MODEL: LEARNING TOGETHER

One of Many Cooperative Learning Models


 
CONTENT PORTION OF THE LESSON SOCIAL SKILL PORTION OF THE LESSON

OBJECTIVES:
 
Content: Learning Together is usually used when you want students to understand and think at higher levels: a poem, editorial, painting, film, short story, or any quickly assimilate material. Cooperative: Nearly every genuine cooperative-learning lesson has a second objectiveóto improve cooperative skills (politeness, sharing, communication, taking group roles, etc.)

MATERIALS
 
Whatever the content objective requires Some form of record-keeping structure to keep track of incidents of use of objective

STEPS OF THE MODEL


 
SET
Share your content lesson objective and tell how students will be demonstrating their learning.

LESSON
1. (input/model) Teacher models the process to achieve the content goal.
 
 

2. (check for understanding) Teacher models again with student help and/or asks group questions to validate understanding of process.

3. (guided practice ) Groups begin work on the content goal together. Teacher circulates and assists with the work if needed.

 4. (closure) When the work is done, or the time is up, students report on their work and/or turn it in.

 SET
Share cooperative (social) goal and tell how all students will demonstrate it during the lesson;

LESSON
1. (input/model) Teacher assigns groups and group roles (recorder, reader, time-keeper, includer, observer, encourager, etc.) and models the cooperative skill to be practiced during the content lesson.

2. (check for understanding) Students may model the cooperative skill, or teacher provide positive and negative examples.

3. (guided practice ) As they work on the content goal, there is a cooperative-goal-recording format, either by the teacher or an assigned group member.

4. (closure) After the content goal is reported, the one who tallied the cooperative goal reports on its usage and gives examples and quotes of positive incidents of its use. 

EVALUATION:
 
Product This is done by assessing the final content-area learning or product. It can be done by teacher and/or students themselves. Process This is done by the social skills recorder(s) during the lesson, and reported to the group at the end of the lesson.

NOTE: Nearly all genuine Cooperative Learning lessons have this double-lesson format: 2 objectives, 2 processes modeled, 2 assessments, so they take careful planning. Johnson and Johnson did the work for us of providing these models, but we need to adapt them to our content and students.

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