To make cooperative learning
in groups more effective than competitive or individualistic learning, effort has to be put into planning and designing groups and group activities. Read this article that outlines the five cooperative strategies adapted from Penn State Commonwealth College Physical Therapist Assitant Program.
Working in cooperative groups can be a great motivator, allowing children to enjoy the company and ideas of others as well as finding out more about themselves.
Activities
- Investigate the content and linked examples above of where cooperative learning has been included in a PBL project.
- Now that you are aware of the advantages, incorporate cooperative learning into your planning document. Here is the empty planning template but it is preferable that you update the version of this document you have used previously.
- Scroll down to the section on cooperation and insert your ideas about how you will attempt to incorporate those strategies in your PBL project.
- Save this template so that you can access it again. We will use it later.
Teachers are able to design unit plans and classroom activities so that students engage in reasoning with, represent and solve complex real-world problems, as well as to reflect on and communicate solutions (KD.3.d).
