cooperative learning Archives

How I’m Learning To Be More Student-Centered

If you are like me, we grew up in a time where if you wanted to listen to music you turned on the radio. To have to wait for the weekend and Casey Kasem’s Top 40 to feel that favorite song flow through your veins was absolute torture!

I’ll always be grateful to my daughter for introducing me to the world of Spotify. My car and I are center stage for Celine’s It’s All Coming Back to Me Now whenever the urge strikes.

Student-Centered Learning

Stick with me here, Student-Centered learning is to Spotify, as Teacher-Centered learning is to radio. In other words, creating a Student-Centered classroom is not only a new way to teach, it really is a better way. Student-Centered classrooms puts students in the driver’s seat. Ultimately, learners make decisions about what to study, and how and why the topic is interesting to them.

If you have ever taught in a classroom of at least 20 students, written lesson plans based on standards, or been held accountable for test scores, you might be asking some questions like:

“How would I manage 20+ students who have all decided to study different things?”

“What about units, standards, pacing guides, data, and curriculum maps?”

“How do students know what is important to learn, how to learn it, and why?”

These questions will most likely not be answered in this blog post. What I intend to do here is give you two stories: One failed attempt at student-centered instruction and one successful attempt at student-centered. Both took place with the same group of fourth grade students, the same teacher, similar content, and a growth mindset.

Questions about student-centered practices — Risk taking is part of the process!

A Failed Attempt

When my district first introduced us to a student-centered model for instruction, I was excited. Until I actually tried it. My somewhat orderly classroom visited a town a little south of Chaos (Friends anyone?).

Students were given a goal setting sheet, and a preplanned math menu. Our math block consisted of students setting goals, getting onto their computers and following the unit plan I had set up for them. They watched videos to learn concepts, practiced the concept with a partner or individually, and signed up for a conference with me when needed.

Here is where it all fell apart. I’ll let you imagine the rest.

The Misunderstanding

You already know what I am going to say about theory and practice. Let’s just say they almost always don’t have anything in common. They might seem like the perfect couple, but when you get real, practice always wins.

In that short description of my first attempt at creating self-directed, self-paced learners, you can clearly see my misunderstanding of what student-centered actually means. Just because I gave students a goal setting sheet and a menu in no way means that this process was at all student-centered.

Basically, students were still required to move through curriculum, with very little flexibility, and with absolutely no student input on the planning. I planned units based on the curriculum, found relevant teaching videos, gave them a couple of choices about how to practice those concepts, and expected them to wait for my attention and sign up for a conference. Yikes.

Let’s just say our math block became a thing to be dreaded. Like, maybe lets just skip math today.

When I look back on this attempt, I can see the good intentions underneath. What I wanted was to give students an opportunity to move at their own pace, to honor their ability to problem solve, and more time for me to meet with them individually.

All good things, all good things.

Needless to say, this idea fell by the wayside pretty quickly. Leave it to a classroom of twenty five fourth graders to deliver a useless practice to the chopping block, pronto.

Once you take a risk like this to change your practice and fail, you can go back to the way you did things, or…

Try something else!

A Successful Try

Focusing on those good things I knew I wanted more of in our classroom, and wanting to move toward a more student-centered learning experience, I decided to try again.

One of the good things that is part of a student-centered classroom is honoring the student’s ability to problem solve. Part of problem solving includes a bit of struggle. (Read more about how and why struggle is actually fun in this blog post.)

How could I give students an opportunity to problem solve, and move toward a more student-centered practice?

Give them a problem to solve and see what happens! That might seem like a no-brainer, but here is how it went.

student centered think time — Use math notebooks as a place to store thinking.

Silent Think Time

To begin our math workshop, students learned a new routine. They were to have their math notebooks ready, turned to a new page, and honor a silent think time. Student’s were given a “juicy” problem to read through individually.

The silent think time gave them each an opportunity to at least read through the problem one time. Students were also given a strategy, which we had already created an anchor chart for, which included problem solving annotations.

During think time, I would circulate to take notes about what students were doing. Are they trying something? Are they annotating? Did they choose a strategy? This is similar to a conference, although I am not actually conferring, just noticing. I might nudge a student or two to volunteer to share their thinking after think time.

Students Teaching Students

At the end of the silent think time, students were invited to share with their classmates any thinking they had done about the problem on the doc camera.

Students may or may not have a solution at this point, and hopefully, the problem is juicy enough that it will take a bit more effort than what is required by one student in such a short time.

