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Cooperative Learning

     Yesterday, I completed a district-provided professional development on cooperative learning. Cooperative learning presents collaborative learning experiences for students and creates a higher rate of student participation. It can increase student understanding and achievement at a much higher rate than basic call-and-response lectures. I love the practice of getting students up and moving and changing the flow of a typical work day. 

    I am implementing cooperative learning strategies in my classroom by first creating a seating chart more focused on learning needs- this is something newer for me. I tend to focus on arrangements more on behavior, now I have added another piece to the puzzle and created a space that I hope will be more productive for every one of my students.

    Once students are in their new seats, we will do some team building and bonding activities. I plan on asking them to create a team mascot and they will play some get to know you games (cooperative learning style, of course). Once they have developed relationships with their teammates and grasped the structure of the cooperative learning activities, I will tie their work into the curriculum.

    After my training with cooperative learning, I was left with many worksheets and books I could copy for my students to work on together. This left me wondering where technology can fit into cooperative learning. Does it have a place at all? Can we integrate Chromebooks intentionally and kick student achievement up higher? Through some trial and error, I hope to find out this upcoming month and return with my best tips for technology integration into cooperative learning. I am hopeful that this provides students opportunities to develop digital citizenship skills and practice their ability to collaborate online, which is one of my essential duties in upholding digital ethics as a teacher. 


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