops the groups and asks each group to pass their graffiti sheets to the next group.

6.The new group with the sheet reads what has already been written or drawn on the sheet and adds additional new information.

7.Continue the process until each group’s original sheet has been returned to them.

8.Once a group has their original sheet back, as a group, they read all of the contributing comments, discuss them, summarize them, and prepare a brief presentation to the class as outlined by the teacher.

9.A specific outcome must be set by the teacher for the presentation part of this assignment in order for it to be effective.

References

Graffiti Writings. (n.d) Retrieved from:http:/
/keytoteachingsuccess.blogspot.com/2009/07/graffiti-writing.html

Gaikwad, P. (2011). Advanced instructional strategies [compendium]. Silang, Philippines: Adventist Institute of Advanced Studies.

Pictographs

This strategy is excellent to clarify narrative or expository information. It consists in a very simple drawing (the simpler, the better), using symbols and pictures to represent the information. Students with dominant spatial intelligence will really enjoy this strategy. It can be also used as a small group activity.

Example

Story of Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806)

Benjamin Banneker was a famous black American who lived during revolutionary times. He was born free in Maryland, but lost the right to vote because of his race. Banneker was a scientist and scholar who wrote an almanac and invented a clock. His scientific papers were read and discussed in Europe.

Banneker was a friend of Thomas Jefferson and was chosen to assist in the laying out of the boundaries for the District of Columbia. This astronomer, mathematician, farmer, and surveyor, was taught to read and write by his grandmother and attended a small school for several winters” (Gaikwad, 2011, p. 8).

Reference

Gaikwad, P. (2011). Advanced instructional strategies [compendium]. Silang, Philippines: Adventist Institute of Advanced Studies.

T-Chart

The T-Chart is a strategy useful for teaching values. Because values are abstract concepts the T-Chart helps students to understand and internalize them. For example, when teaching respect for others, the teacher draws the chart and asks students to give examples of what they see and hear when people respect others. Later the teacher posts the chart where everybody can see it, and encourages student to practise it. This strategy will for sure help students to incorporate values as part of their lives.

Reference

Gaikwad, P. (2011). Advanced instructional strategies [compendium]. Silang, Philippines: Adventist Institute of Advanced Studies.

People Search

Find Someone Who

           This activity is great ice breaker for the beginning of the course. It’s also a good way for you to learn your students’ names and something personal about each of the. As follow up activity, you can ask students to introduce someone and say something about that person.  

This Look for people in this class who . . .

*You may ask, “Do you like spicy food?”

     “Have you traveled to at least three countries?”

“Were you born in March?”

1.      ____________________________	Find someone who can swim well.
2.      ____________________________	Find someone who is an only child.
3.      ____________________________	Find someone who likes blue better than red or orange.
4.      ____________________________	Find someone who is good cook.
5.      ____________________________	Find someone who was born in March.
6.      ____________________________	Find someone who has a pet.
7.      ____________________________	Find someone who visited more than three countries.
8.      ____________________________	Find someone who does not like broccoli.
9.      ____________________________	Find someone who speaks more than two languages.
10.  ____________________________	Find someone who has three children.
11.  ____________________________	Find someone who watched movie last night.
12.  ____________________________	Find someone who likes pizza.
13.  ____________________________	Find someone who ate at “Jolibee” in the last week.
14.  ____________________________	Find someone who can play the guitar.
15.  ____________________________	Find someone who likes spicy food .
16.  ____________________________	Find someone who has more than one brother.
17.  ____________________________	Find someone who likes to eat fish.
18.  ____________________________	Find someone who does not have facebook account.
19.  ____________________________	Find someone who likes to read newspaper.
20.  ____________________________	Find someone who has collection of something.

Reference

Folse, K. S. (2006). The art of teaching speaking. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.

KWL

KWL is a very simple strategy that may help teachers and students to organize ideas about a certain topic. “K” is for Know. “W” is for Want to know; and “L” is for Learned. The phases to implement it are:

1) The teacher introduces the topic and draws the KWL chart on the board. Then, the teacher writes down the ideas students have about the topic.
2) The teacher writes on the second column of the KWL chart what the students want to know about that specific topic.
3) Students read the material silently, and then teacher and students compare what they had written in the first and second columns with the material, and write the answers in the third column.


Reference

Gaikwad, P. (2011). Advanced instructional strategies [compendium]. Silang, Philippines: Adventist Institute of Advanced Studies.