Student’s are taking a risk in this moment. Not having an answer is actually encouraged. What we are honoring is the process. What did you try? How did you know where to start? What can I learn from you?

At this point, students are fully engaged, looking for ways to either replicate a strategy, or build upon someone’s ideas.

Now we can move toward the cooperative part.

Cooperative Learning: A Student-Centered Practice

Hopefully, the problem is juicy enough that its going to take some manipulatives to work toward a solution. Hopefully, the problem is hearty enough that its going to take students working together, discussing, debating, and iterating to come to a solution.

However students decide to work together, in pairs or small groups, naturally they understand the value of working with someone else to solve the problem. Student’s start to gather materials. Are they going to draw this problem out or build it? Are they going to act it out? Will they need a graphic organizer?

Once again, my opportunity to confer is everywhere. How are they planning together? What cooperative structures could support their learning together? What Math Practices will they need to employ? Are there additional tools I can suggest? How will they show their understanding? Is the struggle just right?

The Debrief

Before you know it, time is running out. The school day is ending, or we have to move on to a special, a lunch, or ug, even recess. A student-centered learning experience like this is exciting. Most of the time, student’s don’t want it to end, especially if we don’t have a solution yet.

Our first attempt at this took us an entire week! Perhaps you are thinking “Must be nice.” Yes, it was nice.

Remember the goal here is to build a student-centered classroom. We honor the student’s ability to solve problems, participate in struggle, make choices, and all those good things. But how will we know if we’ve accomplished anything? You’ve got to debrief.

~~Every chance you get.~~ Make it happen.

How did you grow as a mathematician today? — Anchor chart for an inclusive debrief experience. www.mathcoachcorner.com

During the debrief we notice, name, and celebrate our experience. When we name our experiences, our triumphs, and our challenges, we place value on them. We record these thoughts and feelings on an anchor chart and we honor how we have grown. Growth is the goal. How can we measure growth if we aren’t noticing it, naming it, and recording it?

Debrief allows for authentic discourse as well. All voices are valued, we listen and make decisions about how we will move forward. We may even find new ways of thinking or talk about how our thinking has changed as a result of our experience. Students might get the chance have to convince one another that their strategy is correct, explaining their thinking with writing and visuals.

And what do you know? We now have a student-centered learning experience. All because we dove into a juicy problem.

The Take Aways

All this to say, try something different.

My view on student-centered learning was forever changed for the better because I decided to try something new, in just one class, for just one subject. This small change centered on my ability to set up a new routine, and honor the student’s ability to solve problems.

Here is a pdf of the plan and procedure for this lesson you can easily use as a model for your own version of this story. I hope you will try it and see what happens. If you already do something like this, please share in the comments!

Don’t forget to have fun!

The Name Game- A Powerful Cooperative Learning Strategy

Do a google search for “The Name Game” and you might never forgive me for getting that old tune stuck in your head all day: “Judy, Judy bo Budy, banana-fana fo Fudy…” How did that song become such a sensation?

Annoying soundtracks aside, The Name Game I am sharing here is a powerful, easy, and fun cooperative learning strategy that you will set on repeat every chance you get.

Three Good Things

Lots of good things come in threes: The Three Little Pigs, the original Star Wars, the Sanderson Sisters, etc. When facilitating The Name Game, just remember the number three. You will need three balls, or other objects to throw, at least three people, and the three rules below:

Say the person’s name that you are going to throw the ball to before you throw it.
Throw the ball in a way that the person can catch it.
Throw the ball to the same person.

The First Ball-Follow the Rules

These “footbags” or hacky sacks are the best for the first and second rounds

Don’t be fooled by the implied simplicity of The Name Game. Often, when something looks easy, it’s because we have spent countless hours perfecting it to look that way. Think brushing your teeth: years of reminders from your parents, cavities, cleanings, etc.

Be a stickler about following the rules for the first round, and use a ball that is easy to catch and throw, like a beanbag or hacky sack. You will probably even hear a comment or two about how this is too easy, cue the 5th grade boy who is trying to show off by using just one hand.

Rule #1- Say the name

Saying a person’s name shows respect. According to an article in the Washington Post, “A person’s name is the greatest connection to identity and individuality.” When we look at someone and say their name it sends the message that we see them. Such a small thing, but a moment of connection can be the anchor that keeps us steady in a day filled with choppy waters.

