Curriculum Currents
October 2016
IDEAS for Student Collaboration
When students work collaboratively, they become involved in a process that promotes cooperation and builds community. New ideas are generated as students give one another feedback. Collaboration creates a culture that values every student’s strengths and an environment that believes that everyone can learn from one another.
I enjoy watching the show Hardball with Chris Matthews. At the end of his show there is a segment called "Tell me something I don't know." Guests then provide the host with political information and insights that spur discussion. I always thought this would be a great strategy to use in a classroom when discussing a piece of literature, for example.
Below are some other great activities and tools to foster an environment of collaboration in your classroom. The source is weareteachers.com.
Dive into a Fishbowl!
Fishbowl is a teaching strategy that lets students practice being both speaker and listener in a discussion.
How to do it: Form two circles with student desks, one inside the other. The conversation begins as kids on the inside circle of the Fishbowl respond to a teacher-provided prompt. The first group of students asks questions, expresses opinions and shares information, while the second group of students, on the outside of the circle, listens carefully to the ideas presented and observes the process. Then the roles reverse.
This strategy is especially helpful for modeling and reflecting on what a “good discussion” looks like, for making sure that no one is left out of the conversation, and for providing a structure for discussing controversial or difficult topics.
Check out this link from Facing History and Ourselves for a step-by-step explanation.
Play games!
Collaboration doesn’t necessarily come naturally to students. It is something that requires direct instruction and frequent practice. One of the best ways to train your students to work collaboratively is through game playing. Cooperative classroom games help students become critical thinkers, learn to work with one another and establish a positive classroom environment. The best part? Kids have fun while developing these skills! Check out these ideas from TeachHub andTeachThought.
Save the last word!
Tap into your students’ visual skills with a fun strategy calledSave the Last Word for Me.
How to do it: Prepare a collection of posters, paintings and photographs from the time period you are studying and then ask students to select three images that stand out to them. On the back of an index card, students explain why they selected this image and what they think it represents or why it is important.
Divide the students into groups of three, labeling one student “1,” one “2” and the other “3.” Invite the 1s to show one of their chosen images and listen as students 2 and 3 discuss the picture. What do they think it means? Why do they think this image might be important? To whom? After several minutes, the 1 students read the back of their card (explaining why they picked the image), thus having “the last word.” The process continues with student 2 sharing and then student 3.
Source: The above ideas were adapted from weareteachers.com
DID YOU KNOW...
THERE IS NO TEACHING WITHOUT LEARNING
"There is, in fact, not teaching without learning. One requires the other....Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of teaching."
--Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Freedom
Benton-Carroll-Salem Curriculum Department
Email: gparmigian@bcssd.com
Website: www.bcssd.com
Location: 11685 State Route 163, Oak Harbor, OH, United States
Phone: (419) 898-6210