Cooperative Learning

Corkboard Connections is a blog written by Laura Candler who enjoys connecting terrific teachers with amazing resources!

Laura Candler's tips for forming effective cooperative learning teams.

Corkboard Connections is a blog written by Laura Candler who enjoys connecting terrific teachers with amazing resources!

With the attention given to the Common Core Informational Text and Literacy Standards, it's easy to overlook the other ELA standards, especially the Speaking and Listening Standard. But even though this is not a tested area, speaking and listening skills are extremely important. Knowing how to participate actively in a discussion involves the highest level of communication because both speaking and listening skills are required. Often it's through talking over ideas with others that we are able to dig deeply into core concepts and understand them fully.

What keeps cooperative learning from becoming chaotic? Structure, equal participation, and individual accountability! When all students are actively engaged, there's no time for misbehavior and learning is multiplied!Individual dry erase boards are essential if you want to foster active engagement. One of my favorite cooperative learning activities involving dry erase boards is "Showdown." This strategy includes all of the elements that make cooperative learning lessons successful. It has a clear structure, students participate equally, and all team members are held individually accountable for their own work.

Cooperative learning activities are often designed for teams of four students. However, sometimes a team is just too big, especially in math. Sometimes the perfect number of students for a practice activity is just two. Partners tend to cooperate more and argue less, and kids are usually more actively engaged when working with a partner as opposed to a large team.With that in mind, I developed a new cooperative learning partner activity that I've named Solve 'n Switch. You can download it for free from my Math Stations page on Teaching Resources. Just add task cards that are appropriate for your unit of study, and you'll have an engaging and fun review activity!

Have you heard of the review game Scoot? It's a whole class activity that gets kids up and moving from one seat to another as they solve problems. Team Scoot is a fun variation that allows students to work in cooperative learning teams which gives them an opportunity to discuss their answers and stretch their thinking.

As you know from your own discussions, a great conversationalist is someone who really listens to others and who demonstrates this by linking his or her ideas to those of others in the group.This skill is so important that it's now stated in the Common Core Speaking and Listening Standards for collaborative discussion at almost every grade level. But how do we teach that skill?One way to link your response to someone else's idea is to use these steps:Name the person who shared the idea to which you are connecting.Mention a key idea, fact, or opinion the other person shared.Clearly state your own question, opinion, or idea.

Pumpkin Predictions is a perfect fall-themed activity for upper elementary students because it's not a Halloween activity, but it seems like one! The lesson is actually a great math review since it involves estimation and hands-on measurement.

Why do so many students struggle with math word problems? Maybe they just don't know where to begin and get overwhelmed at the thought of tackling a problem. Often kids lack experience with different types of problems and different strategies, and they give up before they get started. The Recharge & Write strategy is a cooperative learning strategy that encourages discussion and helps build confidence in problem solving. Download free directions and word problem worksheets.

What's the secret to a great lesson? There are actually two of them: rigor and fun! Read this post to learn 10 ways to power up any lesson so that it's both challenging AND fun!

Discover 6 cooperative learning task card strategies to foster meaningful discussion. You can also sign up for a free live webinar with Laura Candler and Rachel Lynette, Power Up Learning with Task Cards.

Ask One is a cooperative learning strategy that's easy to implement in math. It will instantly elevate your group work and make it more effective.

This collaborative board is for teaching strategies and resources to help implement cooperative learning in the grade 2 - 6 classroom.

Corkboard Connections is a blog written by Laura Candler who enjoys connecting terrific teachers with amazing resources!

Cooperative learning is awesome, but sometime the noise and confusion caused by learning together can be distracting to others. It's not that your kids are intentionally being loud - they're just excited about what they are doing and aren't making any effort to keep their voices down. Or maybe their conversations are getting sidetracked into topics that aren't related to the task at all. However, I never felt it was right to waste class time lecturing everyone for the behavior of one or two teams, and lecturing kids never works, anyway.