Also, saying a person’s name before you throw the ball shows kindness. Again, this is a small act that sends the message, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to throw anything until you are ready.” When you say their name, they will automatically look toward you, signaling they are ready for whatever it is you are going to “give” them.

Rule #2-The trust throw

The second rule to remember is to throw the ball in a way that the person can catch it. This builds trust. “I trust you that you are going to throw it in the right direction, with just the right amount of height and velocity. Not only that, but you trust me, that I will catch it. You believe I can catch it, and we are building a two way relationship-throwing and catching.”

rule #3-same same same

The third rule is to always throw it to the same person. This builds consistency. Consistency creates of feeling of safety in some ways because it sets us up to know what to expect. I know that you are going to throw the ball to me, and I am going to throw the ball to the next person. This becomes the most important part of this game and is a big part of why this is considered a cooperative learning game. We will know we are successful when we can complete at least one full round of ball tosses without dropping the ball. Having met the goal, we can now tackle more complex tasks.

The Second Ball- Create a Sense of Urgency

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, i.e., life in 2019, you’ve got another think coming my friend. (Check out this blog post on how we’ve been saying that saying wrong forever.) Adding a second ball to The Name Game adds a level of intrigue and a little thing I like to call urgency.

Knowing that another ball is coming soon, means I have got to get rid of this ball I am holding. Sometimes, when I feel a sense of urgency, I lose my ability to maintain the things I have already built, just little things like respect and trust. I might forget to say your name, I will probably throw the ball a little harder or faster and you will feel set up for failure. But, if we can trust ourselves and each other, we can still be successful and even have fun. Urgency can create a level of challenge that is fun!

Remember the goal is still success still here, so having a second bean bag or hacky sack is best. We are leveling up the challenge just a little at a time. Even leveling up to a tennis ball could be too much for many groups. Always wait until success is achieved, getting the ball all the way through to each person, before adding a level of complexity.

The Third Ball- Ready to Take Risks

People are interesting. When they experience the level of challenge a second ball brings to the group, and they also see the potential for success, they seem a little hungry. They want to live on the edge, or at least take a peek over it. They want to see what it is they are made of. (link to my own blog post)

Don’t get too hasty. We can’t just go jumping off cliffs without first checking to make sure we’ve got a parachute and we know how to use it. Your group has to earn it. I know its just a Name Game folks, but get excited with me.

When you feel they are ready, here are some ways to level up: With young players, adding a small but somewhat heavy stuffed animal will be plenty of excitement and challenge for these guys. Don’t forget high school kids are still kids, and are excited to throw around a little stuffed Bigfoot. You could also add a medium sized ball that bounces, like a basket ball to the mix. Now, participants have to change the way they throw the ball. So its a thinking activity. “I threw that last one, but now I am going to bounce this one.” Brain change.

The Secret Sauce-Debrief

When will be know we are successful? Add an element that seems just out of reach to the group. Say something like, “You will know you are good, really good, when you can add something with a lot of risk.” Anything with liquids adds a lot of risk: a small water bottle, a milk carton, a gallon jug. The stakes get higher when there is a possibility that someone could get covered in milk. Don’t get too carried away. There are risks, and then there are big mistakes. We aren’t going to start throwing knives or anything.

Name what the group has learned, how the experience felt, and what was done to overcome obstacles or correct mistakes. Why was this important? What were the challenges and triumphs? How did you feel and how does this transfer to other tasks in our day and life?

Check out this blog post, four easy ways to bring cooperative learning back to your classroom, for more cooperative learning ideas and to get an overview of the challenge and triumph debrief I use.

Enjoy The Name Game the next time you have a group and some time to build cooperation.

8 Reasons You Prefer to Work Alone and How to Fix It.

Working alone is in my comfort zone and I am a cooperative learning enthusiast!

Every time I walk into a classroom, I look for opportunities to get students to do the work of learning together.

Light bulb moments, new ideas, inspiration, realization, revelation… So many ways to describe what happens when two or more minds are in sync. It’s learning magic!

And yet, I set up boundaries for my work. Looking for alone time to get things done. Working with colleagues requires a higher skill set, and more energy, and is almost always less efficient.

It’s also just plain uncomfortable. Here are just eight reasons I’d rather work alone despite everything I know about the value of cooperative learning:

I’d rather work alone because…

I’d rather work alone because I’m not willing to take on your failures.
I’d rather work alone because I care more about a job well done than building a partnership.
I’d rather work alone because I’m not sure you have anything of value to offer.
I’d rather work alone because the only person I can trust is myself.
I’d rather work alone because I know I will always do a better job than you will.
I’d rather work alone because I don’t have time to help you figure it out.
I’d rather work alone because I don’t need any help.
I’d rather work alone because this job is too important to make mistakes.

