Dr. Spencer Kagan
Founder of Kagan Publishing and Professional Development
Who is Dr. Spencer Kagan?
Dr. Spencer Kagan is world renowned author and keynote speaker in the field of education and psychology. He was a clinical psychologist and full-time professor of psychology and education at the University of California Berkeley. Kagan established Kagan Publishing and Professional Development and has provided workshops and keynotes in over thirty countries. His main belief about behavior is that it should be established by using structures in order to prevent and redirect misbehavior. He developed the popular brain-based, cooperative learning, and multiple intelligence structures like "Numbered Heads Together" and "Timed Pair Share," which are used in classrooms worldwide. Kagan's research focuses on establishing harmonious classrooms, promoting responsible behavior, improving students' social skills, character qualities, and academic achievement.
Strategies
- Analyzes the needs of students and the types of disruptions they engage in,
- Preventive procedures and strategies for the moment-of-disruption that can be created and implemented.
- Meets the students needs, and ideally teach students to meet their own needs responsibly.
- Uses structures to help students make good decisions that will lead to responsible behavior.
“Coming from” Behaviors-
Where is this coming from?
7 positions students come from:
7 positions students come from:
Attention seeking
Avoiding
Angry
Control seeking
Energetic
Bored
Ununiformed
The BIG 3
very important for win-win
- Establish an interesting and challenging curriculum.
- Provide cooperative activities that allow students to work together eloquently.
- Be an interesting, stimulating teacher – who can relate the class lessons to the students interests
Structures
- Dr. Kagan has developed roughly 200 classroom "structures”
- These structures stress positive interpersonal peer relationships, equality, self-esteem, and achievement.
- Students can work together by following the steps to the structure, using material or content selected by the students themselves or by the teacher.
Kagan’s Recommended Rules
- Ready Rule – come to class ready to learn
- Respect Rule – respect others and their property
- Request Rule – ask for help when needed
- Offer Rule – offer to help others
- Responsibility Rule – strive to always act responsibly
References Cited:
"Kagan Online." www.kaganonline.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://www.kaganonline>.
Spencer Kagan's Cooperative Learning Structures - an article by Jane Joritz-Nakagawa. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. <http://jalt.org/pansig/PGL2/HTML/Nakagawa.htm>.