What are key procedures to follow in planning to teach with any Cooperative Learning model?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Cooperative learning should always include two major components: (1) planning goals, objectives, lesson implementation, and assessments; and (2) planning for the critical attributes of cooperative learning. The first of these two steps involves establishing the goals for the learning process based on the academic standards and social skills to address, as well as the ideal group size, group composition, and task time to support students in attaining these goals. In implementing the lesson, the teacher must determine what steps to follow and how to scaffold student learning and interaction – including providing materials and time to offer differentiated support for students based on their individual needs. Finally, developing both formative and summative assessments are key to monitor and ultimately assess individual and group progress toward social and academic learning goals. The second major component involved in implementing a Cooperative Learning model is to plan for the critical attributes of the Cooperative Learning model. This involves determining which interpersonal and small-group social skills to target and define, and how these skills will be modeled by the teacher and practiced by students during the lesson. Finally, teachers need to plan how to scaffold and structure activities to foster social interactions that support meeting social and academic learning goals, and how to assess individual and group progress. (From Planning for Teaching with the Cooperative Learning Models).