Yikes.

Sometimes it’s not such a fun thing to do some honest self-reflection. And yet, even as those words came flowing out onto the page, I felt of sense of relief. Maybe we all feel this way, or maybe I am a control freak and a perfectionist. Probably both of those things are true.

We teach best what we most need to learn.
Richard Bach

A New Definition of Safety

circle and discover — What can you control?

Classrooms are places where control and perfectionism have lived quite comfortably since around the time of, I don’t know, one-room schoolhouses.

But we forget that joy is not found in control or perfection.

Sure, we need safe places where people can learn. Heck, we need safe places period. Shouldn’t everywhere be a safe place? Maybe we need to redefine our idea of safety, and maybe it doesn’t have a whole lot to do with control.

Self-awareness is such a great way to start our discussions about safety and control.

Using an empowerment tool like the My Circle of Control worksheet either in classrooms or for ourselves is a practical and visual way to ask yourself some questions about your own sense of control and even reveal your ideas about perfection. Using it along with This big list of things I can control shifts our perspective because it allows us to see that we actually do have control over the things that are most important.

Not only does it empower you to let go of lots of heavy baggage that serves little purpose in your life, but also it gives you permission to set up your own definition of safety.

For me, it feels safe to know that I am curious and will make mistakes. That I can ask for help, try new things, and be honest. It feels safe to know that I am a work in progress, will never be perfect, and even that I can rely on imperfect other people.

Two Reasons to Work Together

I am a star — Gold stars for perfect ideas.

Let’s reframe those 8 reasons we would rather work alone and change our perspective. Learning should be fun, and it’s okay if it’s a little uncomfortable sometimes too. Also, two is easier to remember than eight, and it can really be summed up with the following:

Finished is better than perfect
Nothing is ever finished, so nothing will ever be perfect.

Now that you are armed with these two reasons to work with others and get things done, try to have a little fun at the same time!

4 easy ways to bring cooperative learning back to your classroom!

Kinder through grade twelve, these cooperative learning strategies are tried and true ways to get your students thinking out loud and listening in.

For many of us, cooperative learning became a best practice we had to let go of during the pandemic. All of a sudden, it wasn’t so easy to tell your students to “turn and talk” to their shoulder partner to process a concept or idea.

Just like SEL and Self Care became hot topics once we realized how badly they were needed, cooperative learning needs to make a comeback in a big way.

Who is wise? He who learns from everyone.
Ben Franklin

We need to hear different perspectives. We need to process things orally. We need to follow the trail of ideas to a bigger and more meaningful destination! Enter cooperative learning.

This year, I have had the unique opportunity to work in hundreds of classrooms from kinder all the way up to the big kids in their senior year. Unfortunately, many of these smart capable young people just sort of forgot how to have a conversation with someone else.

So, what makes a cooperative learning experience the ticket to a meaningful conversation? How do we uncover all the great ideas lurking beneath the surface in our students?

1. Break the Ice

First, start with an ice breaker. We’ve got to warm up to the idea of sharing our thinking, even with people we know and love. One of the very best ways to melt the ice is with a smile or a laugh. Give them something unexpected to think over, something low stakes. One of the best and fastest ways to do this is with a “would you rather” question.

Would you rather?

Would you rather questions that are a bit quirky send the message that it’s ok to think outside the box. It is even better to take a risk and get a little creative. Best of all, be a little bit weird.

When I ask students if they would rather have an elephant-sized duck or one hundred duck-sized elephants, the responses are genuinely original. Fourth graders are devising a business plan to grow and sell duck-sized elephants, while their classmates are discussing how practical it would be to ride an elephant-sized duck over land, air, and sea.

By having your students move to one side of the room or the other based on their choice, you have now included movement, which is another critical piece to the warm-up for cooperative learning and deeper academic conversations.

Another great way to break the ice and prep those brilliant minds for cooperative learning is to start with a brain break.

Time for a brain break

Brain Breaks are quickly becoming the norm in many elementary classrooms throughout the day. Not only because of all the research showing its benefits to giving kids a learning boost but because they just know it works.

“Pink Toe” is one of my favorite brain breaks because it’s quick and silly and appropriate for any fun-loving group. The person leading this brain break calls out a body part and a color. (I dare you to say the words body part in a fifth-grade classroom.)

