Collaborative+Group+Work

Agenda For Collaborative Learning Professional Development March 2012


 * Essential Questions:**
 * How can collaborative group work support students with diverse strengths and needs?
 * How can group work increase rigor and relevance?
 * What are some key strategies to consider when implementing group work?

1. What is the benefit of working in groups? 2. How can you form groups/clusters of students for effective collaboration: Where do you begin? 3. What structures, routines, or rituals must you teach your students before implementing group work? 4. What are some of the roles of the teacher when students are engaged in group work? 5. How should the teacher structure groups to delineate work assignments so that all group members make a meaningful contribution within the group? How will the teacher assess work of the individual students and the work of the group as a whole? 6. What kinds of interventions could or should a teacher make with a dysfunctional group or a reluctant participant?
 * What questions will this workshop answer?**

• recognize the importance of collaborative learning as an instructional strategy • be able to begin implementing collaborative learning groups in their classrooms • begin to develop a lesson that incorporates group work • understand the key principles of collaborative group work • incorporate their prior knowledge and experience into the content of this workshop
 * By the end of this workshop participants will**:


 * Workshop Introduction:**

1.Introduce the workshop by reading the key principles of collaborative group work: o Establish collaborative group work as a strategy for students to learn and work with others as they are acquiring new knowledge and skills o Scaffold students into collaborative group work by having them work in pairs and then small groups while increasing the complexity of the task o Establish rules and expectations for groups, listen and observe as groups work, redirect students if necessary and push students to deepen their conversations o Make each group responsible for creating a product that reflects their learning 2. Ask participants what words or ideas stand out for them, and have them connect these to their own experiences and beliefs about collaborative group work.


 * Workshop Activity:**

o Divide participants into pairs and give each pair a passage from “Learning as Collaboration.” o Pairs discuss their passage, identifying the main ideas and relating it to their CGW experiences. Have one person from each pair share out to the whole group. o Have participants read assigned lesson plans on the NCNSP site (http://newschoolsproject.org) that demonstrate collaborative group work and identify where they see the group work in the lesson. o Ask each participant to begin to write a lesson that incorporates collaborative group work.

o Have each pair share their lesson with another pair along with the next steps they would need to complete the lesson and teach it. o Bring the whole group together to discuss the guiding questions and connect them back to the key principles of collaborative group work. Have participants share one element of collaborative group work that they experienced in the workshop. o Have participants complete their exit ticket on GoogleDocs Form.
 * Workshop Closing:**


 * [|collaborative group work exit ticket]**