LCT PED

• Cooperative Learning Approach (CLA) started becoming popular in the 1990s to move away from traditional pedagogical approaches that relied heavily on uniform instruction for large-sized classrooms
• CLA used the social interdependence theory, which suggests that a person's behavioral outcomes are influenced by their own and others' actions
• Five factors that influence the effectiveness of cooperation in classrooms according to Johnson and Johnson (1994):

  • Sense of sink or swim together
  • Positive Interdependence
• Positive Interdependence:

  • Establishing positive interdependence between those working together
  • Includes shared desired outcomes, goals, rewards, resources, and complementary group member roles
  • Students commit to personal success and the success of every group member
  • Promotes motivation to learn for the benefit of the group
• Individual and Group Accountability:

  • Individual performance assessed and results provided
  • Each person held responsible by group members for contributing to shared success
  • Group and members accountable for achieving goals
  • Interpersonal and small group skills required
• Interpersonal and Small Group Skills:

  • Basic teamwork skills needed
  • Group members learn collaborative leadership, decision-making, trust-building, communication, and conflict management
  • Develop friendships through trust-building, communication, and conflict resolution
• Promotive Interaction:

  • Students promote each other's success by sharing resources and providing support, encouragement, and praise
  • Includes exchanging resources, providing feedback, challenging reasoning, and offering alternative suggestions
• Group Processing:

  • Reflecting on team functioning and how to improve
  • Involves self-reflection on group functioning and learning processes
  • Group members communicate openly, monitor and discuss goal achievement, and maintain effective working relationships
• Differentiated Instructional Approach (DIA) introduced as an alternative to uniform instruction by Carol Ann Tomlinson in 1995

  • Differentiation involves time flexibility, a range of instructional strategies, and partnership with students
• Content Differentiation:

  • Same concept or skill taught to each student with varying curriculum based on readiness, interest, and learning profile
  • Tiered content, providing a variety of materials, presentation styles, scaffolding, learning contracts, and compacting are strategies used
• Process Differentiation:

  • Same concept or skill taught to each student with varying activities to master the concepts or skills
  • Tiered activities, learning centers, and grouping students for different activities are common strategies
• Learning Centers:

  • Organized around a topic, theme, or activity for students to learn, practice, or build on a concept or skill
  • Effective way for teachers to offer activities targeting students' readiness levels, interests, or learning profiles
  • Should contain instructions and materials needed for the activity
  • Can be used for independent work or in small groups/pairs
• Interactive Journal:

  • Notebook for student-teacher communication through writing
  • Differentiate instruction by varying journal prompts based on interests or readiness levels
  • Introduced as an in-class activity, can be assigned as homework
  • Teacher should not correct grammar, spelling, or content
• Graphic Organizers:

  • Diagram, outline, or chart for students to arrange information
  • Help gather, organize, process, and understand information
  • Show relationships between ideas
• Jigsaw Activities:

  • Cooperative learning strategy dividing class into small groups
  • Each group learns a portion of content and shares with home-base group
  • Ensures all students learn all relevant content
  • Can be implemented in one or multiple class periods
• Manipulatives:

  • Concrete objects to help students understand a concept or skill
  • Assist in representing ideas or solving problems
  • Example: demonstrating fractions by slicing a pie
• Differentiated Products:

  • Assess same concept/skill but offer variety in ways to demonstrate knowledge (e.g., video, written report)
  • Make product challenging but achievable, provide clear directions
  • Create tasks reflecting real-world application
• Tiered Products:

  • Differentiate how students demonstrate learning by offering a range of challenging products
  • Design products for students at different readiness levels
• Tic Tac Toe:

  • Offer students choices in product completion to demonstrate knowledge
  • Students choose product options to form lines or select from rows/columns
  • Teacher ensures options address key concept or skill
• Learning Menus:

  • Offer four to six challenging options for producing a final product
  • Each choice should require approximately the same amount of time to complete
• RAFT:

  • Role, Audience, Format, Topic method for offering product choices
  • Students adopt a role, address an audience, choose a format, and address a topic
  • Can be completed relatively quickly as classwork or homework
• Personalized Learning Approach (PLA):

  • Students move through coursework based on mastery, not seat time
  • Considers individual needs, interests, and strengths for a unique learning experience
  • Teachers and students create customized learning plans
• Design Elements of Personalized Learning Approach:

  • Flexible Pathways:
  • Learning activities driven by student interests, self-initiated
  • Students choose in-school and out-of-school learning modalities
  • Personalized Learning Plans:
  • Co-crafted by students, parents, and teachers to suit individual needs
  • Encourage students to identify interests, passions, and strengths
  • Competency-Based Graduation Requirements:
  • Clear competency standards and assessment methods
  • Continuous assessment against defined standards and goals
  • Student Ownership and Agency:
• • Collaboration between students and teachers in designing learning activities
  • Students set, monitor, and reflect on progress towards learning goals