Participants will then move quickly to touch the color with the body part called out. For example, if you say “Pink Toe,” everyone must move quickly to something pink, and touch it with their toe. I recommend keeping your shoes on, but do what tickles your fancy (or your toes.)

Now that everyone has smiled and warmed up a bit, let us move on to the cooperative part.

2. Which one does not belong.

This activity is awesome because there is no right answer. In a world where we place so much emphasis on being right, we forget how to have real problem-solving and inclusive conversations.

To get things started, display a large image like the one below from an amazing free resource over at wodb.ca.

The image is divided into four sections, each is related in some way but also has characteristics that make it the odd one out. (If you have any siblings, no further explanation is needed.) Ask your students to take a little think time to look at all four images and choose one that does not belong with the others.

Once they have decided on one, they will need to explain their reasoning for why they chose it. For example, in the image above, the star does not belong because it does not have a red outline like the other shapes.

Now that we are sharing our perspectives and reasonings, students start to discover that there is no wrong answer. Hooray! We can all be right at the same time! World peace. Done.

But what about…?

Here is where that one math teacher always politely reminds us that we cannot have world peace in math. Math must have the right answer. Just take a look at these fun little number talks from wodb.ca and let the madness begin.

I threw the bacon and donuts in there just for fun.

Enter cooperative learning. Group your class into 3-4, give them a new image with four related concepts. They can now have a small group discussion about how the images are all related, and start pointing out the ones that do not belong.

Many students will choose different images for different reasons just naturally. This is what we want. We are hoping for a little disagreement. You may even need to encourage a little more disagreement. Respectful disagreement. Oh, how the world would be a more wonderful place if we could practice a little more respectful disagreement.

3. Classified

Scientifically speaking, not CIA speaking, to classify is to put things into groups. Like goes with like, birds go with bees because they both fly. You know. Determining which things should be placed together and why is fertile ground for a cooperative learning experience.

To begin, give groups of students a stack of cards with images or words on them. Apples to Apples Big Picture is a great resource for this.

Next, students will spread out all the cards to look for reasons to begin to classify the cards into groups. Discussions will naturally begin about why certain cards belong together.

Can you see why these cards were classified together?

To dial up the complexity, ask them to create no less than three groups and no more than six. This makes it more difficult for them to take the easy road with a “people” group and an “animal” group.

Finally, students will label each group that they have created with a word that describes the group as a whole. Students will then travel the room at your signal to see what other students have classified and why.

Depending on the grade level, ask them to either rearrange the cards at each table to form new classifications of cards or ask them to create a new label for the classifications that are created. Either way, enlightening and delightful discourse flows!

4. Match Mine

3rd graders comparing their models to the original

And now for the main event. My number one go-to strategy to get even the toughest of skeptics to believe in cooperative learning is Match Mine. I truly believe we could begin to solve the world’s problems with a few legos and a whole lot of active listening.

To get cooperative learning started, group your students. Three to four students in a group is ideal, and review ideas for handling frustration and noise levels.

To begin, create a model of 8-10 blocks and hide it from the students. Give students their own set of blocks, but be sure they don’t have all the right pieces or all the identical pieces.

For activities to be truly cooperative there must be a common goal the students are working toward. In this case, the goal is to work together to build a duplicate model of the one that is hidden.

One member of each team will be given about 10 seconds to view the hidden model before returning to their team to begin giving them directions on how to build it.

But what about…?

Here is the kicker: the student who saw the hidden model MUST keep their hands behind their backs while giving instructions. Game. Changer. Yes, this can get frustrating, be sure to review some strategies for that ahead of time.

Don’t Forget the Debrief

When you give students the opportunity to reflect and name the experiences they just had during a cooperative learning activity, you open the door for them to own it.

Not only that, you validate their experience. You give it value. A great way to debrief any experience is to draw a quick T-chart. One side will be the challenges and the other will be the triumphs.

Challenges

Having done this hundreds of times, every group names all the same things. The first challenge they always name is that they don’t have the right materials. Time, no hands, and remembering the model are always on the list as well.

Triumphs

The word triumph is fully intentional. Now you get to celebrate the good stuff. The stuff that happened because of the challenges. Fun makes the top of the list, followed by working together, time (again) and finally the opportunity to be creative.

If the teams had exactly the same blocks, they would have missed the chance to get creative.

Isn’t this what we want more of? They do.

I hope you will give these a try and if you do, let me know in the comments how it went!