Teaching & Learning with Groups

Contents:

• Recall Past Experiences With Group Learning
• Identify Concerns About Assigning Group Projects
• Brainstorm Issues Needing to be Addressed Before Assigning Group Work
• Identify Types of Cooperative Learning Groups
• Examine School Wide Issues Related to Group Work
• Understand Faculty Dynamics Which Support Group Action

Contents:

• Compare and Contrast 3 Approaches to Learning
• Identify Strengths and Weakness of Each Approach
• Identify Outcomes Best Achieved by Each Method
• Examine Research Findings Regarding Social Inter-Dependence
• Master 5 Essential Components of Successful Group Projects
• Discover 6 Teacher Benefits of Group Projects

Contents:

• Examine The Needs of Employers For Team Players
• Identify Interpersonal and Group Skills Needed by Students and Citizens
• Examine Benefits of Group Work to Students and Teachers
• Understand Effective Learning Research Regarding Different Forms of Teaching and Learning
• Understand Research on Achievement and Competitiveness
• Survey Psychological and Educational Roots of Cooperative Learning and Social Interdependence
• Survey History of Practical Implementation of Cooperative Learning
• Identify 7 Positive Outcomes of Cooperation

Contents:

• Understand Challenges and Benefits of Different Personality Strengths in Groups
• Apply Learning Styles Research to Group Process and Lesson Design
• Teach Students to Appreciate and Utilize Member Differences Families

Contents:

• The 12 Inch Voice
• Listening and Accepting Differing Opinions and Ideas
• Negotiating Project Approaches and Tasks
• Keeping Focused and On-Task
• Constructive Confrontation and Conflict Resolution
• Learning 9 Needed Group Roles
• Roles of the Teacher as Facilitator and Supervisor

Contents:

• Identify 9 Forces Hindering Group Performance
• Ways to Structure Positive Interdependence
• Ways to Divide Group Work Roles Equally
• Grading Methods Which Tie Reward to Effort and Performance
• Survey Many Types of Assessments Including Performance-Based, Authentic, Total Quality Learning, Peer Assessment, Self-Rating
• Teaching Students How to Handle Problems Which Arise
• Group Processing Skills for Students and Teachers
• Group Celebrations as a Culminating Activity

Contents:

• Ways Groups Can be Used to Achieve Learning Outcomes
• Deciding Group Size, Student Assignments, Room Arrangement and Group Roles
• Structuring Tasks, Outcomes, and Creating Common Goals
• Specifying Individual and Group Behaviors
• Identify Different Types of Cooperative Lessons

Contents:

1. From "Sage On The Stage" to "Guide On The Side"
2. Teacher Skills and Behaviors: Teaching vs. Facilitating
3. Monitoring and Intervening
4. 8 Guidelines for Teacher Monitoring
5. Providing Task Assistance and Social Skills
6. Processing and Providing Closure
7. "If You're Working Too Hard You're Not Letting The Students Learn It!" - Facilitating - Learning by Doing
8. Ways to Make Cooperative Group Work Motivating
9. Reasons Cooperative Learning is Worth the Effort

Contents:

• Learn Informal and Formal Group Structures
• Examine 5 Long-Term Benefits of Group Work
• Integrating Types of Cooperative Learning in a Lesson or Unit
• 3 Essential Group Roles
• 4 Levels of Cooperative Skills
• 5 Steps in Teaching Cooperative Skills
• Examine Cooperative Learning Lessons for Various Subject Areas
• Learn Guidelines for Creating Lessons and Projects
• Ways of Sharing Products and Outcomes

Contents:

• Designing Lessons and Projects for Implementation
• Methods for Obtaining Professional Support and Assistance
• Selling the Program to Parents and Administrators
• 3 Key Activities of a Teaching Team
• 3 Steps for Creating a Cooperative School
• 7 Characteristics of a Cooperative School
• 5 Steps for Refining Cooperative Learning
• 5 Leadership Actions for School Improvement
• Start Small and Build on Successes