The Collaborative Classroom M.B. Tinzmann, B.F. Jones, T.F. Fennimore, J. New Learning and Thinking Curricula Require Collaboration In Guidebook 1, we explored a "new" vision of learning and suggested four characteristics of successful learners: They are knowledgeable, self-determined strategic, and empathetic thinkers. Effective communication and collaboration are essential to becoming a successful learner. This focus on the collective knowledge and thinking of the group changes the roles of students and teachers and the way they interact in the classroom. The purpose of this GuideBook is to elaborate what classroom collaboration means so that this grass-roots movement can continue to grow and flourish. Characteristics of a Collaborative Classroom Collaborative classrooms seem to have four general characteristics. 1. In traditional classrooms, the dominant metaphor for teaching is the teacher as information giver; knowledge flows only one way from teacher to student. 2. 3. 4. Challenges and Conflicts 1. 2. 3. 4.
The Jigsaw Classroom The 55 Best Free Education Apps For iPad Finding apps isn’t difficult. Finding education apps is only a bit more challenging. Finding free education apps is also possible. Finding free education apps worth downloading is a different story entirely. The following is our list for the 55 best apps for learning we can find. A few notes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The 55 Best Free Education Apps For iPad 1. Developer Description: View 360-degree panoramas of places around the globe with Street View; View high resolution satellite imagery of locations around the world. 2. Developer Description: “…explore more than 750 Science, Math, Social Studies, English, Engineering & Tech, Arts & Music, and Health subjects right on their mobile devices. 3. Developer Description: “This app is a fun way for parents, teachers, librarians, and readers to get more information about top rated books at the fifth and sixth grade level. 4. 5. Developer Description: “A growing library of over 80 hands-on Science lessons that are great for home and the classroom. 6. 7.
Crafting Questions That Drive Projects Which comes first, the driving question or the learning goals? I think it depends. The most successful projects feed off of students’ passions. In my first year of teaching, my fifth graders were obsessed with SpongeBob Squarepants. What adventures would SpongeBob have during the Great Depression? So, to develop a driving question, you can use students' interest as a starting point and then creatively connect learning standards. Some of the learning aims my school had for students in math were working with decimals and graphing data. So, you can start with a topic or you start with learning standards to develop a driving question.
How to use real problems to spark real engagement What better way to link the classroom to real life than by giving students problems that actually need fixing? With problem-based learning, students start with a question worth probing and end with a solution that can often provide tangible results. By putting students in the “driver’s seat” of their own learning, education becomes “more relevant and purposeful,” says problem-based learning author and advocate Suzie Boss in her book, Real-World Projects: How do I design relevant and engaging learning experiences? Here are three tips to help your students get the most from their problem-based learning experience: 1. Students are more likely to care about issues that matter to their own lives, especially if they can visualize how the results can improve their schools or communities. In an Education World blog article, Aimee Hosier offers a few questions to get the brainstorming process started: How can we limit food waste in the school cafeteria? 2. 3.
ESL Jigsaws | What Is A Jigsaw? The jigsaw method could be described as "info gap squared." As the father of jigsaws, Professor Eliot Aron says, it promotes positive interdependence and also provides a simple method to ensure individual accountability. From the language learner perspective, it creates a genuine communication situation. Watch this video to get a 3 minute explanation of the method: Watch this 9 minute video to learn how to use the jigsaw most successfully and how to make your own jigsaws: In the jigsaw form of instruction, the target material is divided, usually into four parts, and distributed to small groups to learn. When these homogeneous groups have mastered their material, students regroup into heterogeneous groups to present material and complete a task. Peer teaching and group problem solving are used to complete the jigsaw. Initially, your classroom would look like this: Once students have mastered their material, your classroom would look like this:
La red educativa escolar - Tiching Driving Questions Now that we have looked at how to ask questions, let's look at why we ask questions. What is our objective? The kind of question we ask our students changes depending on how far along we have progressed in a project and on the mastery level of our students. As students proceed through a project, we can identify two levels of progression: horizontal and vertical. Horizontal progression enhances the breadth of student knowledge and occurs as students work through different stages of a project. Vertical progression enhances the depth of student knowledge and occurs as students gain mastery of each topic. The major horizontal questioning stages encountered in the classroom are outlined below. At the Beginning of a Project: Brainstorming: The driving question is posed to get students' juices flowing about a topic. Organization: These driving questions help organize students' gathered thoughts into several overarching themes. During a Project: During or at the End of a Project:
26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Discussion In The Classroom 26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Conversation In The Classroom by Terry Heick Meaningful conversation can make learning more personal, immediate, and emotional. During meaningful conversations, students are forced to be accountable for their positions, to listen, to analyze opposing perspectives, and to adapt their thinking on the fly. There are many popular strategies for these kinds of conversations, each with slightly unique rules and applications. It is sometimes argued that the these kinds of conversations favor students that are confident expressing themselves verbally, and that’s hard to argue. And all can benefit from scaffolding, so that students are given different levels of support–maybe unique tiers of index cards with easier to use or more natural stems–so that they can be successful on some level. If you have any useful conversation stems, let us know in the comments so we can update the list! 26 Sentence Stems For Meaningful Conversation In The Classroom Clarifying Agreeing
Resources - IASCE - Cooperative Learning Manchester, England 2002 Conference Presentations and Papers. Conference theme: Cooperative Learning and Responsible Citizenship in the 21st Century Plenary presentations: Other Organizations IAIE: International Association for Intercultural Education Co-sponsors of the 2008 Torino, Italy Conference. IASCE had a CL strand at the IAIE conferences in Athens (2009), in Mexico (2012), and in Budapest (2016). The United Kingdom Co-operative College Co-sponsors of the 2002 Manchester Conference. Syntiro.org Provides personalised technical assistance and innovative professional learning opportunities designed to enhance organisational and individual capacity The Center for the Collaborative Classroom The Center for the Collaborative Classroom is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to providing continuous professional learning for teachers and curricula that support the academic, ethical, and social development of children Additional Cooperative Learning Links and Organizations
Project Based Learning - Zulama In Project Based Learning (PBL), students conduct an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge. The Zulama projects allow for student “voice and choice,” yet are carefully planned, managed, and assessed to help students: Learn important academic contentPractice 21st Century Skills such as collaboration, communication & critical thinkingCreate high-quality, authentic products & presentations Zulama project based learning: is organized around an open-ended driving question that focuses student work and deepens learning by centering on significant issues, debates, questions and/or problems.creates a need to know essential content and skills.presents students with knowledge and concepts that, once learned, are applied. Why use PBL? Students gain a deeper understanding of the concepts and standards at the heart of a project. If we are serious about reaching 21st Century educational goals, PBL must be at the center of 21st Century instruction.
5 useful ways to kick-start student collaboration in the classroom My five-year-old son has become obsessed with Bill Nye (you know, the science guy). We borrow the well-worn DVDs from the library and watch them over and over again. On his Twitter page, Bill Nye states, “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” It’s true – and part of the reason that I think student collaboration is so important. Enabling students to work together and learn from each other recognizes that teachers don’t have all the answers – because no individual does. But delivering on the promise of student collaboration in the classroom isn’t easy. 1. It’s easy to assume that students intuitively know what it means to work together. One of my former colleagues had a brilliant strategy to establish group work expectations. 2. We hear a lot these days about the isolating effects of today’s technology – stories of kids in school hallways texting back and forth on their phones instead of actually talking. 3. 4. 5.
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