Sunday, March 29, 2015

A Checklist for Collaboration

Peters, Lauren

CO

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/20-collaborative-learning-tips-and-strategies/

I found this interesting article on the practicalities of collaboration.  As a former airline pilot, I am naturally attracted to checklists.  This is a sketch of her list.  An expanded version can be found on the link above.


20 Collaborative Learning Tips And Strategies For Teachers
by Miriam Clifford

1. Establish group goals
2. Keep groups midsized
3. Establish flexible group norms
4. Build trust and promote open communication
5. For larger tasks, create group roles
6. Create a pre-test and post-test
7. Consider the learning process itself as part of assessment
8. Consider using different strategies, like the Jigsaw technique.
9. Allow groups to reduce anxiety
10. Establish group interactions
Task functions include:
Initiating Discussions
Clarifying points
Summarizing
Challenging assumptions/devil’s advocate
Providing or researching information
Reaching a consensus
Maintenance involves the harmony and emotional well-being of a group. Maintenance includes roles such as sensing group feelings, harmonizing, compromising and encouraging, time-keeping, relieving tension, bringing people into discussion, and ore.
11. Use a real world problems
12. Focus on enhancing problem-solving and critical thinking skills
Mark Alexander explains one generally accepted problem-solving procedure:
Identify the objective
Set criteria or goals
Gather data
Generate options or courses of action
Evaluate the options using data and objectives
Reach a decision
Implement the decision
13. Keep in mind the diversity of groups
14. Groups with an equal number of boys and girls are best
15. Use scaffolding or diminished responsibility as students begin to understand concepts.
16. Include different types of learning scenarios
17. Technology makes collaborative learning easier
18. Keep in mind the critics
19. Be wary of “group think”

20. Value diversity

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